US Navy Ford Class nuclear carriers

last Nimitz class carrier the George Bush cost in 2003 dollars 6.3 billion per unit. adjusted for inflation that is about 8.1 billion in 2017 dollars
the Ford unit cost is about 10.4 billion. the huge price is the program cost. which is spread across each buy. the more you buy the less the program cost as it's divided among each unit.

TerraN_EmpirE said:

...
the Ford unit cost is about 10.4 billion. ...

Click to expand...

now I think you must be teasing me

"The Navy’s proposed FY2017 budget estimates the ship’s procurement cost at $12,887.0 million (i.e., about $12.9billion) in then-year dollars.

The Navy’s proposed FY2017 budget estimates the ship’s procurement cost at $11,398.0 million (i.e., about $11.4billion) in then-year dollars.

The Navy’s proposed FY2017 budget estimates the ship’s procurement cost at $12,900.0 million (i.e., $12.9billion) in then-year dollars."


Navy Ford (CVN-78) Class Aircraft Carrier
Program: Background and Issues for Congress

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

https://www.sinodefenceforum.com/us-navy-ford-class-nuclear-carriers.t6178/page-26#post-445039
Yesterday at 8:32 PM

Jura said:

...

the thing is anyone who looked into GAO reports should see the current situation coming; ...

Click to expand...

Okay I yelled so it's 1.5x the unit cost of the last Nimitz class.

in the meantime I found my first post on Ford-class issues: Jun 11, 2014

TerraN_EmpirE said:

Okay I yelled so it's 1.5x the unit cost of the last Nimitz class.

Click to expand...

so let's look at the delays now:

• do you know the USN has the waiver to operate just ten carriers (because it's required to operate at least eleven)?
• do you know Yesterday at 5:33 PM
  

  kwaigonegin said:

  ... For a brief moment in time very recently the USN had ZERO I mean ZERO carriers deployed at sea anywhere in the world!!
  
  ...

  Click to expand...

  ?

at this point you either understand 46 minutes ago (why I think they should've kept building Nimitzes), or you don't

I go to bed now
by the way thanks for talking to me on multiple topics this evening, I hope I didn't push it too hard
LOL!

Well it is 1550 CSDST in the US and GRF (CVN 78) has still not gotten underway...another FAIL...

WE should start taking bets when she will get underway..I say before the 4th of July for first sea trails and commissioning around Christmas this year whether she's ready or not.

I say first sea trial right on the 4th of July and commissioning will be before Thanksgiving of this year.

Well, I expect the Ford, CVN-78, will go to sea in April...[perhaps mid month. I expect she will be accepted by the Navy after another set or two of builders sea trials by the end of the year. But then I expect the Navy will do more trials before commissioning sometime next year...maybe mid-year, maybe later.

Then she will reach IOC in 2020 or so.

Having said all of that, she has been in the water and moved around a bit on the JAmes River. Here are some of her latest pics the last time she did:



She is a beautiful carrier, but does have the appearance of a large aft end...but that gives her machinist and maintenance and planning people more room.

We see from those pics that she has her full self defense armament of two ESSM launchers, two RAM launchers and two Phalanx CIWS installed. Basically one RAM launcher, one ESSM launcher, and one Phalanx aft, and the same forward.

The RAM is on the starboard side aft and the RAM is on the stern, with the ESSSM on the port quarter aft. Forward, it is just the opposite. The RAM is on the port forward quarter, and the ESSM and Phalanx are on the starboard forward quarter.

Some more pics, in prep for her going to sea:

almost missed this one

bd popeye said:

Well it is 1550 CSDST in the US and GRF (CVN 78) has still not gotten underway...another FAIL...

WE should start taking bets when she will get underway..I say before the 4th of July for first sea trails and commissioning around Christmas this year whether she's ready or not.

Click to expand...

if I had been a PR Officer in charge of this, I would've picked one the 75th anniversaries! LOL without checking wiki

• the Doolittle Raid (April 17, 18?)
• the Coral Sea (beginning of May)
• the Midway (beginning of June)

and I would've avoided

• Guadalcanal landing (beginning of August)
• the Solomons (after Guadalcanal landing)
• the Santa Cruz (in October)

as related to, OK maybe it's a cliche, but I've repeatedly read the USMC like felt left behind without Aviation on Gualdacanal (I mean new aircraft or cover by aircraft carrier(s) in addition to what was still left on the Henderson Field, after Kurita coming with two battleship to bomb it etc. etc., these are notoriously known, tragic events; it was of course related to situation when the USN wouldn't or couldn't commit the carriers to this), and decided NOT to end up without Aviation in the future

but since I'm Jura and not a PR Officer, what only matters to me is when the Ford will deploy (some activities until then may be just PR stunts; do you recall the sea trials, commissioning of the Zumwalt? do you recall ...), and here's my guessing: Jul 26, 2016

Jura said:

... I offer my guess: 2022 ...

Click to expand...

Your Armchair Admiral

Three days ago, the US Navy NAVSEA said this:

US Navy NAVSEA said:

Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) is set to leave the Huntington Ingalls Industries shipyard in Newport News, Va. for its first set of builder’s trials following an extensive set of pier-side testing to prove the carrier’s systems.

NAVSEA’s Vice Adm. Tom Moore said told an audience at the Navy League Sea Air Space 2017 he expected the ship to head to sea sometime this week.

The carrier was scheduled to leave on Tuesday, but weather will keep the ship pier-side, USNI News understands.

Prior to leading NAVSEA, Moore was the program manager for the Ford-class program.

The crew of Ford has recently completed extensive pier-side tests that have the sailors onboard operate the carrier as if it were at sea –

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

“She’s been through fast cruise which is essentially a dry run for going to sea,” said Capt. Doug Oglesby CVN79/80 Program Manager said during a briefing in the conference.
“That’s one of the last steps before going to trials.”

Click to expand...

Been some bad weather over there...but we are now down to days...5-10 max IMHO, and she will be at sea. I look very forward tot hat.