Follow US Immigration and US News: On October 11, local time, the US military's latest USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, touted as the world's most powerful, was successfully launched at the Newport News Shipbuilding yard. It is reported that the Ford-class carrier is nuclear-powered and its most significant feature is the integration of electromagnetic catapult technology. Equipped with F-35 carrier-based aircraft, it is virtually invincible, with engineering so masterful that it has left other nations in awe.
It is understood that in addition to the world's most advanced electromagnetic catapult technology, the Ford also utilizes a carrier-based aircraft electromagnetic launch system, a new high-power integrated nuclear reactor with a zonal electrical distribution system, active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, and various other high-tech innovations. Reports indicate that the Ford-class carrier is expected to be deployed as early as 2015, and a total of 11 ships of this class are planned for construction. Analysts point out that the craftsmanship of the world's most powerful aircraft carrier is so exquisite that it is unparalleled, leaving other countries to look on with envy. Even Chinese military experts have had to admit that there is no doubt that Chinese aircraft carriers lag behind the US Ford-class, with a gap in military industrial capabilities between China and the US of at least 30 years.
It is understood that the "Ford" has a beam of 40.8 meters, a flight deck 332.8 meters long and 78 meters wide, a full-load draft of 12.4 meters, and a displacement of 100,000 tons, making it a maritime "behemoth." The "Ford" uses electromagnetic catapults, becoming the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to do so. According to US Navy assessments, a "Nimitz"-class carrier carrying 75 aircraft can strike 248 targets per day over a 3-day combat period. In contrast, a "Ford"-class carrier carrying the same number of aircraft will be able to strike over 2,000 targets. Considering the use of other weapons, its comprehensive combat effectiveness is three times higher than that of the "Nimitz"-class.
Military expert Yin Zhuo believes that the US's long-range power projection capability, centered on carrier strike groups, is not merely about distance. In reality, it is a standard for global reach, global projection, and global combat. The US continues to deploy its entire military force as a global hegemonic power, requiring the ability to intervene anywhere in the world; this is where its national strategy aligns with its military strategy.
He also stated that the economy has a significant restrictive effect on the expansion of US military power. The procurement cost of the Ford-class carrier will far exceed that of the Nimitz-class, but even in difficult times, the US will not abandon the carrier strike group formation, including the Ford-class. Since it has decided to build and commission them, it is certainly not just for one or two ships. Even if it cannot maintain 11 carrier strike groups, by maintaining 8 to 9, or even 7 to 8, it will remain the world's number one (military) power, and (by virtue of this) it can maintain that status for decades to come.
