Next-generation Aircraft Carrier CVN 21 Is Taking Shape

Next-Generation Aircraft Carrier
CVN 21 Is Taking Shape
On the banks of the James River in Virginia, a new nuclear
aircraft carrier class is taking shape at Northrop Grumman Newport News Shipyard.
The CVN 21 class, which will replace the Nimitz class, features advanced
capabilities that meet requirements for transformational systems set forth in "Sea
Power 21", the United States Navy's vision for 21st century warfighting.
Sources:
Northrop Grumman et
US Navy.

U.S. Navy Illustration courtesy
Northrop Grumman Newport News Shipbuilding
Newport News, Virginia -- (NNS) June 30, 2006-- Artist Rendering - A
conceptual rendering of CVN 78, the first of a new generation carrier design,
CVN 21, for the US Navy, underway at Northrop Grumman Newport News. Construction
is slated to begin in 2007. Innovations for the next-generation aircraft carrier
include an enhanced flight deck with increased sortie rates, improved weapons
movement, a redesigned island, a new nuclear power plant and allowance for
future technologies and reduced manning.

U.S. Navy Illustration courtesy Northrop Grumman Newport News Shipbuilding
Advance construction of the CVN-21 project began on August
11, 2005. First unit (CVN-78) is scheduled to begin construction in 2007 and to
be placed in commission in 2014 to replace USS
Enterprise
(CVN-65). Second unit (CVN-79) is then scheduled to start construction in 2012
and slated to be placed in commission in 2018 and then the third and final
CVN-80will be procured
The mission of the CVN 21
Program is to conceptualize, design, build, test and deliver a
state-of-the-art aircraft carrier that meets operational requirements of the
United States Navy and results in specified reductions in acquisition costs,
manning and weight while enhancing operational capabilities.
CVN 21 Design
Northrop Grumman is designing the CVN 21 class using the most technologically
advanced systems in the shipbuilding industry:
- CATIA (Computer-Aided Three-Dimensional Interactive
Application) - a software package that allows manufacturers to simulate all
the industrial design processes, from the pre-project phase through detailed
design, analysis, simulation, assembly and maintenance
- CAVE (Computer-Aided Virtual Environment) - a 3D
immersive environment tool for viewing certain areas of the CVN 21 CATIA
product model and for refinement of the construction strategy
Innovations for the CVN 21 class include:
- Enhanced flight deck with increased sortie rates
- Redesigned island
- New nuclear power plant
- Allowance for future technologies
- Improved weapons movement that will more than double the capacity to
produce and deliver smart munitions over that of the Nimitz-class design
- Reduced manning by 30 percent, which correspondingly increases deployment
availability by 25 percent
- The largest electrical power production of any ship in the U.S. Navy,
greater than two and a half times the electrical power of a Nimitz-class
aircraft carrier
- Design costs and new technology insertion are approximately $5.6 billion
spread over the class
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