What You Need to Know: Modern aircraft carriers, such as the U.S. Navy’s Gerald R. Ford class, cost approximately $13 billion each due to their immense complexity and advanced technology. These ships are essentially floating cities, accommodating up to 5,000 sailors and capable of projecting air power globally.

– They have a solid steel structure, nuclear reactors that can operate for decades without refueling, and advanced systems such as the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) for smoother and more efficient aircraft launches.

-Aircraft carriers act as mobile airfields, eliminating the need for foreign bases and providing unparalleled flexibility in military operations. Their high cost reflects the strategic advantage and technological marvel they represent.

Why Aircraft Carriers Cost Billions of Dollars: Inside the World’s Most Advanced Warships

The price of a modern aircraft carrier is astronomical. America’s newest carrier class, the Gerald R. Ford, costs $13 billion per unit. And so far the entire Ford program cost Taxpayers $120 billion. That’s a lot of money to pay for a boat. But of course, the modern aircraft carrier is not exactly a boat; A modern aircraft carrier is a floating city with a variety of complex subsystems that can project air power around the world.

Navy Aircraft Carriers: You get what you pay for

aircraft carriers It brings some prestige to its owner. Like a Ferrari or a McLaren, it’s a vehicle that only a very few people can afford. Most countries pay the price of owning an aircraft carrier. Many nations in the world have annual GDPs no higher than one GDP Ford class carrier. But a Ferrari or McLaren can’t do anything other than get the driver from point A to point B; This can also easily be accomplished in a Hyundai or Ford. Owning an aircraft carrier unlocks unique capabilities that cannot be achieved with a battleship or destroyer. An aircraft carrier ferries and launches aircraft, essentially serving as a mobile airfield, an invaluable tool for projecting power to distant shores.

The primary alternative to launching aircraft from distant lands is to have airfields on foreign soil. Again, most nations do not have an airport on foreign soil. And again, the United States, with its extensive network of foreign military installations, is an exception. Yet foreign military installations are not fixed and flexible; It is invaluable in the situation of a fixed conflict with certain boundaries. However, when implementing a foreign policy that requires such diverse and sometimes strange power projection needs; An aircraft carrier would be useful.

Loaded with New Technology

It is no exaggeration to say that an aircraft carrier is a floating city. An aircraft carrier hosts more than 5,000 sailors at a time. Therefore, the aircraft carrier must be equipped to accommodate, feed, clean and entertain these people. 5,000 sailors. Accordingly, there is more than one kitchen and dining hall on an aircraft carrier. An aircraft carrier needs to be able to serve up to 18,000 meals a day. Providing meals is not necessarily a new technology. But catering speaks to the scope and complexity of operating and paying for a modern aircraft carrier.

All meals and all sailors are really about one thing: projecting air power. The entire city/aircraft carrier exists to project air power. To project air power, the aircraft carrier has a unique structure and a unique series of systems.

To support flight operations, an aircraft carrier’s hull “consists of extremely strong steel plates several inches thick,” according to a report by How Stuff Works. “This heavy hull is highly effective protection against fire and battle damage.”

For structural support (and again to support flight operations), the aircraft carrier consists of “three horizontal structures running the entire length of the hull: the keel (the iron keel at the bottom of the ship), the flight deck, and the hangar deck.” The hangar deck is where aircraft are stored. The flight deck is where planes are launched. So the entire structure of the boat is built around storing and launching aircraft.

“The hull section below the waterline is rounded and relatively narrow, while the section above the water expands to form the large flight deck area,” How Stuff Works explains. explains. “The bottom of the ship has a double bottom, which is pretty much what it sounds like; there are two layers of steel plating: the bottom plating of the ship and another layer on top… the double bottom provides extra protection against torpedoes or torpedoes. Accidents at sea.”

To launch aircraft, aircraft carriers use catapults that pull the aircraft across the flight deck and launch the aircraft from the front of the boat. Traditionally aircraft carriers used steam-powered catapults. Nimitz-class carriers still in service still rely on steam catapults. However, the cutting-edge Ford class uses the newly developed Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS). EMALS uses a linear induction motor that produces electric currents to create magnetic fields. Magnetic fields pull the plane across the deck. EMAS It is expected to accelerate aircraft more smoothly than now-obsolete steam catapults (which are expensive to research and develop).

Launching the plane is a function of a function aircraft carrier. Landing a plane is one thing. Planes land on aircraft carriers with a tail hook that catches wires running across the flight deck. It is a relatively low-tech system that has proven to be effective.

And what powers this whole thing is a nuclear reactor. The benefit of a nuclear reactor is that it allows the aircraft carrier to operate indefinitely (decades if necessary) without requiring refueling.

In short, aircraft carriers are expensive because they are marvels of technology.

About the Author: Harrison Kass

Harrison Kass is a defense and national security writer who has written more than 1,000 articles on global issues. A lawyer, pilot, guitarist, and minor professional hockey player, Harrison joined the U.S. Air Force as a Trainee Pilot but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a bachelor’s degree from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and a master’s degree from New York University.

All images are Creative Commons.