SPECIAL REPORT: The Case for the Carrier

Today's Carrier Force--And Tomorrow's

Being Transformed by "Leap-Ahead" Technology

By SCOTT C. TRUVER

Dr. Scott C. Truver is the vice president for national security studies and director of the Center for Security Strategies and Operations, Anteon Corporation, Arlington, Va.

The Department of Defense continues to peer deeply into the future to ferret out threats to U.S. interests and to identify military requirements and the platforms, systems, and technologies needed to meet those threats. A sharp focus has been on ways to "leap a generation of military technology." So far the White House has not announced exactly how to capture such "leap-ahead technologies" affordably or quickly, while at the same time delivering on other campaign promises and continuing to meet today's defense needs. Nevertheless, the nation's aircraft carrier forces have become one of several focal points in the debates.

Still, in times of international crisis the president continues to ask­­"Where are the carriers?" For President George W. Bush, the first such "crisis" (never officially described as such) was the April confrontation sparked by the mid-air collision of a Navy EP-3E aircraft and a Chinese F-8 fighter. To ensure that future presidents will have the carriers when and where they are needed, the Navy and Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) have put in place a well-conceived program to take advantage of leading-edge technologies to deliver a revolutionary sea-based naval aviation force in an evolutionary and affordable way.

Whether the Bush administration, and those that follow, will embrace the Navy's carrier program remains to be seen. But it is clear that currently approved Navy acquisition programs will need a long-term political and fiscal commitment.

An Evolutionary Revolution

"We have reached the end of the line in the Nimitz [CVN 68]-class carriers," according to Rear Adm. Roland B. Knapp, program executive officer for aircraft carrier programs. "The ninth Nimitz-class carrier­­Ronald Reagan [CVN-76]­­is under construction at Newport News Shipbuilding, and in January we awarded the contract for the tenth Nimitz-class carrier, CVN-77, which will be the 'transition ship' to a revolutionary next-generation carrier class, CVNX.

"Although a highly successful design," Knapp continued, "until recently the most we have been able to do is work on the margins of the CVN 68, which were all but 'frozen' when Nimitz delivered in 1968." Hamstrung for nearly three decades by extraordinarily constrained aircraft carrier research-and-development (R&D) resources, Knapp admitted, each successive ship in the class "has in reality been a 'modified-repeat,' and sometimes new equipment was incorporated only because in-service equipment was no longer available."

"Until recently" means the Ronald Reagan, according to Thomas Schievelbein, NNS chief operating officer. "Beginning with Reagan," he explained, "we have had the chance to introduce more advanced systems than in previous Nimitz-class ships. This process continues seamlessly through CVN 77 and into CVNX1 and CVNX2."

Knapp concurred. "We finally have sufficient R&D funds­­and, importantly, the promise of funding stability­­to carry out an evolutionary program that will get us from CVNs 76 and 77 to a revolutionary CVNX to meet the needs of the 21st century."

"We are leaping several generations of carrier technology in the progression from the Nimitz-class carrier design through CVN 77 and to CVNX," said Adm. Frank L. Bowman, the director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion. "We are taking good advantage of major technological improvements in several generations of submarine nuclear-propulsion plants, from the Los Angeles and Ohio classes in the 1970s to the Virginia-class submarines that will soon join the operating forces. These improvements will be captured in the CVNX1 to provide a revolutionary design for the reactor and propulsion plant, resulting in a better warfighting ship while lowering life-cycle costs."

A Two-Track Plan

Since 1993, the Navy has pursued a two-track plan to modernize its carrier forces and to ensure that future carriers and air wings are completely integrated "systems of systems" that can serve throughout the 21st century. Originally, the Navy was intent on producing a "clean-sheet" design--hurdling a modified-repeat CVN 77 to a revolutionary design for the CVNX. That approach proved to be unaffordable, and the service subsequently crafted an affordable three-ship program, beginning with the "transitional" CVN 77 and spanning 18 years of innovation through CVNX1 and CVNX2.

As outlined by Scott Stabler, NNS vice president for aircraft carrier construction, CVN 77 will in 2008 replace the oil-fired USS Kitty Hawk (launched in 1960). CVN 77 will incorporate several new technologies and systems, including a new integrated warfare system, and a redesigned island as well as a new multifunction radar (MFR) and a volume search radar (VSR). Both radars are being developed in collaboration with the Zumwalt-class (DD 21 land-attack destroyer) program. A new high-efficiency/low-cavitation propeller design also is planned that, Knapp noted, will be "the first new carrier propeller since the USS Forrestal reached the fleet in 1955."

Reducing total ownership costs (TOC) is very important for both the CVN 77 and the CVNX. "We have a goal to reduce crew size by as many as 550 people from the current Nimitz-class baseline [some 3,500 men and women] to help reduce costs," Knapp explained. "But we're doing this in a 'smart' way, by taking jobs­­not just Sailors­­off the ship. We are taking human-factor engineering needs into strong account as we move forward." Because crew costs are anywhere from 40 percent to 60 percent of a ship's TOC, reducing crew size will have both an immediate and a long-term effect.

In January, the Navy awarded a $3.8 billion contract to Newport News, reflecting the yard's much-expanded role in CVN 77 design and construction compared to previous carriers. "This is the first time that we have the full responsibility for the development, acquisition, and integration of the carrier's combat system," said Irwin F. Edenzon, NNS vice president for technology development and carrier fleet support.

Moving beyond the Nimitz-class has been the subject of an analysis of alternatives (AOA) begun in 1997. In the latest round of carrier introspection, the CVNX AOA examined: (a) overall sea-based air concepts of operations; (b) air wing size and composition--from 40 to 80 aircraft, both conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) and short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) designs; (c) propulsion systems (nuclear/steam, oil/steam, gas turbine, and even diesel plants); (d) a variety of flight-deck/hangar-deck configurations; and (e) speed and survivability features. "The conclusion was to pursue a nuclear-powered CVNX that would have an air wing of 55 to 75 CTOL aircraft," Knapp said. "We looked at 70 total ship alternatives--37 of which were new concepts that we never addressed previously--before deciding on a large-deck nuclear configuration."

Size brings with it greater survivability and other operational benefits not usually understood. "Even if we had a small wing of just 55 aircraft," Knapp pointed out, "we could generate about 40 percent more combat sorties on a carrier designed to operate 75 aircraft, compared to the [number generated by the] same air wing operating from a 55-aircraft ship." The 75-aircraft wing increased the notional carrier displacement by only about 14 percent, and TOC by about 8 percent. "... We get enhanced survivability against an array of traditional and asymmetric threats," Knapp continued, "while at the same time enhancing seakeeping in high seas and adverse weather--an important operational benefit."

In the end, the secretary of defense approved a nuclear-powered CVNX of approximately 100,000 tons with the following improvements (to be spread between CVNX1 and CVNX2):

1. A new-design nuclear reactor and propulsion plant;

2. Significantly increased electrical-generating capacity and a new zonal distribution system that will greatly reduce the ship's reliance upon steam;

3. An enhanced, integrated warfare system based on the CVN 77 "baseline" warfare system;

4. An electromagnetic aircraft launching system (EMALS) and an electromagnetic aircraft recovery system (EARS);

5. A new flight-deck/hangar-deck layout and design, including "pit-stop" refueling and rearming stations;

6. More automated and human-systems-enhanced equipment;

7. Increased passive survivability features and improved damage-control systems;

8. A redesigned island; and

9. Open-architecture systems that would provide the flexibility needed to incorporate upgrades and insert new-technology systems.

"CVNX1 will be designed within the basic Nimitz hull envelope," Matthew J. Mulherin, NNS director of the CVNX program office, said, "which shows the inherent flexibility and adaptability of the CVN 68 [design] and the genius of the Navy/shipbuilder team that designed the ship in the mid-1960s.

"With the carriers' 50-year lifetimes," he noted, "the same hull design will serve the nation from 1968 to 2063." CVNX1 will deliver in 2013, replacing the nation's first nuclear-powered carrier, USS Enterprise, when that ship reaches 52 years of age.

CVNX2, which is planned to replace the USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67, launched in 1967) in 2018 will commence construction in 2011 and will incorporate: (a) advanced active and passive survivability features; (b) the same nuclear reactor/propulsion plant planned for CVNX1; (c) modular, open-architecture, reconfigurable internal arrangements; (d) EARS; and (e) upgrades of the CVNX1 warfare system.

New Nuclear Reactor Planned

"With CVNX," Bowman pointed out, "we are leaping several generations of reactor and propulsion-plant technologies. We are building upon the incremental improvements [that have occurred] since the 1970s in submarine reactor and propulsion technologies and design to deliver to CVNX1 a reactor-propulsion plant system that will enhance warfighting capabilities, reduce manning­­and not just in the engineering spaces­­and help cut total ownership costs."

The Navy is doing all this at a fraction of the cost that it would have taken to "leap" from the reactor technology in USS Nimitz in the mid-1960s directly to the CVNX1. "The R&D for submarine propulsion technologies," Bowman said, "has increased by about 25 percent the energy density of the CVNX reactor compared to CVN 77's plant, cut by about 50 percent the reactor and steam-plant components, cut by about 50 percent the number of people in the reactor compartment--and associated recruiting, training, and retention costs--simplified operations and maintenance, reduced by 20 percent the overall propulsion-plant life-cycle costs, and provided an electrical-plant architecture that will facilitate the incorporation of future warfighting enhancements and cost-reduction opportunities.

"Not only that," he continued, "CVNX warfighting capabilities will be enhanced. Survivability will be improved through highly redundant, high-integrity, zonal electric distribution for the first time in carriers and the replacement of steam with electric auxiliaries. Operational availability will be increased because the simplified plant will lead to easier operation and improved casualty control, improved continuity of power, greater reliability, and reduced maintenance.

"Finally," he emphasized, "folks should recognize that these innovations are proven, are here ready for use, and are not a futuristic study--as Admiral Rickover [Adm. Hyman G. Rickover, the "father" of the nuclear-powered Navy] repeatedly explained when describing his reactors as 'not paper reactors.'"

A "Hotbed" of Innovation

"What is fundamental to the transformation of America's carrier forces," NNS President and Chief Executive Officer William Fricks explained, "is the very close teamwork that comes from several decades of working with the Navy to ensure that each successive carrier is an improvement over the previous ships we have delivered. We understand the need to do this in an affordable way," he continued, "and VASCIC [the Virginia Advanced Ships and Carrier Integration Center] will be key to the future of America's sea-based air power."

Newport News is increasingly seen as a "hotbed" for innovation, change, and transformation in the way that carriers are designed and engineered, constructed, and maintained throughout service lives now reaching 50 years, and sometimes longer. "Although we are not quite the 'full-service contractor' ... envisioned in other ship programs," Edenzon said, "we are taking a 'cradle-to-grave' approach in ensuring that the carriers are fully capable of carrying out their missions."

"VASCIC is a 'win-win-win' situation," Fricks said. "We are teaming with the Commonwealth of Virginia, which has invested about $100 million for a leading-edge engineering, lab, test, and training facility; with numerous state universities and colleges; and with the best of U.S. industry to be the focal point for emerging technologies and systems for future carriers."

The new facility, which is built upon the foundation of the company-funded Carrier Innovation Center, Edenzon said, "will link Newport News, the Navy, warfare systems developers, other Navy and Joint laboratories and innovation centers, and fleet operators in a virtual network of data, experimentation, testing, and training in an integrated 'system-of-systems' approach.

"By focusing on the front end of the design-and-engineering process, including taking a hard look at how the human fits into the design and operation of all elements of the ship and support to the air wing," Edenzon said, "we can ensure that warfighting capabilities will be maximized, not only when the carrier enters service but throughout its lifetime, and operating and support costs minimized."

The NNS "hotbed" for innovation will not be limited to carriers, but will be carried over into the company's nuclear-submarine design, engineering, and construction business. That "value-added" factor may well have been an important consideration in the negotiations with General Dynamics (GD) that led to the April decision by GD to acquire NNS for integration with GD's Electric Boat (EB) Company. "Both Newport News and EB have established a very strong, collegial, and forward-leaning team on the Virginia-class attack submarines," Fricks said, "and we expect this to continue in the future­­another 'win-win' solution for the nation."

The Way Ahead

Although CVN-77 is the final carrier of the Nimitz class per se, the Navy and Newport News are building upon its foundation of engineering and operational excellence. They are teamed on a venture that will see "leap-ahead" technologies introduced into the carrier force in a measured, affordable manner that ultimately will transform the fleet for 22nd-century operations.

The great-great-grandchildren of today's engineers, shipbuilders, politicians, Sailors, and the American people as a whole, will almost certainly celebrate­­or perhaps rue­­the decisions the Bush Administration makes in the next few months.