By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
(Washington D.C.) The distinguished and successful combat performance of the Nimitz-class carriers have earned the ships a permanent resting place in the annals of Naval history, as they have projected power, propelled and sustained air attacks and operated as a powerful “deterrent” and symbol of American power. These carriers have not only launched successful war campaigns but also served to safeguard international waterways for decades. Protecting free commerce and movement on the seas is one of the Navy’s key, yet often lesser recognized missions, given the large percentage of international trade which takes place over water. This is one key reason why the US Navy does a lot of forward operations placing carriers in critical, high-value areas of great significance to world waterway travel.
Nimitz-Class Carriers
The deterrence mission, however, is of course never to be overlooked, particularly in today’s threat environment wherein China not only threatens Taiwan but operates a larger Navy than the US. Of course this does not mean it is superior, but nonetheless the Chinese naval threat is increasingly taking extremely seriously at the Pentagon. It is likely one reason why the US Navy recently conducted dual-carrier operations in the Pacific to “scale” the potential for a massive-scale, networked air attack campaign. Improved interoperability, networking and tactical air-to-surface mission coordination multiples the scale, scope and operational envelope
As for the Nimitz, some may wonder how they will compare to the Ford-class once it is more fully operational, yet upgrades to the Nimitz carriers are not to be overlooked. There are several critical areas where the Nimitz carriers have been adapted to a new, more serious and changing threat environment. For example, they have received a cutting edge GPS-enabled aircraft carrier landing technology called Joint Precision Approach and Landing System.
While pilots have succeeded in landing in difficult and dangerous conditions for many years, JPALs introduces a new measure of precision when it comes to a pilots “glide scope” and descent onto a carrier deck. This can be extremely helpful for pilots who “bank: and seek to land in rough sea conditions, high-winds or under enemy fire. JPALs is also part of a series of modifications which help aircraft carriers accommodate the now operational F-35C, the first of its kind sea-launched stealth fighter.
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Some of the largest improvements to the Nimitz class, however, may come in the realm of layered ship defenses. There are several key reasons for this, the first and potentially most obvious of which is an increased ability to network with destroyers, cruisers and other ships in its Carrier Strike Group. This enables vastly improved protection for carriers as Aegis capable destroyers can perform cruise and ballistic missile defense at distances sufficient to alert carriers of incoming threats and in many cases intercept them. Carrier layered defenses also include advanced applications of EW, interceptor weapons such as Close-In-Weapons-Systems, and shorter range offensive and defensive weapons such as SeaRAM.
As for the question of whether upgraded Nimitz-class carriers will compete with or rival the Ford class, there are a number of key variables to consider. It seems Nimitz would perform quite well alongside the Ford class, yet the largest difference relates to Ford’s 33-percent greater sortie rate enabled by a larger deck and large megawatt generators able to provide unprecedented amounts of on-board electrical power. This can help store energy and also power up and sustain power-reliant emerging weapons systems such as lasers, new EW applications and radar and fire control systems.
Kris Osborn is the Military Affairs Editor of 19 FortyFive and President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
