CVN 79 on Sea Trials and China’s Carrier Strategy

New Aircraft Carrier John F. Kennedy CVN-79 on Sea Trials and China’s Carrier Strategy (From CBS Radio “Eye on the World”)

Chinese Navy yards “are turning out craft at an enormously accelerated rate,” pointed out John Batchelor, host with Gordon Chang of CBS Radio’s “Eye of the World with John Batchelor.”  So it’s a moment to celebrate sea trials for the new aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), the second ship of the new Ford class aircraft carriers.  Plus, China’s carrier strategy, and did the USS Abraham Lincoln shoot down an Iranian drone?  Highlights from the conversation between John Batchelor, Gordon Chang, and Rebecca Grant.  Full link is here.

John Batchelor: What is the USS John F. Kennedy, CVN 79, and when is it ready to deploy to secure the Pacific?

Rebecca Grant: CVN-79 has left her berth, where she was built down in Newport News, the second of the Ford-class carriers.  You’re right, John, that is the biggest warship afloat.  It’s a very modernized carrier, with increased electric power.  Of course, it’s nuclear-powered for its propulsion, giving it unlimited range and endurance. CVN 79 is out on sea trials; that means she’s sailing with minimal crew, in order to check out all her systems; no airwing aboard, because she’s not deployed or on exercises.  It is great to finally see the second of the new Ford-class carriers underway and getting ready to join the fleet.

Gordon Chang: The John F. Kennedy is a year behind schedule and won’t be commissioned until next year.  If a war were to break out now, would it be possible to take John F. Kennedy and put it into the battle?

Rebecca Grant: Not this month or next month, but after that, if it was absolutely necessary, of course they could put an airwing aboard and take her out into a combat zone.  Right now, we do have the Nimitz-class carriers and then of course the first of the class, the Ford, is still down in the Caribbean.   USS Abraham Lincoln there in the Middle East, Teddy Roosevelt (USS Theodore Roosevelt) in the Pacific, so we’re in pretty good shape there.  CVN 79 got behind because of COVID.  There were problems not so much at the shipyard, but with suppliers across the country who make the enormous castings and parts.  

John Batchelor:  The People’s Republic of China is building carriers so fast, they’ll be pouring out of the First Island Chain. I think they mentioned seven for the Pacific.  Have you heard a number larger than that?

Rebecca Grant: China is aiming for at least six; why would they stop there?  The key difference between U.S. and Chinese carriers has been the nuclear propulsion and the size of the deck, but China is beginning to fix this.  Each of their three active carriers (and they’ve got a fourth under construction) is different one from the other.  The fourth is quite large.  It’s the size of the Ford-class, and we think that they may be experimenting with the idea of nuclear propulsion.  So right now, their carriers aren’t as good, but to have them positioned around the First Island Chain gives them an enormous advantage in air power and creates a lot of trouble for the U.S. and allies.  It means we need more ships, and more aircraft in the area, to cope with and find and keep those Chinese carriers bottled up.  It’s a bad sign to see China racing to build aircraft carriers.

John Batchelor: Did they anticipate that the Chinese would be building this quickly?

Rebecca Grant: No one saw this coming.  We’ve known for a few years now, but initially China’s carrier building was really disregarded.  Of course, now China’s Navy is bigger than that of the U.S. Navy, and that’s before you throw in their so-called Coast Guard.  The good news is the Ford design is fantastic….it’s electromagnetic catapults allow them to handle drones on the deck – which is critical, they couldn’t do that with the old steam catapults – it’s also got a lot more electrical power on board.  These new carriers will be able to use the laser weapons that the Navy has been developing on some of its surface ships.  They’ll also have a lot more self-defense, and of course they’ve got their great maneuverability with all the electronic magic that goes into making that carrier able to hide and fight and project power in the Pacific.

John Batchelor: There are headlines now about shooting down a drone somewhere outside of Iran, I believe it was the Lincoln.

Rebecca Grant:  Drones have been shot down both by aircraft, F/A-18s or F-35s from the deck; and they can do it from their self-defense weapons if necessary.  Don’t forget the main shooters for air defense and missile defense and countering drones are really the strike group assets with the carrier: that will be the destroyers, with their SM-3 and other missiles.  They are masters at shooting down drones.

Full Feb. 4 interview link is here.