The Aircraft Carrier Industrial Base (ACIBC) comprises more than 2,000 companies that stretch across 46 states. In addition, countless other businesses contribute to this first tier supplier base by providing sub-components and raw materials. These companies provide the United States with the ability to design, build and maintain our aircraft carrier force.
The aircraft carrier industry includes both large and small firms, some of which are completely dependent on aircraft carrier procurement and modernization for survival. In an era when stable manufacturing jobs are decreasing, the Aircraft Carrier Industrial Base provides steady employment opportunities throughout the country. The aircraft carrier industry provides thousands of professional, technical, and manufacturing jobs in the fields of: electrical and electronics, machinery, air conditioning and ventilation, computer hardware and software, coatings, and composite/advanced materials.
History
For more than 50 years, aircraft carriers have played a significant role in protecting American sovereignty and combating threats to global stability. In fact, the modern U.S. Navy was designed around the aircraft carrier. During World War II, aircraft carriers helped allied forces defeat the Japanese, and with the outbreak of the Korean War, due to their flexibility and adaptability, carriers initially provided the primary source of allied airpower. Throughout the Cold War era, aircraft carriers served as a constant reminder of American military power and as a deterrent to aggression. During the Vietnam War, aircraft carriers again were a major source of air power. Aircraft carriers were also engaged in combat and operations in Grenada and Lebanon in 1983, Libya in 1986, Operation Desert Storm in 1991, Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001 and most recently, Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Aircraft Carrier Industrial Base Today
Although the Aircraft Carrier Industrial Base faces challenges today, carriers continue to be central to U.S. national security. Carriers offer the United States flexibility, adaptability and mobility to defend our borders, respond quickly to regional crises, and deter regional aggression. Specifically, as the United States fights the War on Terrorism, aircraft carriers are a critical component to protecting American interests and maintaining global security.
Recently, carriers were utilized in Afghanistan and Iraq when neighboring countries refused to allow the United States to use their airfields. Aircraft carriers represent 4 ½ acres of sovereign American territory. Even with limited or no access to land bases, the United States was able to effectively carry out military operations using aircraft carriers. In Iraq, aircraft from participating carriers flew an average of 234 sorties a day and an average of 152 Tacair missions daily. In all, nearly 8,000 combat and support missions were flown from five participating aircraft carriers.
Carrier Force
The Department of Defense maintains a 12-carrier force to provide a fairly consistent presence in three major theaters: Western Pacific, Mediterranean Sea, and the North American Sea/Indian Ocean. The current force is composed of two conventionally powered carriers, and 10 nuclear-powered carriers. Some of the carriers are forward deployed, some are on exercises and others are undergoing maintenance and modernization.
Five carriers are stationed in Norfolk, Virginia (the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, the George Washington, the Harry S. Truman, and the USS Enterprise), three are stationed in San Diego, California (USS Nimitz, USS John C, Stennis, and the USS Ronald Reagan), one is stationed in Everett, Washington (the USS Abraham Lincoln), one is stationed in Bremerton, Washington (the USS Carl Vinson), one stationed in Mayport, Florida (the USS John F. Kennedy), and one is stationed in Yokosuka, Japan (the USS Kitty Hawk).
The last ship of the Nimitz Class, the George H.W. Bush, is presently under construction at Northrop Grumman Newport News with a delivery date to the fleet of March 2008. This carrier will replace the USS Kitty Hawk. Additionally, the CVN-21, Carrier for the 21st Century, is presently being designed by Northrop Grumman Newport News with a construction contract award for January 2007 and a delivery date of October 2014. The CVN-21 will replace the USS Enterprise.
Aircraft Carrier Construction Industrial Base
Eleven of the 12 carriers in the active fleet today were constructed at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, which is now a vital segment of the Northrop Grumman Corporation. The twelfth carrier, the USS Kitty Hawk, was constructed at the now defunct New York Shipbuilding Corporation. The USS Enterprise was commissioned in November 1961 and when it is decommissioned in 2014, it will have been in service for 53 years. The USS Ronald Reagan is the newest carrier to enter the fleet, commissioned in July 2003.
With each new carrier that is built, significant changes in technology are being implemented both on the ship and in the tools and methodology used to construct the carrier. Technologies under development for CVN-21 include a Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, Advanced Aircraft Arresting Gear, Advanced “Rope-less” Weapons Elevators, Plasma-Arc Waste Incineration Systems, Advanced Jet Blast Deflectors, Automated Weapons/Stores Handling Equipment, Electric Actuators, Integrated Warfare Systems, Composite Masts and Structure, among many more.
Today, Northrop Grumman Newport News continues to be the only shipbuilding company in the United States that can build and perform a refueling complex overhaul (RCOH) of aircraft carriers due to their tremendous size and the complexity involved in preparing these ships for their second quarter century of service.