Electromagnetic Catapults Are Emblematic Of U.S. Navy's All-Electric Era

In November, the U.S. Navy christened the first Ford-class aircraft carrier at Newport News Shipbuilding, marking the end of the beginning of for new era of naval warfare.

The USS Gerald Ford, which weighs more than 100,000 tons and spans a length of more than 1,000 feet, is the first of the U.S. Navy’s new generation of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, which are also called supercarriers. With a price tag of $13.7 billion, the Ford-class carrier is the most expensive military vessel built in the history of the world.

Equipped with two cutting-edge nuclear reactors, the carrier will be capable of producing 250% more electric power than previous carriers.

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