OK two wire! Ronald Reagan ramps up new technology - Cvn 76 - design of U.S. Navy's new nuclear-powered aircraft carrier

Naval Aviation News,  July-August, 2002  by Dan Ball

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In 1995 Newport News Shipbuilding engineers began designing the ninth Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, Ronald Reagan (CVN 76). Modern technology and experience gained from building the previous Nimitz-class carriers enabled the engineers to produce what they call a three-dimensional electronic product model environment of the ship--a computer-generated model used for exploration, configuration and experimentation before the first steel beam of the actual ship was laid. Advanced methods like this brought forth major carrier innovations for CVN 76, including a new island house, bow design and flight deck layout.

"This is the first carrier since Nimitz that has had any major redesign work," said Robert Gunter, Jr., Northrop Grumman/Newport News Senior Vice President, Aircraft Carrier Program. "The carriers after Nimitz would be termed with a little 'm' for modified, but we looked at CVN 76 as a big 'M' because 60 percent of the drawings had to be changed to incorporate all of the improvements we made to the ship."

Ronald Reagan's keel was laid in 1998, then hull construction began, and two years later a newly designed bulbous bow (above) was attached. The lower portion of the new bow protrudes forward from the ship in a bubble shape. Odd looking or not, the new design has some practical applications. It adds buoyancy to the bow, reducing drag for better handling at sea and providing lift to the flight deck. At 722 tons it far outweighs previous bow designs, but it is so effective that the Navy is considering retrofitting all Nimitz-class carriers with it.

The new island house is the same height as older versions and is placed in the same location, but is 20 feet longer and has one less deck. This increases the dimensions of the interior spaces to allow larger windows, ease of movement and space for future technology. Notable is the redesigned primary flight control station. The new design gives the "air boss" larger windows and a 270-degree view of the flight deck. On the navigation bridge, digital instruments replace analog versions in a "glass bridge" similar to the "glass cockpit" in newer aircraft. Newly designed consoles let the bridge crew read touch screens instead of dials and gauges. Visible from the outside is an upper stage weapons elevator with port and starboard access. The new elevator is built into the rear of the island, and will reduce hangar bay backlog and speed up the weapons loading process. Also, the mainmast, aft mast and topside antennae are arranged differently than on other carrier islands.

Construction of the island took place completely indoors, making it much easier for the builders to access spaces and equipment and avoid inclement weather. In November 2000 the 650-ton island was moved from the construction site and raised to the flight deck in one piece by Newport News Shipbuilding's superlift crane.

There are several changes on the flight deck of Ronald Reagan. A new design layout extending the port side angle of the landing area has moved the foul line clear of jet blast deflector two. The carrier can simultaneously launch an aircraft from catapult two and trap on the landing angle. Another visible change is a three-wire arresting gear design instead of the traditional four-wire system. The number two wire, located in the same spot as number three on other carriers, will be the "hit wire."

The new system uses polycore cables designed to withstand more traps than steel cables and extra-large pulleys to reduce maintenance and man-hours, and provides the capability to land potentially larger and heavier aircraft. The former setup of four arresting gear engines and one barricade engine is now four arresting gear engines with two of them interchangeable as barricade engines. The removal of one engine greatly frees up the space to flight line maintenance crews. The four jet blast deflectors are also new, incorporating a one-panel design with a side-panel cooling loop to keep exhaust gasses from harming flight deck personnel.

Adjacent to the hangar bay, the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department (AIMD) will work with 18 Consolidated Automated Support System (CASS) benches. The system's Navy standard automatic test equipment enables the fleet to test electronics at AIMDs ashore and afloat. The equipment station, or bench, provides interchangeable configurations that are engineered to keep pace with improved technology and new requirements. Previous carriers were outfitted with 8 benches.

Ronald Reagan is using the fiberoptic Integrated Communications and Advanced Network control system. The system uses new automated consoles that replace the old, red "coke machines" for interior communications. Three small touch screens replace large alarm panels at the central control station. Touch screen consoles will also provide instant information on the fuel system status and quality indicators in the 3.5 million-gallon jet fuel system.

These innovations came about through advances in technology and requests from the fleet. The challenge was not only to make the newest carrier the most advanced in the world, but also the safest and most effective. Ronald Reagan is well on the way to achieving those goals.