How fast does the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford travel?

The U.S. Navy describes the speed of the USS Gerald R. Ford with a deliberately vague formula: "30+ knots," meaning more than 30 knots, or about 56 km/h. The actual speed of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is classified, because it reveals how long it takes to cross an ocean and by what margin it can outrun a submarine. Unofficial estimates place the Ford at around 32-35 knots with a clean hull and calm seas, similar to the Nimitz class it replaces.

A 100,000-ton ship doesn't sail fast for its own sake. It needs speed to generate relative wind over the deck during takeoffs and landings: the faster it moves into the wind, the less airspeed F/A-18 Super Hornets and F-35Cs need of their own to fly. The new EMALS electromagnetic catapults and the AAG arresting system reduce that dependence, but don't eliminate it.

Speed also matters for strategic repositioning. With two Bechtel A1B reactors, the Ford has no fuel-limited range; it can maintain high speed for days, and what actually slows it down are the escort ships and oilers that supply the carrier strike group.

The Ford entered service in 2017 and completed its first extended deployment in 2023. Its reactors generate nearly three times the electrical power of a Nimitz's, a margin intended for future lasers and sensors rather than for gaining knots. Its 337 m length and roughly 100,000-ton displacement make it the largest warship in the world, and despite that, it can stop or turn with an agility that's surprising from the flight deck.