By Jeff Marchesseault

GUAM - The Navy's proposal to berth a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier on Guam for up to 63 days per year dovetails with the introduction of an entirely new class of Navy vessel called the supercarrier.

The target date for the completion of the $15 billion U.S. military buildup on Guam is 2014. That should prove plenty of time to build and test the island's new deep-draft port for carrier calls on Guam in time for any early visit by the Navy's first supercarrier, due to launch in 2015.

According to the Executive Summary of a ten-volume Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) released by the Joint Guam Program Office this weekend, Volume 4 analyzes the effects of the Navy's proposed deep-draft port with shoreside improvements creating a new capability in Apra Harbor, Guam, to support a transient nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

The DEIS reports that Polaris Point is the preferred alternative for the new deep-draft port and that the former Navy Ship Repair Facility is the only other alternative, given Apra Harbor's ideal entry point.

Developed in the 1960's, Nimitz class aircraft carriers have been making port calls at Apra for many years, but with the introduction of the new supercarrier class and the redevelopment of Apra, the commercial port, and the development of a modern carrier port, the face of sailing on the high seas and maritime docking on Guam is about to undergo massive change.

A Change Of Guard: Nimitz Gives Way To Ford

According to Wikipedia, active-duty Nimitz class U.S. aircraft carriers have proven themselves worthy opponents in war, but upgrades to power generation systems have increased ship weight and eroded the center of gravity margin necessary for ship stability.

In response to this need and a desire for better combat effectiveness, the Navy has developed the CVN-78 supercarrier class. The lead ship of this class is the USS Gerald R. Ford. According to GovExec.com, the Navy recently held a ceremonial keel laying at Northrop Grumman's shipyard in Newport News, Virginia to kick-off the ship's construction. Parts for the vessel have been in production since 2005.

According to Wikipedia, upgrades of the CVN-78 supercarrier class include:

- Larger flight deck

- Improvements in weapons and material handling

- New propulsion plant design that requires fewer personnel to operate and maintain - The A1B reactor is a nuclear reactor being designed for use by the United States Navy to provide electricity generation and propulsion for the Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers.

- New smaller island, pushed aft

- New Electromagnetic Aircraft Launching System (EMALS)

- Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG)

- New Dual Band Radar (DBR) combining S-band and X-band radar in a single system

- Integrated warfare system that adapts ship infrastructure to future mission roles

- 25% increase in sortie generation

- Threefold increase in electrical generating capacity

- Quality of life improvements

Read the Wikipedia description of the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78)

Read the GovExec.com story, "Navy: Newest carrier will be ready in 2015", November 20, 2009.

Read the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the military buildup in Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

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