USS Gerald R Ford vs HMS Queen Elizabeth - Which aircraft carrier is better?

USS Gerald R Ford vs HMS Queen Elizabeth - Which aircraft carrier is better?

An aircraft carrier is the most critical sea-based asset a blue-water navy can boast off. These capital ships have the capacity to project air power over greater distances. While expensive to buy and operate, it may be ultimately less expensive and far more flexible than deploying and sustaining land-based air assets to an available friendly host nation. The cost is one of the main reasons why very few counties have them. Today, we are going to compare the United States’ Gerald R Ford with the British HMS Queen Elizabeth and will try to determine which aircraft carrier is better.

1. Features
Named after the 38th President of the United States, the Gerald R Ford class super carrier is set to spearhead the United States Navy. The new carrier features a host of cutting edge technologies. The construction of Ford class carrier began in early 2007 and the carrier was commissioned in 2017. The Gerald R Ford class is US Navy’s most expensive aircraft carrier of all time. As of today, the inflation adjusted cost of the ship is around $15billion. This super carrier is 1,106ft long and 134ft wide at the waterline, but has a 256ft wide flight deck. When at its heaviest, it displaces almost 100,000 tons of water. The carrier’s internal layout is designed to be flexible enough that it can be quickly modified for a particular mission. On the other hand, HMS Queen Elizabeth is the fleet flagship of the Royal Navy. The ship is named in honor of Queen Elizabeth I. The British carrier is deployed as the central part of a UK Carrier Strike group, comprising escorts and support ships, with the aim to project power at greater distances. The aircraft carrier was commissioned in 2017. As of today, the inflation adjusted cost of HMS Queen Elizabeth is around $4.7billion. The British carrier is 919ft long, 128ft wide at the waterline, but overall width is 240ft. The displacement of the ship is around 65,000 tons.

2. Performance
The Ford Class carrier is powered by 2 A1B nuclear reactors enabling the carrier to gain speed in excess of 30 knots or 35mph…
On the contrary, UK Ministry of defense decided not to use nuclear propulsion because of its high cost and chose Rolls-Royce’s integrated ...

3. Capacity
The ford class carrier can accommodate 2,600 sailors and 2,000 naval aviators. Ford-class carriers include quality of life enhancements including improved berthing compartments, better gyms, and more ergonomic work spaces… Similarly, the British carrier has been extensively automated in order to limit the crew size to 1,600 sailors, troops and other staff. The ship is capable of carrying over 40 aircraft, with a load of 36 F-35s and 4 helicopters.

4. Radar & Avionics
The Ford class carrier has improved sensors including an integrated active electronically scanned array search and tracking radar system. The dual…
On the other hand, The Queen Elizabeth Class is equipped with cutting edge sonar, radar, electro-optical systems and electronic warfare technology...

5. Weapons
Ford Class carrier is armed with 2 sea-sparrow missile launchers and 2 rolling-airframe missile launchers. The sea-sparrow is a medium-range surface-to-air missile. Designed to engage anti-ship supersonic missiles and low-flying aircraft, it has a top speed of Mach 4 and 31mi range. While rolling-airframe missile is a small, lightweight, infrared homing surface-to-air missile…On the contrary, the British aircraft carrier is equipped with 3 Phalanx Close-In Weapons System for anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense. For defense against fast attack crafts, the ship is armed with 4 30mm automated small …

So, what do you think which aircraft carrier is better? The US Gerald R Ford
or British HMS Queen Elizabeth. Let us know in the comment section. Also be sure to like, share and subscribe.

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Credits
1) “Crossing the Chasm" Kevin MacLeod Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
2) US DOD
3) US Navy
4) Royal Navy
5) Rolls-Royce
6) Raytheon Company
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# USSFord #HMSQueenElizabeth #AircraftCarrier

[Viper-MotoVlogger]

Very well presented. These are two very different aircraft carriers.

[DogSerious]

Two very different ships, but you can't deny it, that they're both works of art.

[SteveMikre]

The Ford and Queen Elizabeth in reality play for the same team (NATO), so it's a Win-Win scenario...🇺🇲⚓️🇬🇧

[derekcoe]

The fact that these two navies work together is the most important thing.. anyone outside of NATO would definitely think twice before starting anything 💀

[disgustedvet]

Be happy they are both on the same side .

[anignorantbrit]

If you are solely comparing capability then the Ford wins hand down. However, you have to look at the bigger picture. The Ford is astronomically more expensive than the QE and not just in construction. When the ship eventually gets retired it's decommission costs will far out way that of the QE. In fact the UK will likely sell the carrier on so will recoup some of the overall cost which wont be possible with the US carriers. Also, nuclear has it's drawbacks, some ports refuse nuclear powered vessels so the QE can dock where the US carrier cannot. The US carrier also has enormous refit times of literally years while the QE does not.

While range is clearly a key factor for the US carrier she still needs food, muntions, new crew, supplies so basically you could just refuel at the same time so it isn't as huge an advantage as people think. Especially if your navy has a large solid support fleet.

In reality the QE was never designed to compete with the US Ford carrier. If it was than the UK would have probably gone for just one carrier and spent the money making it nuclear and use the UK variant of EMALs and be closer to that of the Ford. Or non-nuclear and matched or even exceeded the combat capability of the Ford. The design was to give the UK a blue water navy capability and an independent strike force unmatched outside the US. It has done that and considering you could get 3 QE for the cost of 1 Ford (Meaning at surge capacity the three carriers could have over 200 aircraft) than I think the comparison is a lot closer than people think.

If there was war than it would be a different story. This is just the UK stepping up to it's NATO commitments for it's size and economy something which very few other nations are doing.

[Giantdwarf]

Healthy competition among allies. They are different ships, both would be useful if needed.

[stephenharding]

Ford is obviously the better ship but a based on cost would you rather have 1 Ford class or 3 QE's?

[Sgt_Bill_T_Co]

There is no competition. They are both superb ships.

[NotThatBob]

Both carriers are amazing. Often the best ship boils down to the best crew during engagement. Good video, I love these ships.

[homeinthewhiteoaks]

The Ford Class is the best (and most expensive) Carrier made by man to date, but the Brits may have gotten more for their money. As an American we are so glad to be in NATO and have partner ships like the Queen Elizabeth. It is the combined assets of NATO that make it the greatest fighting force on Earth. You can't pick the most important part of a system, as it falls apart without all components working together. It would be like picking the best part of your car, the break pedal or the steering wheel! You need both to have a safe car. The strength of the Naval Carrier group is just that, the Group, and the capabilities each ship brings to the fight.

[tesstickle]

And let's not forget only one has a bar ;)

[JebediahKermin-kc]

Both carriers are incredibly powerful, and I would be very scared going up against one, but I think that the Supperior Range and speed makes the Ford my pick for best aircraft carrier.

[alexanderd]

Lets be honest one is a super premium car, the best of everything, the other is a budget car.
As a Brit I would be tripping if I suggested our carrier even gets near the us carriers, but once you include decommissioning costs the question becomes
Does 1 us carrier beat 3 british carriers?

[georgejohnson]

COMPARING THE QUEEN ELIZABETH TO FORD, IS LIKE COMPARING JAMES BOND TO SUPERMAN🦸‍♂️🕴

[lilbubz]

People often forget the HMS Queen Elizabeth is not just a one and done carrier. It has been specifically designed to be an experimental weapons and equipment platform.

The ships hull has been designed to accommodate electromagnetic catapults (like the Ford), it has the capacity to be fitted with an angled landing deck if necessary, and its heavy use of automation and electronic power generation allows it to be fitted with experimental Dragon fire anti drone laser system

The UK carrier is pretty barren at the moment, but it has specifically been designed to last for decades with experimental equipment and weapon upgrades.

[CoastalWizard]

As a Brit, One is a Carrier, the other is a Super-Carrier, the only downside of the Gerald R Ford is its a bigger

[ZombieHellHordes]

They're still allowed to get pissed in the mess aboard Big Lizzie.

[kingcurry]

The Gerald Ford is a better ship in absolute terms, but in term of cost effectiveness, the QE is better, since you can get 2 of them and 4 type 45s to protect them for the price of the Gerald Ford.
The other thing not mentioned is the aircraft and munitions handling on the British carriers (HMWHS), which enables planes to sortie with a much shorter turn around.

[fernandosibecas]

The US has 11 supercarriers right now, 10 Nimitz Class and 1 Ford Class, the cost comparison doesn’t make much sense since they obviously chose to build the best carrier regardless of budget. It´s the only country that can have a presence in every ocean at the same time.