When building an aircraft carrier, you are constructing a floating,
moving airport that generates its own power and provides everything necessary to sustain
habitability for 5000 souls for weeks at a time at sea, in all kinds of weather.
An aircraft carrier is a (roughly) 350 yards long, 80 yards tall, 80 yards wide building
made entirely of hardened metal. It really does not compare with building an airport because,
while both have planes taking off and landing, the similarities end there. It does not compare
with building a skyscraper with similar square footage because each level is different in size,
design, and function from the one above and below it. Both an airport and a skyscraper take years
to build and bring to full functionality. Yet an aircraft carrier must do so much more than either.
In short, you are trying to build an airport, a nuclear power station and an extended-stay hotel
for more than 5000 people, plus the restaurants, shops and medical facilities to keep them fed,
happy and healthy for months at a time, then put all that on an island, with engines capable of
pushing it to 33 knots or more despite weighing 100 000 tons. Normally it could take five to seven
years unless it takes ten to twelve. Why the disparity? If you are designing a new class of
carrier, it will take much longer than if you are building follow-on ships to the first in class.
The length of time to build an aircraft carrier depends on some factors.
Here are some of these factors:  The first factor is New Design and Equipment
The required time to build it will be much longer for the new designs. The new design may require
new equipment, a new setup, and a new method of construction. It will also take much longer if
the new design of the aircraft carrier calls for the integration of new equipment. The new ship
generally requires customized equipment and parts. This will lengthen the time of its completion.
For examples: The Ford-class has a completely new catapult, that works on electromagnetic
principles instead of steam, and arresting gear that uses a water-based turbine arresting gear.
Both new systems had to be invented from scratch,
and they were troublesome. There were no real civilian cognates from which to develop
these systems. The only thing close to the catapult would be a linear induction motor,
but those are not really very close cousins.  While the second factor is Modifications
New technological developments during the shipbuilding period and government’s new demands
will take the shipbuilder more time to complete its construction.
And now let’s have a look at the 3 Phases of Building an Aircraft Carrier
An aircraft carrier, or any ship for that matter,
is built in three general phases or steps. - The first phase is the laying down of the Ship
This phase involves the placing of the first parts of the keel on the dry dock
or the slipway of the shipyard. In the past, keels can be seen outside of ships,
running their whole lengths. Nowadays, keels are not seen outside. They are
only visible inside the hulls of the ships. - The Second Phase Is the Launching of the Ship
In shipbuilding, launching is the process of transferring a ship to the water. It is a
ceremonial process that every ship undergoes after the completion of its construction.
- And the Third Phase Is the Commissioning of the Ship
This is when the ship is officially put into active service.
An aircraft carrier undergoes many processes before it is commissioned for service.
All of these processes impact the time it is ready to serve its purpose.
Before an aircraft carrier is commissioned, it will first undergo sea trials. This is
done to see whether the ship has deficiencies that need to be corrected. Commissioning of
an aircraft carrier may take as long as three years. The latest aircraft
carrier that was commissioned in the US Navy is the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78).
It underwent the whole process for 8 years because it had to incorporate newer technology.
The ship was laid down in November 2009.
October 2013 was when it was launched. It was finally commissioned in May 2017.
Here are the 5 biggest aircraft carriers in the world,
and the time it took their shipbuilders to construct each one of them:
#1. Gerald R. Ford Class
The Gerald R Ford Class of supercarriers boasts of a full load displacement of 100,000
tons. Its initial delivery to the US Navy, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78),
was made in May 2017. This class of ships is the largest aircraft carrier
in the world. Construction of the first ship in this class started on Aug. 11, 2005. But the
aircraft carrier was actually laid down on Nov. 13, 2009. It was eventually launched on Oct. 11,
2013. Therefore, from 2005 to 2013, it took the shipbuilder 8 years to finish its construction.
#2. Nimitz Class
The Nimitz Class of supercarriers is the second biggest in the world.
Its total displacement is 97,000 tons. The first ship of this class was put in service in May 1975.
This class of ships can operate for about 50 years before they are decommissioned.
The shipbuilder, Newport News Shipbuilding, in Virginia,
started building this ship in 2003. In 2009, the shipbuilder completed its construction.
Therefore, it took the shipbuilder around 6 years to complete the construction.
#3. Queen Elizabeth Class The total displacement of the
Queen Elizabeth Class is 65,000 tons. That makes this class of aircraft carriers the largest in
the service of the Royal Navy. The HMS Queen Elizabeth, the first vessel in this class,
went on sea trials in June 2017. It will enter the service of the Royal Navy in 2020.
The order for this class of ships was announced on July 25, 2007, by Des Browne, the Defence
Secretary of the British Government. Sea trials started in June 2017. So, it took the shipbuilder
around 10 years to complete its construction. #4. Admiral Kuznetsov
The Russian Navy has only one operational aircraft carrier,
the Admiral Kuznetsov. Like the INS Vikramaditya, It was built in Ukraine’s Black Sea Shipyard.
The total displacement of this ship is 58,599 tons. The order to build this ship was given
to the Black Seas Shipyard on Mar. 3, 1981. They started building the ship on April 1, 1983. The
aircraft carrier was finally launched on Dec. 6, 1985. From the time it started construction to the
time it launched, it took the shipbuilder 2 years to build the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier.
And at number 5 we have Liaoning The only official aircraft carrier of the
People’s Liberation Army Navy is the Liaoning. It was originally built as one of the Admiral
Kuznetsov Class carriers of the USSR. The original names of the ship are Varyag and Riga.
The order for this carrier was given to Mykolaiv South in 1983. Construction began on Dec. 6,
1985 and was finally launched on Dec. 4, 1988. Therefore, this aircraft carrier took 3 years
to build. The ship was later sold to a shell company in China, in 1998. Later, in 2002,
the ship was acquired by the Chinese Navy. In short, Some aircraft carriers took much longer
to build, around 10 or 12 years. As technology improves, the construction time will decrease.
Perhaps in the future, aircraft carriers will only take a year or less to be built.