Why are there so few nuclear powered surface ships in aircraft carrier battle groups?

The life-cycle cost of nuclear-powered surface ships is not good compared with conventionally powered surface ships, and it is much more expensive; Second, the volume of the marine nuclear reactor with sufficient power output is too large, and the output power of the submarine nuclear reactor is insufficient. Therefore, these nine ships are all large ships, although eight of them are destroyers, but after all, they are much larger than destroyers, not to mention that they are all classified as cruisers later; Third, nuclear-powered ships must be equipped with professional nuclear reactor maintenance personnel. I think nuclear-powered surface ships have two advantages over conventional power:

One is high speed and the other is extra-long cruise. But in fact, the first point should still be classified into the second point, because high speed itself can also be achieved by conventional power. In 1964, the CVN-65, CGN-9 and DLGN-25 squadrons maintained a speed of more than 30 knots when they sailed around the world, demonstrating the advantages of ultra-long cruising of nuclear-powered ships, especially high-speed and long-term cruising.

Submarines at this speed can't catch up. But there's more to a long cruise than just not having to refuel. Ammunition, food, and fresh water had to be replenished, and personnel had to rest.

Considering the complex sea areas and complex sea conditions that may be encountered on the way, it is not so easy to maintain a high-speed and long-term cruise all the time. The advantages were not as obvious as expected, and coupled with the high cost, the US Navy finally stopped building 9 ships. The main advantages of nuclear power are that the range is unlimited, it can cruise at high speeds at all times, and there is plenty of power.

But there is no shortage of fuel, and food and ammunition are always supplied by the outside world, so why not supply them with fuel by the way? So the biggest advantage is diluted, and with the high maintenance costs, it is reasonable to be eliminated. But for aircraft carriers and submarines it's a different story.

The cost of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is similar to that of a conventionally powered aircraft carrier, and it can also save more marine fuel and bring more aviation fuel; And the long cruising of the submarine is simply life and must be guaranteed. As a result, the U.S. Navy's aircraft carriers and submarines are now nuclear-powered. The life-cycle cost of a nuclear-powered ship is simply too expensive.

An aircraft carrier consumes a lot of materials during deployment, and needs its own fuel, aviation fuel for carrier-based aircraft, ** ammunition, and living materials for thousands of people. The use of nuclear power can significantly reduce the pressure on the fuel supply. Frequent resupply has an impact on warfare.

You don't need your own fuel, and the space saved can be used to put more jet fuel. In this way, the sustained combat capability is much stronger than that of conventional aircraft carriers. This is important for a globally deployed navy like the United States.

It seems that the Ford class does not need to replace nuclear fuel during its lifetime, so the attendance rate is higher. The Nimitz overhaul period was quite long. In addition, the difference between the aircraft carrier and the general surface ship is that it has a life cycle of 50 years, how much money can be saved by fuel, and the cost-effectiveness of using nuclear power is much better than that of other ships with a short service life.

However, the United States also wants to get an all-nuclear fleet, but unfortunately it has no money, and in the end it still returns to conventional power, reduces costs, and maintains the size of the fleet. However, the consumption of full-fuel powered ships is also amazing, and that can only be handed over to the supply ship. Now the aircraft carrier strike group CSG is a relatively fixed establishment, the number of ships is not too much, there are no ships for you to replace, some of them need to be overhauled and so on.

Oil and supplies rely on supply ships, such as Burke-class missiles, which cannot be resupplied at sea, and can only return to the base. <>

In general, there are 6 classes of ships.

1. Aircraft carriers: The US Navy generally has 1-3 aircraft carriers in an aircraft carrier battle group, and aircraft carriers can also provide long-term support for other forces.

2. Cruisers, generally with 1-2 missile cruisers, Ticonderoga-class cruisers equipped with the Aegis system, as the escort center of the aircraft carrier battle group, providing air defense, anti-ship and anti-submarine and other combat capabilities, but also the flagship of the entire aircraft carrier battle group.

3. Destroyers, there are generally 2-3 missile destroyers in an aircraft carrier battle group, and the destroyers assist the cruisers in the fleet to expand the range of the defense circle, and are used for air defense, anti-submarine and anti-ship operations at the same time.

4. Frigates, there is generally one frigate in an aircraft carrier battle group, which is used for air defense, anti-submarine and anti-ship operations.

5. Submarines, there are generally 1-2 attack submarines in an aircraft carrier battle group, which are used to support the fleet's vigilance and operations against surface or underwater targets. It can also use its submarine-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles against land targets.

6. Supply ships, there are generally 1-3 supply ships in an aircraft carrier battle group, which are used to provide fuel, aviation fuel, ammunition, food, spare parts and other supplies to the aircraft carrier battle formation and ships for normal duty, and are specially used to help teammates in battle.

Take the US aircraft carriers, for example, one aircraft carrier, 2-3 air defense ships (Ticonderoga cruiser, Burke-class destroyer), a nuclear submarine, a fast combat support ship.

1. Aircraft carriers: 1-3 ships.

One to three aircraft carriers. Aircraft carriers allow aircraft to use airports, waterways, and airspace in other countries without worrying about the problem. Aircraft carriers can also provide long-term support for other forces.

But the aircraft carrier is not the flagship of the fleet, and in the US Navy aircraft carrier battle group, the flagship is the Ticonderoga-class cruiser.

2. Cruisers: 1-2 ships.

One or two missile cruisers. It is currently held on Ticonderoga-class cruisers equipped with the Aegis system. As the escort center of the aircraft carrier battle group, the cruiser provides a variety of combat capabilities such as air defense, anti-ship and anti-submarine, and is also the flagship of the entire aircraft carrier battle group.

There are also Tomahawk cruise missiles on board, which have the ability to strike ground targets at long ranges.

3. Destroyers: 2-3 ships.

Two or three missile destroyers. It is an Ali Burke-class guided missile destroyer in active service, which also uses the Aegis system. These destroyers assist the cruisers in the fleet to extend the range of the defense ring and are used for anti-aircraft, anti-submarine and anti-ship operations.

4. Frigates: 1.

A frigate. It is a Perry-class missile frigate in active service. The frigates of this class have now been fully decommissioned.

5. Submarines: 1-2 units.

One or two attack submarines. In active service are Los Angeles-class submarines. It is used to support the fleet's vigilance and combat against surface or underwater targets. It can also use its submarine-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles against land targets.

6. Supply ships: 1-3 ships.

One to three supply ships.

The above is the composition of the ships of the US aircraft carrier battle group.

Today, the attack and defense capabilities of a U.S. aircraft carrier battle group are complex. Roughly speaking, aircraft carrier-delivered fighters, attack aircraft, AWACS, anti-submarine aircraft or *** are used to attack, defend or search for the enemy hundreds of kilometers away from the aircraft carrier. Other combat ships have the primary task of protecting the operational safety of aircraft carriers.

The US "Nimitz"-class aircraft carrier formation generally consists of one aircraft carrier, two or three air defense cruisers or destroyers, two or three anti-submarine destroyers, one or two attack nuclear submarines, and one or two logistics support ships.

An aircraft carrier strike group of the navies of major countries in the world is usually composed of several ships of various types: anti-submarine, short-range anti-ship, food and fresh water, and spare parts supply.

At present, the United States does not have simple anti-submarine destroyers and short-range anti-ships, but focuses on air defense, such as the Ali Burke-class destroyers, the accuracy of cruise missiles has been greatly improved, and the following ships must be equipped:

1-2 attack nuclear submarines, Spruls-class destroyers or Perry-class have been decommissioned, and Ticonderoga will also be decommissioned in the future, and the development is rapid, and the US aircraft carrier battle group is trapped in listing ship-fired cruise missiles as the same strike means and short-range anti-ship functions as carrier-based aircraft, guarding the core of aircraft carriers, and focusing on air defense.

1-2 destroyers of the air defense type, deployed on the perimeter.

In recent years, cruise missiles have sprung up, and the Ali Burke-class and the new DDG1000 destroyers will be the main members of the aircraft carrier battle group, responsible for the air defense and anti-submarine of the aircraft carrier, and responsible for the anti-submarine of the periphery, and the preparation time for launch will also be greatly shortened, and there will be no pilot injury problem, mainly to deal with the enemy's underwater threat.