Manufacturing line/War ships/Aircraft carrier
Autonomous · War ships

Aircraft carrier

An autonomous air wing on an autonomous deck, for the United States Navy.

Phase 7 · 2033+Concept design
Displacement
≈ 100,000 t
Reactors
2 × 700 MWt
Fuel burn
≈ 61 g / hr at full power
Crew aboard
0
I · Blueprint
Side elevation, live systems
DWL333 m length overall12 mKeel to masthead 250 ft (76 m), 25 decks300 ft catapult power strokeAA030711121920050913151618060810141701020421angled-deck waist catapults (port, dashed)Magazine, tank and machinery positions are to design scale.SECTION A–A · AT REACTOR PLANT 1, LOOKING FORWARDPLAN · FLIGHT DECK · DASHED: HULL AT WATERLINEDWLisland(beyond)78 m flight deck (256 ft)40.8 m beam, waterline (134 ft)12 m draft071120050908armoured boxreactor vesselsteam generatorside protectiontanks & voidsReactor internals are shown in outline.333 m300 ft stroke78 m1309031207bow catapults × 2waist catapults × 2angled-deck landing axis
01Propellers × 4, 5-bladedPropulsion
02Shafts × 4Propulsion
03Advanced arresting gearStructure
04Propulsion motors × 4Propulsion
05Hangar, 2 bays — air wingMission systems
06Turbine-generatorsPower
07Flight deck & sponsonsStructure
08Reactor plant 1Power
09Aircraft elevators × 3Mission systems
10Reactor plant 2Power
11Hull — nuclear-hardened, compartmentedStructure
12Island & integrated sensor towerStructure
13Electromagnetic catapults × 4Mission systems
14Catapult energy storage, 4 × 121 MJPower
15Weapons elevators × 11Mission systems
16Magazines, fore and aftMission systems
17Switchboards & common busPower
18Autonomy coreMission systems
19Bulbous bowStructure
20Double bottom & tanksStructure
21Rudders & steering gearPropulsion
II · Power & drivetrain

Two reactors, one all-electric ship.

Both reactor plants feed a common electrical bus. Propulsion, catapults, sensors and the air wing's charging all draw from the same power, allocated by the ship's autonomy core.

Twin reactor plants on one bus — rotating view
Two identical pressurized-water plants, each a reactor vessel, steam generator and coolant pump feeding a turbo-generator over its condenser, sit either side of the ship’s main bus (dashed rails). Four 65 MW propulsion motors and the catapult and radar energy stores all draw from the same bus.
01Reactor vessels — 2 × 700 MWt pressurized-water, 50-year cores
02Steam generators — one per plant, with main coolant pump
03Turbo-generators — 2 × 245 MWe, 3 stages, 3,600 rpm
04Condensers — sea-water cooled, under each turbine
05Main bus — 13.8 kV, both plants in parallel, ≈ 490 MWe
06Propulsion motors — 4 × 65 MW, one per shaft
07Catapult energy stores — 4 × 121 MJ flywheel banks
08Sensor and mission loads — radars, lasers, aircraft charging
Propeller — 5 blades
Power plant2 reactors, 700 MWt each
Shaft output≈ 260 MW, 4 shafts, from a 490 MWe bus
FuelHighly enriched uranium, ≈ 93% U-235
Consumption≈ 61 g fissile / hr at full power
Metal content≈ 90% of lightship
Naked drivetrain — energy to motion
III · How it is put together

Built in blocks, joined, then brought to life.

Blocks are fabricated in parallel, joined in sequence, and the power module and autonomy core go in last. The loop below replays the build order.

POWER MODULE
I
Keel & hardened hull blocks
II
Blocks joined, systems routed
III
Power plant installed
IV
Sensor tower & mission systems fitted
V
Unmanned sea trials
IV · Specification

Design specification.

Design values for the autonomous aircraft carrier. Every figure matches the drawings, the power unit and the compute panel on this page.

Length overall
333 m
Flight deck
≈ 1.8 hectares
Displacement
≈ 100,000 t
Air wing
75+ autonomous aircraft
Launch
4 electromagnetic catapults
Power plant
2 reactors, 700 MWt each
Consumption
≈ 61 g fissile / hr at full power
Speed
30+ kn
Core life
50 years
Electric output
≈ 490 MWe, 35% cycle
Shaft output
≈ 260 MW · 4 × 65 MW motors
Bus headroom
≈ 215 MW at full speed
Propulsion · IC design
4 shafts, all-electric
Metal content
≈ 90% of lightship
Crew aboard
0 — remote command
Catapult stores
4 × 121 MJ
Onboard compute
Twelve AI modules in two racks; the flight deck has its own eyes
Modules12 heavy AI modules in 2 mirrored racks (ship navigation & perception 4; flight-deck operations 4; aircraft handling & charging 2; engineering 2) + 4 certified safety controllers; combat systems are separate
CPU192 cores (12 × 16) + 4 lockstep real-time cores per module
AI throughput60,000 TOPS (12 × 5,000, INT8 / FP4 sparse)
Memory12 × 128 GB LPDDR6, 600 GB/s per module
Power draw1.25 kW compute; ≈ 2.6 kW with 80 cameras, 8 lidars and 3 navigation radars — 0.0005% of the 490 MWe plant
Process node2 nm-class SoCs; safety controllers on a mature 16 nm node, 15-year supply; compute is a line-replaceable unit, swapped at mid-life
RedundancyTwo racks in separate hardened compartments. Every sensor is wired to both racks. Each module is primary for its zone and hot standby for its twin in the other rack; either rack alone runs the ship and a reduced flight-deck tempo. A software fault can never drive the carrier outside its certified safe envelope.
Safety channel4 × SIL 3 controllers, two per reactor plant, with their own sensors: reactor-protection channels (neutron flux, coolant pressure and temperature), turbine overspeed trips, shaft encoders, rudder-angle sensors, catapult and arresting-gear interlocks, fire and flood detectors, deck-edge safety lidars and a safety-rated collision radar
Sensors80 cameras (56 visible 4K, 24 thermal) over deck and hull on automotive Ethernet through camera aggregation switches; 8 lidars for deck-edge and aircraft spotting, 3 navigation radars, AIS, 6,000 plant sensors; combat sensors are separate
DrivesMotor drives close their own current loop at 1 kHz; the modules send speed and rudder set-points at 10 Hz
LinkProtected satellite and line-of-sight links to the fleet; the ship’s planning model runs aboard and the air wing’s plans are checked against it
The carrier is a moving airport: the flight-deck modules track every aircraft, tractor and store on 1.8 hectares of deck and plan launches and recoveries to the second. The ship’s own navigation runs as on every IC vessel, in two racks that mirror each other. Weapons and combat sensors are on their own systems, under remote command ashore.
Today vs IC
Today’s carrier beside the IC design
Today · newest carrier classIC design
Reactors2 × pressurized-water reactors, ≈ 700 MWt each (public estimate)2 reactors, 700 MWt each
DriveSteam turbines → reduction gears → 4 shaftsAll-electric: both plants feed one bus, motors turn 4 shafts
Power≈ 350,000 shp, ≈ 260 MW (public estimate)≈ 260 MW, 4 shafts
ElectricShip-service turbine generators, ≈ 125 MWe per reactor, feed the grid and the electromagnetic catapultsOne 490 MWe bus for propulsion, catapults, sensors and aircraft charging
Propellers4 bronze, ≈ 30 t each4 × 5 blades
People aboard≈ 4,500 across ship, air wing and staff0; the air wing is autonomous
The IC column is the design shown on this page. Sources for the Today column are listed in BUILD_NOTES.md.
Runs on The Brain
The Brain plans the air wing’s sorties and the ship’s track together, mirrors both in the fleet’s digital twin, and re-plans the moment the weather or the mission changes.
See how it works →
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