Key Points and Summary: The USS Gerald R. Ford, America’s newest supercarrier, can reach impressive speeds of over 30 knots when ordered to hit “flank speed.”
-This exhilarating maneuver, rarely needed but thrilling to witness, demonstrates the immense power of the ship’s nuclear propulsion system.
-Former naval officers describe it as a spectacle, with massive propellers creating a boiling sea and a rooster tail shooting 20 feet high.
-While such speeds aren’t typically necessary during operations, they showcase the Ford-class’s capabilities and readiness to perform under pressure.
This power is a clear message to allies and adversaries about America’s naval superiority.
USS Gerald R. Ford: Pushing Flank Speed to the Limit
An aircraft carrier, if you have served aboard (and I haven’t) must be one incredible and unforgettable experience. The first aspect of the ship is its size. There are few like it on the high seas. Then there is the intricate choreography of flight deck operations with aircraft launching and landing continually day or night, and sometimes in bad weather. Then there are the sailors on board – over 5,000 officers and enlisted.
More About Flank Speed
Aircraft carriers are not known for their speed, but they can reach what is called “flank speed” which is over 30 knots or around 35 miles per hour for a new supercarrier like the USS Gerald R. Ford.
This turns the vessel into a mammoth hot rod on water that is not easily attainable for such a large ship. Is this speed needed?
Yes and no. Carrier strike groups give their flagships ample cover with numerous support ships and submarines ready to take the fight to the enemy. The array of vessels can also travel quickly and that may be necessary during combat operations.
Speed is sometimes the game’s name, but aircraft carriers must maintain a more reasonable propulsion rate to conduct aviation activities. Landing on a flat-top is not easy, especially at night. So, flank speed is attainable but not always necessary.
Let’s Push the Envelope
Sometimes, commanders want to remove gloves and show what a carrier can do on the open water. This takes a captain who is unafraid to mix it up and give the sailors a show.
First-Hand Experience with Flank Speed
This is what a naval officer once experienced on board a Nimitz-class carrier transiting the Indian Ocean to link up with an amphibious ship in the North Arabian Sea.
Our friends at the Aviation Geek Club recounted what Ross Hall, an anti-submarine officer, had to say about reaching flank speed on a Nimitz-class carrier.
Hold My Beer
“As we parted company, our skipper announced, ‘Let’s show them what an aircraft carrier can do’. We were barely making way at the time. He ordered us to depart at flank speed.”
“When flank speed is ordered, power is applied to the shafts to turn the propellers. On the Nimitz-class carriers, the four propellers are approximately 25 feet in diameter, and each weighs about 30 tons. When power is applied, torque on the shafts is limited to prevent damage – the shafts can ‘twist’ up to one and a half times (540 degrees). The longest shafts are 184 feet long,” Hall explained.

ATLANTIC OCEAN (Oct. 27, 2019) USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) steams in the Atlantic Ocean for the first time since July 2018. Ford is conducting sea trials following its 15 month post-shakedown availability. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Connor Loessin)
Hall said it looked like the sea was “beginning to boil.” The “rooster tail” raged upwards of 15 to 20 feet above sea level.
“I guess if you have a long enough cable and a death wish, you could waterski behind the carrier,” he quipped.
Flank speed on the USS Gerald R. Ford may even be more eventful. This is a new carrier, and it will be followed by the USS John F. Kennedy. The commanders on these ships may want to experience what Ross Hall recounted just to see what the Gerald R. Ford-class could do in the open water.
This would give the sailors a thrill of a lifetime and could show anyone observing (like the Chinese navy) just how powerful the Ford-class is.
Ford-Class Flank Speed: What Can This Be Compared To?
Flank speed is like having a Ram 3500 heavy-duty truck that can reach 108 miles an hour. You don’t want to travel this fast all the time, but it is fun to see what a Cummins diesel engine can do.
I don’t think the naval brass wants the Ford-class to go flank speed that often. That could push the nuclear reactors beyond capacity at that propulsion rate.

Ford-Class Aircraft Carrier. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
But you only live once. And if the United States can spend $13 billion on a carrier, the taxpayers probably have no problem seeing how fast the flat-top can go as long as there is no lasting damage to the propulsion system. Why not give Gerald R. Ford a chance to go flank speed if it hasn’t already?
About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.

WILLIAM T MUSIL
January 23, 2025 at 7:31 pm
You can guarantee Ford has already been to flank speed in sea trials. And I am sure Ford is closer to 40, but nobody will confirm numbers like that. I was on Independence CV-62 during sea trials back in the 80s and we were turning 30+ on oil. Deck plates popping all around the ship, but she was rocking. So we had a little maintenance to do and screw down some deck plates after. It was always worth it. And yes, if someone was dumb enough, you could definitely water ski behind a flank carrier. Never heard of it being done, but it is fast enough.