Improved technology means that the island, or the tower on the deck of the carrier, can be moved further aft (towards the tail end of the craft).
This smaller, more out of the way island means that there will be more room and accessibility for the aircraft on the deck, which will improve maintenance times and turnarounds.
Navy planners estimate that the new design will help carriers generate an additional 33% more sorties.
"When aircraft land, they'll be able to come back, refuel, rearm, in kind of a pit stop model... really modeled after NASCAR," Capt. John F. Meier, the CO of Gerald R. Ford said of the new design.