You take the the EMALS/CATOBAR sytem, shrink it the size of an angled deck Essex class SCB-27's

It carries a smaller airwing(3 squadrons including growlers), has nuclear propulsion but focuses on point defense against drones. Arm it to the teeth with CWIS(ammo is way cheaper), RIM-116 and smaller SAM's.

With a sleeker hull shape, they can go faster than than the Ford Class(CVN-65 had more of a of a cruiser like hull).

You build them on the West/East and Gulf coast, which alleviates the room required for the larger fleet CVN's that we build every 8 years?

Oh and make Nimitz a dedicated training carrier based in Pensacola.