The following is the July 24, 2019 Congressional Research Service report, Navy Ford (CVN-78) Class Aircraft Carrier Program: Background and Issues for Congress. Read More
Tag Archives: Enterprise (CVN-80)
Report to Congress on Gerald R. Ford-class Aircraft Carrier Program
The following is the May 17, 2019 Congressional Research Service report, Navy Ford (CVN-78) Class Aircraft Carrier Program: Background and Issues for Congress. Read More
Experts: Navy Would Spend Billions to Answer Trump’s Call to Return Carriers to Steam Catapults
Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) 3rd Class Darius Jarmon lubricates an electromagnetic aircraft launching system (EMALS) catapult aboard USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). US Navy Photo.
President Donald Trump again called to install steam catapults on future aircraft carriers, in a move experts say would cost billions of dollars and reduce the capital ships’ capabilities. Read More
30-Year Plan: Navy Puts 355-Ship Cap on Fleet Size; Plans to Introduce Large Combatant, CHAMP Auxiliary Hull
USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) steams through the Pacific Ocean on Oct. 26, 2018. US Navy Photo
The Navy’s latest 30-year shipbuilding plan outlines a path forward that includes less near-term growth in fleet size but reaches and sustains a 355-ship fleet sooner than last year’s plan. Read More
Navy Could Award 2-Carrier Contract by End of January, With Expected $4B in Savings
A 2013 artist’s concept of the future carrier Enterprise (CVN-80). DoD Image
This post has been updated to include a statement from Huntington Ingalls Industries.
The clock is now counting down for the Navy to award Newport News Shipbuilding a two-aircraft carrier contract, after the Pentagon formally notified Congress on Dec. 31 that it wanted to pursue the first dual-carrier contract since the late 1980s. Read More
Navy Tackling Ford-Class Weapons Elevator Challenges; Decision on 2-Carrier Buy Still Pending
F/A-18F Pilot LCDR Jamie R. Struck the makes first carrier arrested landing using AAG system aboard USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) off the Virginia coast. US Navy Photo
CAPITOL HILL – The Navy’s acquisition chief said the weapons elevators on USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) will be built and installed by the time the ship comes out of its ongoing post-shakedown availability, but he may launch an independent review team to look at the long-term sustainability and reliability of the elevators. Read More
Senators Want More Details on 2-Carrier Buy, LCS Requirement Before Supporting Additional Shipbuilding Funds
A crane moves the lower stern into place on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) at Huntington Ingalls Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va. on June 22, 2017. HII Photo
The Senate Armed Services Committee is looking for more information from the Navy before it will support buying additional ships in Fiscal Year 2019, which its House counterparts wholeheartedly endorsed doing. Read More
2019 NDAA Amendments Question Carrier Long-Range Strike, Future of ASW Helos
An MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the “Blue Hawks” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 78 participates in a change of command ceremony near the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) on Jan. 15, 2018. US Navy Photo
The House Armed Services Committee added to its annual defense bill provisions allowing the military to buy more F-35 Lighting II Joint Strike Fighters if the program could achieve sufficient cost-savings, addressing the health and future of the MH-60R anti-submarine warfare helicopter, encouraging the Navy to continue buying aircraft carriers every three years, and more. Read More
Newport News Would Save $1.6 Billion, Maintain Stable Workforce of 25,000 Under 2 Proposed Carrier Buy
Newport News Shipbuilding cut a 35-ton steel plate to kick off advance construction of the aircraft carrier Enterprise (CVN 80) on Aug. 24, 2017. Ship’s sponsors and U.S. Olympic gold medalists Simone Biles (left) and Katie Ledecky (center), along with Newport News Shipbuilding President Jennifer Boykin (right), signed the steel that will become part of Enterprise’s foundation. Newport News Shipbuilding photo.
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — If the Navy decides to buy aircraft carriers CVN-80 and 81 together, Newport News Shipbuilding will be able to maintain a steady workload that supports between 23,000 and 25,000 workers at the Virginia yard for the next decade or so, the shipyard president told reporters last week. Read More
USNI News Video: Sailors Talk First USS Gerald R. Ford Trap, Launch
F/A-18F Pilot Lt. Cmdr. Jamie ‘Coach’ Struck makes the first carrier arrested landing using new AAG system aboard USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) on July 28, 2017. US Navy Photo
ABOARD USS GERALD R. FORD — On Aug. 1, 2017, USNI News spoke with sailors who manned Ford’s next-generation Advanced Arresting Gear and Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) for the first trap and catapult from the $13 billion carrier’s flight deck. Read More
