Keel USS Enterprise laid
On Tuesday 5 April 2022, three weeks ahead of schedule, Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) Newport News Shipbuilding (VA) has laid the keel of the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN-80).
The Enterprise will be the third Gerald Ford-class aircraft carrier and is expected to be delivered to the Navy in 2028. The carrier and follow-on ship the future USS Doris Miller (CVN-81) were bought as part of a block-buy strategy estimated to be valued at USD24 billion, as part of a 2019 deal with HII. USS Doris Miller is expected to be delivered to the fleet by 2032.
HII is currently working on the three future Ford class carriers, USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), USS Enterprise and USS Doris Miller, as well as the mid-life overhaul of USS George Washington (CVN-73) and USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74). The hulk of the decommissioned aircraft carrier Enterprise (CVN-65) is also at the yard.
The US Navy confirmed that the first-in-class USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) had reached Initial Operational Capacity (IOC) in December 2021. The carrier commissioned in 2017 with none of the elevators delivered and working out the kinks in the system was a major roadblock for the programme. In March 2022, the USS Gerald R. Ford completed a six-month availability following full-ship shock trails in which the US Navy detonated 40,000-ton of explosives in a durability test of the carrier’s design. The carrier is now due to begin workups before an anticipated fall patrol.
Impression by HII