USS Enterprise (CVN-80)

Artist's impression of the future CVN-80
History
Name: Enterprise
Namesake: USS Enterprise (CVN-65)
Awarded: 23 May 2016
Builder: Huntington Ingalls Industries
Laid down: 2020 (planned)
Launched: 2025 (planned)
Sponsored by: Katie Ledecky and Simone Biles
Commissioned: 2027 (planned)
Identification: CVN-80
Status: Under construction[1]
General characteristics
Class and type: Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier
Type: Nuclear Aircraft Carrier
Displacement: About 100,000 long tons (100,000 tonnes) (full load)[2]
Length: 1,106 ft (337 m)
Beam: 134 ft (41 m)
Draft: 39 ft (12 m)
Installed power: Two A1B nuclear reactors
Propulsion: Four shafts
Speed: In excess of 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range: Unlimited distance; 20–25 years
Complement: 4,660
Armament:
Aircraft carried: More than 80, approx. up to 90 combat aircraft
Aviation facilities: 1,092 ft × 256 ft (333 m × 78 m) flight deck

USS Enterprise (CVN-80) will be the third Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier to be built for the United States Navy.[3][4] She will be the ninth United States naval vessel to bear the name, and is scheduled to be constructed and in operation by 2027.

Naming

On 1 December 2012, during the presentation of a pre-recorded speech at the inactivation ceremony for USS Enterprise (CVN-65), then-Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced that CVN-80 would be named Enterprise.[5] She will be the ninth ship and the third aircraft carrier in the history of the United States Navy to bear the name.[4] CVN-80 will also be the first American supercarrier since America was commissioned in 1966 not to be named in honor of a person. In December 2016, Mabus chose Olympic gold medalists Katie Ledecky and Simone Biles to sponsor the ship.[6]

Construction

Simone Biles and Katie Ledecky sign a 35-ton steel plate used to begin the construction of Enterprise

CVN-80 will be built by Huntington Ingalls Industries-Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia. Enterprise is scheduled to begin active construction around 2018 and be delivered by 2025. However, in an effort to save costs, the Congressional Research Service indicates that the Navy Department is reviewing the possibility of extending the length of time used to build both John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) and Enterprise by two years. If approved, the ship would not enter service until 2027 and prevent any instance of 12 carriers being in service at any one time.[7] The steel from CVN-65 will be recycled and used to construct CVN-80.[8] The ship is currently scheduled to replace USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69). The first cut of steel ceremony, marking the beginning of fabrication of the ship's components, was held on 21 August 2017,[9] with ship's sponsors Katie Ledecky and Simone Biles present.[10] Construction began in advance of the purchase contract and construction award, in early 2018.[11] In the spring of 2018, a piece of steel from CVN-65 was melted down and remade into a keel plate for CVN-80.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Newport News Shipbuilding says inactivation of former USS Enterprise is complete". WTKR.com. 10 April 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
  2. ↑ "Aircraft Carriers - CVN". Fact File. United States Navy. 12 January 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  3. ↑ "Navy To Name Next Ford Class Carrier Enterprise". 26 July 2012. Archived from the original on 3 December 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
  4. 1 2 "News Release - Navy's Next Ford-Class Aircraft Carrier to be Named Enterprise". U.S. Navy. 1 December 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
  5. ↑ USS Enterprise Public Affairs (1 December 2012). "Enterprise, Navy's First Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier, Inactivated" (Press release). Navy News Service. NNS121201-03. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
  6. ↑ "Olympians Katie Ledecky, Simone Biles chosen Enterprise sponsors" (Press release). 13 News Now. 16 December 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  7. ↑ Ronald O'Rourke (26 July 2012). "Navy Ford (CVN-78) Class Aircraft Carrier Program: Background and Issues for Congress" (PDF). Congressional Research Service. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
  8. ↑ Corillo, Todd (3 February 2017). "World's first nuclear powered aircraft carrier officially decommissioned". WKTR. Retrieved 3 February 2017.
  9. ↑ "First cut of steel kicks off construction of the aircraft carrier Enterprise at Newport News Shipbuilding" (Press release). WTKR. 21 August 2017.
  10. ↑ "Huntington Ingalls Industries Celebrates Ceremonial Steel-Cut for Aircraft Carrier Enterprise (CVN 80) at Newport News Shipbuilding" (Press release). Huntington Ingalls Industries. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  11. ↑ HII shipbuilding division inactivates Navy’s USS Enterprise; Chris Miner comments
Preceded by
CVN-65		 USS Enterprise
2025-		 Succeeded by
(Current)

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