February 22, 2018
HUNTINGTON INGALLS INDUSTRIES COMPLETES 70 PERCENT OF THE STRUCTURAL WORK ON THE FUTURE AIRCRAFT CARRIER JOHN F. KENNEDY (CVN 79)
NewsNews ReleaseNewport News Shipbuilding
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (Feb. 22, 2018)--Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) announced today that its Newport News Shipbuilding division has built 70 percent of the structures necessary to complete the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79).
Like its predecessor, the first-in-class USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), Kennedy is being built with a modular construction technique where smaller sections of the ship are welded together to form larger structures called superlifts. The superlifts are pre-outfitted and hoisted into Dry Dock 12—where the ship is being built—by the company’s 1,050-metric ton gantry crane.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/cms.ipressroom.com/217/files/20181/5a8de30e2cfac23f5eae89a3_jfk_superlift_feb18/jfk_superlift_feb18.mp4
Shipbuilders have successfully erected 317 lifts since the ship’s keel was laid in August 2015. Kennedy is on track to be completed with 447 total lifts.
The recent 806-metric ton superlift consisted of 17 individual units and was about 171 feet long and about 92 feet wide. The structure comprises berthing areas, electrical equipment rooms and workshops and took 18 months to build.
“This superlift is in the forward part of the ship, about halfway between the bow and midship,” said Mike Butler, program director of CVN 79. “It represents one of the key build strategy changes for Kennedy: building superlifts that are larger and more complete before they are erected on the ship. We are pleased with how construction on the Kennedy is progressing, and we look forward to additional milestones as we inch closer to christening of the ship.”
Kennedy is scheduled to launch in 2020.
About HII
HII is America’s largest shipbuilder, delivering the world’s most powerful ships and all-domain mission technologies, including unmanned systems, to U.S. and allied defense customers. HII is the largest producer of unmanned underwater vehicles for the U.S. Navy and the world.
With a more than 140-year history of advancing U.S. national security, HII builds and integrates defense capabilities extending from the core fleet to C6ISR, AI/ML, EW and synthetic training. Headquartered in Virginia, HII’s workforce is 45,000 strong.
Sign Up for Updates
Enter your email to receive news updates and insights.
By subscribing you agree to our Privacy Policy and provide consent to receive updates from HII.