October 29, 2019
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (Oct. 29, 2019)--Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) today began flooding the dry dock at its Newport News Shipbuilding division where the keel of aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) was laid in 2015.
The controlled process of slowly filling the dry dock with more than 100 million gallons of water takes place over several days, and marks the first time the ship has been in water.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/cms.ipressroom.com/217/files/20199/5db882872cfac20dc85f11a4_DV19145%20JFK_CVN79_DRYDOCK_FLOOD_MEDIA_b-roll/DV19145%20JFK_CVN79_DRYDOCK_FLOOD_MEDIA_b-roll.mp4
“The flooding of the dry dock is truly a historic event in the construction of the ship and a special moment for the men and women who have worked to get the ship to the point,” said Mike Butler, program director for Kennedy. “We have made remarkable progress with Kennedy’s construction, and are pleased to get to this phase of construction three months ahead of the original schedule and fewer man hours. We look forward to the upcoming christening and launch as we prepare to start our testing program.”
The flooding of the dry dock takes place in phases during which various tests are conducted. The dock initially was flooded about 10 feet high to its keel blocks, wood-capped concrete pads on which the ship has been supported during construction. Once the dock is fully flooded and initial testing is complete, the ship will be floated to the west end of the dry dock. Next month, additional tests will take place prior to Kennedy’s christening on Dec. 7.
More than 3,200 shipbuilders and 2,000 suppliers from across the country are supporting the construction of Kennedy. Following the christening, Kennedy will undock into the James River where outfitting and testing of the ship's systems will continue until the ship is delivered to the U.S. Navy in 2022.
Follow Kennedy on social media using #CVN79.
HII is a global, all-domain defense provider. HII's mission is to deliver the world's most powerful ships and all-domain solutions in service of the nation, creating the advantage for our customers to protect peace and freedom around the world.
As the nation's largest military shipbuilder, and with a more than 135-year history of advancing U.S. national security, HII delivers critical capabilities extending from ships to unmanned systems, cyber, ISR, AI/ML and synthetic training. Headquartered in Virginia, HII's workforce is 44,000 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.