| As America recognizes the 100-year legacy of aircraft carriers, Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of HII, will host a ceremonial keel-laying for the Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier Enterprise (CVN 80) in Newport News this Saturday, Aug. 27, at 10 a.m. The historic event will include the ship’s sponsors, Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles and Katie Ledecky, Newport News shipbuilders, representatives from the U.S. Navy, and local officials. While the ceremony is private, all are invited to watch via livestream. Visit HII.com/cvn80 or watch on HII’s Facebook and YouTube pages. CVN 80 is the third ship in the U.S. Navy’s new Ford-class and will be the first aircraft carrier designed and built digitally. The new Ford-class carriers replace the Nimitz-class and feature a new nuclear power plant, a redesigned island, electromagnetic catapults, improved weapons movement, an enhanced flight deck capable of increased aircraft sortie rates, and growth margin for future technologies. CVN 80 will be the ninth Navy vessel to bear the name Enterprise. It carries on the name of the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in history, CVN 65, which was commissioned in 1961 and built at Newport News Shipbuilding. In fact, all nuclear-powered aircraft carriers now operating in the U.S. Navy fleet today were built at Newport News Shipbuilding. |
