The Navy has given Huntington Ingalls Industries [HII] a $113-million contract for long lead work on the John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier (CVN79), which will be the second of the Gerald R. Ford-class (CVN-78) large-deck carriers.
The contract is to continue ship and propulsion plant design and engineering, the company said.
“We are very pleased to continue preparing for the construction of John F. Kennedy,” said Mike Shawcross, the vice president for the CVN-79 at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding yard in Virginia. “This funding will allow us to capture lessons learned from Gerald R. Ford and apply them to the next ship in the class to most efficiently and cost-effectively build this great ship for our nation.”
The Navy’s current schedule calls for full construction of the John F. Kennedy to begin in early 2013 with delivery set for 2020.