Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) is readying the Ford-class aircraft carrier John F Kennedy (CVN 79) for launch before the year’s end as the shipbuilder makes strides toward fixing more weapons elevators on the lead ship of the class, USS Gerald R Ford (CVN 78).
Newport News Shipbuilding is preparing the aircraft carrier John F Kennedy for launch. (Michael Fabey)
The yard had to delay some of the hull painting on Kennedy during the second week of September due to Hurricane Dorian, which skirted along the US East Coast, but Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) plans to flood the dock where the ship is being built in mid-October, Mike Butler, CVN 79 programme director, told Jane’s .
“There are five coats of paint,” Butler explained to Jane’s on 5 September during an exclusive tour of the ship. “It’s a very complex system – we have to control for humidity and weather conditions.”
The ship is running about three months ahead of schedule for launch, Butler noted. However, that does not mean the entire ship programme will finish ahead of schedule. “But it will give us a chance to de-risk the testing programme by getting pier-side early,” he pointed out.
He said the yard is well ahead of outfitting many of the various ship compartments, units, and assemblies, thanks to changes in the early shipbuilding processes.
While US Navy (USN) sources had indicated to Jane’s
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