USN orders more incremental availability work for USS Gerald R Ford
The USN carrier Gerald R. Ford pictured in 2017 after completing sea trials. (Photo: USN/ Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kristopher Ruiz)
Huntington Ingalls Newport News is to conduct ‘planned incremental availability’ work on the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, the DoD announced on 28 July.
Work on a $94.8 million delivery order from the USN is scheduled for completion by March 2022.
In June 2019, the USN awarded Huntington Ingalls a $687 million cost-plus-fixed-fee, IDIQ contract for early service life period work on the Gerald R. Ford, which entered service in 2017 as the first ship in its class. The work included support ship repair and modernisation during continuous maintenance and emergent maintenance during the early service period.
Shephard Defence Insight notes that the four Gerald R Ford-class carriers will be at the forefront of US power projection over the next 50 years as they enter service, employing new technologies that will enhance operational capabilities far beyond their predecessors.
More from Naval Warfare
-
The FDI frigate: a growing success story with more opportunities to come
Designed as a multi-role frigate with both anti-submarine and air defence capabilities, Naval Group’s medium-sized FDI frigate increasingly stands out as a success story in an industry wrought with delays.
-
Lessons shaping the next phase of Arleigh Burke production post-Flight IIA
The accelerated delivery of the final Flight IIA destroyer, USS Patrick Gallagher, showcases the payoff of years of workforce investment and process reform at Bath Iron Works, with the lessons feeding into Flight III production.
-
Ukraine war drives ‘minimum deployable capability’ doctrine in uncrewed systems development
Ukraine’s battlefield has rewritten the rules of uncrewed systems development. For Syos Aerospace, real-time operator feedback, lean serial production and a system-of-systems philosophy are central to its operating model.