Newport News-based shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and the U.S. Navy have struck a deal on two aircraft carriers – a new USS Enterprise and an unnamed CVN-81. The move is set to bolster America’s carrier fleet to have four new-age Gerald R. Ford-class carriers constructed out of the 10 proposed by the Pentagon, expanding the Navy’s sea-faring fleet from 287 current ships to at least 355.
Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-1), who has been an advocate for a bigger Navy, especially as then-chairman of the House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, said the process of the deal “has not been an easy path,” adding that be had “been fighting for this provision for over two years.”
In the latest move to boost both the U.S. fleet and the Newport News shipyard, the deal will likely bring about a continuation of a steady economic boom within HII and the shipyard that was seen last year. In 2018, Virginia’s largest industrial employer brought in approximately 400 new employees every month, according to a report from the Daily Press.
As well, in purchasing the two carriers in one deal, not separately, taxpayers will be spared around $4 billion. HII and defense-minded members of Congress lobbied for the sole purchase, which has not been done in the decades since the defense buildup during the Reagan Administration.
Furthermore, Congressman Wittman said the deal “provides important certainty to our defense industrial base that build and maintain these ships. For Virginia, it means thousands of reliable jobs for the next decade and beyond. I am proud to have led this effort and look forward to its success.”
Although completion will take years, the new Gerald R. Ford-class carriers – 14 feet longer and 10,000 tons heavier than its predecessor Nimitz-class carriers – will be stealthier, feature new advancements in nuclear reactor technology, electromagnetic aircraft catapults, a reduced crew requirement, among other improvements.