HII Moves Enterprise (CVN 80) for First Time, Enabling Construction of Two Aircraft Carriers at Once

NEWPORT NEWS, Va., Nov. 19, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HII (NYSE: HII) announced today that its Newport News Shipbuilding division has successfully transferred the mid-body hull section of Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier Enterprise (CVN 80), allowing the shipyard to begin the concurrent assembly of two Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers in the same dry dock.

The evolution began Thursday, Oct. 31 with the controlled process of slowly filling the dry dock with more than 100 million gallons of water, marking the first time CVN 80 has been floated. It was then transferred to the west end of the dry dock, where construction on the ship will continue.  

Early next year, the shipyard expects to commence assembling Doris Miller (CVN 81) in the east end of the dry dock, marking a historic first that two Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers will be under construction in the dry dock at the same time. The dual construction of Enterprise (CVN 80) and Doris Miller (CVN 81) is enabled by the successful implementation of the CVN 80/81 two-ship contract modification awarded in 2019 and modifications made to the dry dock by NNS with investment by HII and the U.S. Navy.

Photos and a video accompany this release are available at: .

“It is only fitting for this Enterprise, CVN 80, to be part of a historic first at NNS, considering the previous Enterprise, CVN 65, was the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, proudly built here at the shipyard,” said Les Smith, NNS vice president Enterprise (CVN 80), Doris Miller (CVN 81) and future aircraft carrier programs. “Thousands of dedicated shipbuilders are working with urgency on these aircraft carriers that we know will play a vital role in the Navy’s fleet.”

NNS is the only shipyard capable of designing, building and refueling nuclear-powered aircraft carriers for the Navy. Enterprise is the first aircraft carrier designed digitally and built digitally using visual work instructions on laptops and tablets rather than paper drawings.

About HII

HII is a global, all-domain defense provider. HII’s mission is to deliver the world’s most powerful ships and all-domain solutions in service of the nation, creating the advantage for our customers to protect peace and freedom around the world.

As the nation’s largest military shipbuilder, and with a more than 135-year history of advancing U.S. national security, HII delivers critical capabilities extending from ships to unmanned systems, cyber, ISR, AI/ML and synthetic training. Headquartered in Virginia, HII’s workforce is 44,000 strong. For more information, visit:

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Contact:

Todd Corillo

(757) 688-3220

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at