Aircraft Carriers

Oscar-2 Submarine: An Aircraft Buster

The Russian nuclear-powered Kursk submarine, crippled by a technical fault and stuck on the bed of the Barents Sea, is an aircraft carrier buster capable of launching up to 24 cruise missiles at a time. The 949 series submarines, Oscar-2 by NATO classification, form the backbone of Russia's anti-aircraft carrier force. The submarines, which carry more than 100 crew on board, are designed to tail aircraft carriers, keeping them within their firing range to be able to destroy them if ordered. To do so, each vessel usually carries 24 SS-N-19 Granit nuclear-capable supersonic cruise missiles, nestled in rows outside its rigid hull. Each of the missiles, called Shipwreck by NATO, weighs seven tons and has a firing range of more than 500 km (310 miles). They are launched in salvos from one to 24 at a time. Complementing the cruise missiles are 533 mm and 650 mm torpedoes, use to finish off enemy vessels damaged by the missile strike or repel attacks on the submarine itself. One Oscar-2 submarine is capable of sinking an aircraft carrier and several escorting warships. - (Reuters)

HII Promote Chris Miner V-P In-Service Aircraft Carrier Programs

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announce promotion of Chris Miner as Newport News Shipbuilding's V-P of In-Service Aircraft Carrier Programs. In his new position, Miner is responsible for planning and executing aircraft carrier overhaul programs and inactivations, including the upcoming USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) and the USS Enterprise (CVN 65) inactivation, as well as aircraft carrier fleet support work

BAE Systems, SENER Close $3.8M Deal

Acting on behalf of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance (ACA), UK-based BAE Systems Marine Limited, has closed a contract with the Spanish company Sener Ingeniería y Sistemas S.A., for the license to use the FORAN System in the development of the Stage 1 (System Design) of the CVF Project (UK Royal Navy Future Aircraft Carrier). The contract involves around 100 FORAN seats and a specified set of support services. According to the contract, FORAN can be implemented in the following sites:

Eye on the Navy

(Nov. 21, 2009) The aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) transits through the Pacific Ocean with Mt. Fuji in the background. George Washington, the Navy's only permanently forward-deployed aircraft carrier, is underway supporting security and stability in the western Pacific Ocean. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Adam K. Thomas/Released)

Aircraft Carrier 'Gerald R. Ford' – Lower Bow Keel Section Laid

Huntington Ingalls Industries announce that Newport News Shipbuilding celebrates construction milestone on aircraft carrier 'Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)' The  680-metric ton lower bow unit has been joined to the other keel sections that comprise the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78). It is one of the heaviest superlifts to be placed on the ship. "The lower bow is a distinctive component of an aircraft carrier," said Rolf Bartschi

US Navy CNO Casts Eye on NNS Warship Construction

Huntington Ingalls Industries' Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division hosted the Chief of Naval Operations for a tour of the shipyard. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert was briefed on the shipyard's current work and capabilities and met with shipbuilders. The admiral also toured the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) to see the progress being made on the first-of-class ship and the advancements in shipbuilding enabled by 3-D modeling and design/build strategies

Midway Brought Back to Life

Northrop Grumman Corporation helped restore the historic aircraft carrier USS Midway (CVA-41) for the San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum. The Midway was built by Northrop Grumman's Newport News sector and delivered to the U.S. Navy in 1945. After serving nearly 50 years, the ship was decommissioned in 1992 and is now being converted into a museum and memorial. Last November, the San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum asked all shipyards in the area for support for the Midway project by

General Atomics Receives Naval Grant

General Atomics, San Diego, Calif., is being awarded a $573,000,000 ceiling priced, undefinitized contract action for the production of the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) CVN 78 Shipset.  EMALS is the catapult launch system on CVN-78 class aircraft carriers, replacing the steam catapults used on prior generations of aircraft carriers.  Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif., (49 percent); Tupelo, Miss., (19 percent); Mankato, Minn., (12 percent); Waltham, Mass

6,000 Tonne Carrier Block Prepares to Leave Portsmouth

The public in Portsmouth caught their first glimpse of the giant forward section of HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH today, as it was loaded out of the hall at BAE Systems’ facility at Portsmouth Naval Base in preparation for its departure to Rosyth.   Using a fleet of remote controlled transporters, a team moved the 6,000 tonne section, known as Lower Block 02, across the shipbuild hall and onto a sea-going barge, ahead of her 600 mile journey to the east coast of Scotland where the aircraft

Naval Aviation History in the Making Aboard CVN 77

Unmanned aircraft accomplishes first ever ‘touch-and -go’ aboard aircraft carrier CVN 77. The Navy's X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstrator (UCAS-D) has begun touch-and-go landing operations aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush following on board launching. For UCAS-D, this represents the most significant technology maturation of the program. Ship relative navigation and precision touchdown of the X-47B are critical technology elements for all future Unmanned