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Aircraft Carrier Program News

26 Mar 2024

FMD Acquires AMMCON

Image courtesy FMD/AMMCON

Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD), a portfolio company of Arcline Investment Management (Arcline), has acquired AMMCON Corp., a Jacksonville- based fittings and assembled components manufacturer. The defense contractor’s acquisition continues its expansion and commitment to providing critical components to the U.S. Navy and other marine defense customers.“Fairbanks Morse Defense is working to build fully integrated products and services that will meet every need of maritime defense…

21 Feb 2024

Newport News Begins Topside EMALS Testing on John F. Kennedy (CVN 79)

(Photo: HII)

HII announced today that its Newport News Shipbuilding division (NNS) recently began topside testing of the electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) on aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN 79).EMALS, first integrated into USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), replaces the existing steam catapults currently in use on the U.S. Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carriers.Following successful “no-load” testing on catapults one and two, known as the ‘bow cats,’ the NNS team, alongside the John F. Kennedy crew, has now started “dead-load” testing.

05 Sep 2023

Repairs to Carrier's Anchor Windlass Completed in Record Time

Sailors aboard USS Nimitz (CVN 68) complete work on the carrier's anchor during an availability in 2015 at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Washington. (U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Jason Kofonow)

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility employees and ship’s force worked together to repair the anchor windlass on USS Nimitz (CVN 68) in about a third of the time it took previously.The anchor windlass is comprised of motors, gears and other parts responsible for the controlled lowering and raising of the chain and anchor, which can weigh up to 200,000 pounds on a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier. It's a difficult job that requires much planning and complicated execution.According to Shawn Carragher and Zac Malone…

01 Sep 2021

Babcock, HHI ink deal on S. Korea's new Aircraft Carrier Program

Image courtesy Babcock

Babcock International Group signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd (HHI), to focus on the Republic of Korea’s CVX Aircraft Carrier Program opportunity.John Howie, Babcock Group’s Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, signed the MoU on behalf of the company with Mr. Sam-Hyun Ka, CEO, Korean Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering (KSOE), the holding company of HHI at the Babcock Korea Limited facility in Busan. The agreement brings the two parties closer together…

10 Aug 2021

Video: USS Gerald R. Ford Completes Shock Trials

Shock trials are designed to demonstrate ships’ ability to withstand the effects of nearby underwater explosion and retain required capability. (Photo: Jackson Adkins / U.S. Navy)

The U.S. Navy's new aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) on Monday underwent its third explosive event off the coast of Jacksonville, Fla., rounding out the ship’s Full Ship Shock Trials (FSST) and validating its shock hardness and ability to sustain operations in a simulated combat environment using live ordnance. During the four-month testing evolution, the first-in-class aircraft carrier withstood the impact of three 40,000-pound underwater blasts, released at distances…

23 Oct 2018

One-on-One with Suzanne Beckstoffer

Suzanne Beckstoffer, an accomplished engineering leader and business woman, the first woman president in SNAME’s 125 year history. Photo: HII/NNS

One-on-one with Suzanne Beckstoffer, an accomplished engineering leader and business woman, the first woman president in SNAME’s 125 year history.As the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2018, it will celebrate another historical milestone at the start of 2019 when Suzanne M. Beckstoffer takes the helm of SNAME as president, the first woman to hold this position in the association’s history. We met recently with Beckstoffer to discuss her distinguished shipbuilding career…

05 May 2017

Boykin Tapped as Next Newport News President

Jennifer Boykin (Photo: HII)

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ (HII) Board of Directors has elected Jennifer R. Boykin to serve as executive vice president of HII and president of HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division, effective July 1. She will succeed Matt Mulherin, who announced that he will retire on August 1 after a 36-year career at Newport News Shipbuilding. Boykin, who will report to HII President and CEO Mike Petters effective July 1, currently serves as vice president, engineering and design for Newport News Shipbuilding.

14 Mar 2017

Cammell Laird: Polar Ship Contract to Kick-start Exports

Photo: Cammell Laird

British shipyard and engineering company Cammell Laird said it plans to unleash an “aggressive exports drive” in 2017 after one of its busiest years for commercial marine work, which saw it land the biggest shipbuilding project in the U.K. for a generation. Cammell Laird CEO John Syvret said the winning of the £150 million contract to build the Sir David Attenborough polar research vessel for the U.K. Government “threw open” a new global market to build a range of high value polar vessels from research to cruise ships.

11 Jun 2016

Moore Assumes Command of NAVSEA

Vice Adm. Thomas J. Moore relieved Vice Adm. William H. Hilarides as commander, Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) during a June 10 ceremony at the Washington Navy Yard. Moore graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science in math and operations analysis. He holds a degree in information systems management from The George Washington University as well as a Master of Science and an engineer's degree in nuclear engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Since 2011, Moore has headed Program Executive Office Carriers where he led the Ford-class aircraft carrier program, as well as the maintenance, modernization and inactivation of carriers in fleet service.

10 Dec 2015

Prince of Wales' Final Section Sails for Rosyth

Photo: BAE Systems

The final section of aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales began its delivery voyage from Glasgow to Rosyth today, 10 weeks ahead of schedule. As part of the the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier program, newbuilds HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales will be the Royal Navy’s largest and most advanced ever warships and were constructed in blocks in different shipyards throughout the U.K. The final section being delivered, known as the Aft Island, weighs 750 metric tons and will control aircraft operations aboard the second aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales.

26 Jun 2015

A chat with John Murray, Chief Executive, Society of Maritime Industries

John Murray,  Chief Executive,  Society of Maritime Industries

The Society of Maritime Industries is the voice of the U.K. maritime engineering sector, and its Chief Executive John Murray is the very public and indelible face of the organization. SMI promotes and supports the interests of organizations with activities and interests in this sector both to its membership and the wider world. In total it is a trade association of more than 150 organizations across the maritime, offshore energy, subsea, naval and academic sectors, and the society has been busier than ever, as a number of drivers have buoyed the prospects of all matters maritime in the U.K.

20 Apr 2015

Delivery Begins for HMS Prince of Wales Bridge

(Photo courtesy of BAE Systems)

The bridge section of the U.K.’s second Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier has been loaded out of its dock hall in Glasgow ahead of its first sea voyage to Rosyth. Upper Block 07 is where HMS Prince of Wales will be commanded atop the flight deck and is known as the Forward Island. As the main hub of the ship it contains the bridge and approximately 100 vital mission systems compartments. The Forward Island has been under wraps in Govan since construction on the section began in December 2013, but it is now visible from the west end of Glasgow.

28 Aug 2014

HMS Prince of Wales Hull Departs for Rosyth

Hull section of HMS Prince of Wales (Photo: BAE Systems)

A huge section of hull for HMS Prince of Wales, the second Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier, has today begun its delivery voyage from HM Naval Base Portsmouth – the future home of the Queen Elizabeth Class. Mick Ord, Managing Director at BAE Systems Naval Ships, said, “This is a significant milestone for the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier program and a particularly proud one for the team in Portsmouth whose contribution to delivering the nation’s flagships has been outstanding.

28 Jul 2014

HMS Prince of Wales Delivery Begins

A huge section of hull for HMS Prince of Wales, the second aircraft carrier being delivered to the Royal Navy, has today departed BAE Systems in Glasgow on a 600-mile journey to Rosyth where final assembly of the ship will take place. The 8,000-metric-ton section, known as Lower Block 03, weighs more than an entire Type 45 destroyer and forms the mid-section of the aircraft carrier’s hull from the keel to the hangar deck. The block, transported by seagoing barge, is scheduled to arrive in Rosyth on Saturday, August 2 where work is currently underway to prepare the dock for the final assembly of HMS Prince of Wales which will begin in September.

26 Mar 2014

Countdown Begins for UK Aircraft Carrier Naming

Image: BAE Systems

The countdown to the naming of the U.K. Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier has begun today, marking 100 days until the major milestone in the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier program. HMS Queen Elizabeth will be officially named by Her Majesty The Queen in a ceremony at Rosyth on Friday, July 4. The naming of the first of class comes five years after first steel was cut on the ship in July 2009 at BAE Systems in Glasgow and only 33 months since the first section entered the dry dock at Rosyth marking the start of her assembly.

06 Nov 2013

BAE Systems Restructures Naval Sector

Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carrier under construction. (Photo: U.K. Royal Navy)

BAE Systems has reached agreement in principle with HM Government on measures to enable the implementation of a restructuring of its U.K. naval ships business. The agreement will result in the restructuring of the contract for the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carrier program, provision of additional shipbuilding work prior to the start of the Type 26 Global Combat Ships program and rationalization of the U.K. naval ship business to match future capacity requirements. In 2009…

17 Jun 2013

Final Section of Giant Aircraft Carrier Sets Sail

The final section of HMS Queen Elizabeth, the first of two new aircraft carriers being built for the U.K. Royal Navy, has left BAE Systems’ shipyard at Scotstoun today to embark on a 600 mile journey to Rosyth. The Aft Island, also known as Upper Block 14, is the air traffic control tower of the ship and the center of all flight operations. Travelling around the north coast of Scotland, the block is scheduled to arrive into Rosyth on Thursday 20 June. Once the island has arrived all sections of the first of class HMS Queen Elizabeth will have been delivered. Angus Holt, Queen Elizabeth Class Block Delivery Director for BAE Systems, said, “The delivery of the Aft Island is a huge milestone for the aircraft carrier program and we are extremely proud to have achieved this.

20 Nov 2012

NNS Shipbuilding Employee Gets Community Service Award

Joey Melendez : Photo credit HII

HII employee Joey Melendez receives the Society of Professional Hispanic Engineers' STAR Award for outstanding community service. Melendez, a systems engineer for the company's Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division, was presented with a 2012 SHPE STAR Award during the organization's annual national conference in Fort Worth, Texas. "It's quite an honor to be recognized for my service to the community, especially from a great national organization such as SHPE," Melendez said. "This award means a great deal to me because it highlights my passion for STEM and education.

28 Mar 2012

Aircraft Carrier Suppliers Meet on Capitol Hill

Washington, D.C. – Representatives from more than 2,000 companies from around the country which provide parts and services for the construction and maintenance of aircraft carriers are meeting in Washington, D.C., this week to urge Congress to continue federal funding support for the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier programs. The parts and services suppliers are members of the Aircraft Carrier Industrial Base Coalition (ACIBC) and are meeting as part of the eighth annual Action Days Conference. On Wednesday, members of the Coalition will be briefed on developments in the aircraft carrier program by members of the U.S. Navy. On Thursday, they…

27 Jul 2011

China Advances Aircraft Carrier Program

As the U.S. struggles with increasing debt and requisite austerity measures, including the possibility that Navy funding could be cut, it appears that China is building two indigenous aircraft carriers as part of a broad modernization program, according to a report on Reuters, as it was confirmed the country is refitting an old Soviet carrier for training. According to the Reuters report, China's President has made the navy a keystone of China's military ramp-up, and aircraft carriers are a traditional sign of global naval power.. According to an anonymous source cited in the Reuters report, a pair of aircraft carriers are under construction at the Jiangnan Shipyard in Shanghai.

24 Feb 2009

Boykin VP Quality, Northrop Newport News

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has appointed Jennifer Boykin vice president of quality and process excellence for Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va. Boykin is responsible for the formulation, management and oversight of the quality and process excellence programs, policies, goals and objectives. She directs and controls the planning, development, and enforcement of comprehensive and integrated quality and continuous improvement programs throughout the division and across the sector.

21 Jun 2004

USS George Washington Contract Awarded

Northrop Grumman Corporation was awarded a $35.6 million contract from the U.S. Washington (CVN 73). 2005 at the Newport News shipyard. an existing contract awarded last December. Newport News. "Work has been underway for several months. Nimitz-class aircraft built by Northrop Grumman Newport News. launched in 1990 and delivered to the Navy in 1992. displacement of 97,000 tons. It can travel in excess of 30 knots.

25 Jan 2002

Northrop Grumman Shakes Up NNS Engineering Dept.

Northrop Grumman Corporation's Newport News sector announced the appointment of Matthew J. Mulherin as sector vice president of the CVNX program, which includes design and engineering work associated with the new class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers for the United States Navy. Mr. Mulherin, 43, is responsible for program management, engineering, production and planning for the CVNX program. "Matt brings to this position a high level of expertise in the nuclear shipbuilding arena and a good understanding of our customer's objectives in the design and engineering of the future class of carriers," said Thomas C. Schievelbein, corporate vice president and president of the Newport News sector. Prior to this promotion, Mr. Mulherin served as program director, CVNX. Mr.