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Next Generation USS Gerald Ford Aircraft Carrier Nearing Completion

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USS Gerald R. Ford CVN 78 Upper Bow LiftThe USS Gerald R. Ford is the first of the next-generation class of U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and its flight deck has been completed, according to a News Channel 3 article.

Huntington Ingalls Industries is building the ship using modular construction which means sections of the ship are welded together to create larger units.

The flight deck is part of the upper bow which weighs 787 tons and is 1,106 feet long, the equivalent of a 75 story building.

The aircraft carrier has been under construction since 2009 and is now 96 percent structurally complete.

The USS Gerald R. Ford will feature “a new nuclear power plant, a redesigned island, electromagnetic catapults, improved weapons movement, an enhanced flight deck, growth margin for future technologies and $4 billion reduced total ownership cost compared to a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier.”

The ship is supposed to launch later this year.

 

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