VIDEO RELEASE--Huntington Ingalls Industries Completes Successful Builder’s Sea Trials of Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)
15 April 2017 - 4:15AM
Huntington Ingalls Industries (NYSE:HII) announced today that its
Newport News Shipbuilding division has successfully completed
builder’s sea trials of the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN
78). The first-of-class carrier left Newport News on Saturday and
returned to Naval Station Norfolk today.
Builder’s sea trials test the ship’s systems, components and
compartments at sea for the first time. The trials also include
high-speed runs and demonstrate many of the carrier’s other
capabilities.
“In my 36 years with Newport News Shipbuilding, I’ve ridden many
sea trials,” said Newport News Shipbuilding President Matt
Mulherin. “While they have all been great experiences, this one was
especially rewarding. I’ve been with this ship since 2001, when she
was still just a design concept. To see her come to life and
perform as she was designed and built to do is awe-inspiring and a
testament to her shipbuilders and Navy crew.”
A video and photo accompanying this release are available at:
http://newsroom.huntingtoningalls.com/releases/hii-completes-successful-builders-sea-trials-of-gerald-r-ford-cvn-78.
Newport News shipbuilders partnered with Gerald R. Ford sailors
and personnel from Naval Sea Systems Command to perform the sea
trials tests. Among the sea trial participants were Adm. James
Caldwell, director, Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, and Rear Adm.
Brian K. Antonio, program executive officer, aircraft carriers.
“Everybody has to work together to really exercise the ship and
take it through its final paces,” said Rolf Bartschi, Newport News
Shipbuilding’s vice president, Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) carrier
construction. “We work to test the systems and actually operate the
ship out here at sea. It’s fantastic to be out and really see this
ship come to life.”
Susan Ford Bales, ship’s sponsor and President Gerald R. Ford’s
daughter, was unable to participate in sea trials but shared in the
excitement. “Completion of builder’s sea trials for Dad’s namesake
aircraft carrier is the magnificent culmination of years of hard
work,” she said. “I’m ecstatic and could not be prouder of the
ship’s successful performance. CVN 78 is the mightiest ship ever
built, and you can draw a straight line—a very straight line—as to
why that is so: The ship is built by the greatest shipbuilders in
the world, my fellow Newport News shipbuilders. I’m thrilled to add
my congratulations and heartfelt thanks—as Dad most certainly
would—to the entire Newport News Shipbuilding team, and to the
remarkable crew of the Ford, for their patriotic commitment to
excellence and for a job well done—very well done. As the ship’s
sponsor, I look forward with great excitement to commissioning the
USS Gerald R. Ford into the fleet very soon.”
Prior to delivery, the ship will undergo acceptance trials,
conducted by U.S. Navy Board of Inspection and Survey
representatives, to do a final test and evaluation of the ship’s
systems and performance.
Gerald R. Ford is the first in a class of next-generation
aircraft carriers designed to replace Nimitz-class aircraft
carriers. The Ford class features a new nuclear power plant, a
redesigned island, electromagnetic catapults, improved weapons
movement, an enhanced flight deck capable of increased aircraft
sortie rates, and growth margin for future technologies. Each
Ford-class ship will operate with a smaller crew than a
Nimitz-class carrier and provide a $4 billion total ownership cost
savings for the Navy. Aircraft carriers provide sovereign, mobile
U.S. territory and are a visible symbol of U.S. power. They are the
centerpiece of our nation’s security strategy and support and
protect the global economy through the protection of sea lanes
around the world.
Huntington Ingalls Industries is America’s largest military
shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services to
partners in government and industry. For more than a century, HII’s
Newport News and Ingalls shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and
Mississippi have built more ships in more ship classes than any
other U.S. naval shipbuilder. HII’s Technical Solutions division
provides a wide range of professional services through its Fleet
Support, Integrated Missions Solutions, Nuclear &
Environmental, and Oil & Gas groups. Headquartered in Newport
News, Virginia, HII employs nearly 37,000 people operating both
domestically and internationally. For more information, visit:
- HII on the web: www.huntingtoningalls.com
- HII on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/HuntingtonIngallsIndustries
- HII on Twitter: twitter.com/hiindustries
Contact:
Christie Miller
Christine.Miller@hii-co.com
(757) 380-3581
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