The future USS Enterprise (CVN 80), will be the third Gerald R. Ford-class carrier to be built, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced via video message at the Dec. 1, 2012 inactivation ceremony of the USS Enterprise (CVN 65).
“The USS Enterprise was the first of its kind, and for 51 years its name has been synonymous with boldness, readiness and an adventurous spirit,” said Mabus. “Rarely has our fleet been without a ship bearing the name. I chose to maintain this tradition not solely because of the legacy it invokes, but because the remarkable work of the name Enterprise is not done.”
The future Enterprise, designated CVN 80, will be the Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear powered aircraft carrier and the ninth ship to bear the name.
The future USS Enterprise will be 1,092 feet in length and have a beam of 134 feet at the waterline. The flight deck will be 256 feet wide, and the ship will be able to operate at speeds in excess of 34 knots. Enterprise will be built by Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va., according to a Navy press release.
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