Huntington Ingalls announced on 31 January that it received a contract modification valued at $15.2 billion for the detail design and construction of the Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers Enterprise (CVN 80) and CVN 81.

Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division was awarded a multi-ship contract from the U.S. Navy to build two aircraft carriers. This historic contract award is a significant step toward the company’s designing and building the next-generation of aircraft carriers at the best value for the nation and is a defining moment in the history of the sole builder of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.

U.S. Department of Defense, Huntington Ingalls Industries – Newport News Shipbuilding is awarded the detail design and construction (DD&C) efforts for nuclear-powered aircraft carriers Enterprise (CVN 80) and unnamed CVN 81 under the following contract actions: (1) A $14,917,738,145 fixed-price-incentive-firm target modification to previously awarded contract N00024-16-C-2116 for DD&C efforts for the future USS Enterprise (CVN 80) and unnamed CVN 81.

The current contract for advance procurement funded efforts has been in place since 2016. Work is expected to be completed by February 2032. The Navy’s decision to partner with HII to create the best acquisition approach will save more than $4 billion across the program.

Announcement is a triumphant step toward returning to a 12-ship aircraft carrier fleet and building the 355-ship Navy our nation needs,” said Jennifer Boykin, president of Newport Shipbuilding. “Most importantly for us, it provides stability into the year 2032 for our workforce and for our supplier businesses across the United States