Article Posted on : - Nov 11, 2010

An artistic rendition of Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) aircraft carrier. Photo: Northrop Grumman.

NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA (BNS): The US Navy has awarded a $189.2 million contract to Northrop Grumman Corporation for continuing the engineering and design effort for the nation's newest nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78).

"This planned contract modification is essential to continuing the ship design to support construction," Mike Shawcross, vice president, Gerald R. Ford-class engineering and CVN 79 construction, was quoted as saying in the company news release.

The company's Shipbuilding sector in Newport News, Virginia is the prime contractor. This planned contract modification funds additional design, planning and system integration activities and analysis to support CVN 78 construction.

Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) is the first ship of the new Gerald R. Ford class whose keel was laid Nov. 14, 2009.

The ship will include new nuclear power plants; increased electrical power generation capacity; allowance for future technologies; and reduced workload for the sailors, translating to a smaller crew size and reduced operating costs for the Navy.