Modular construction improvement for the second Ford Aircraft Carrier

There is an improved build strategy for the second Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier. The Kennedy carrier (CVN-79)is being built using more modular construction, a process where smaller sections of the ship are welded together to form large structural units, equipment is installed, and the large units are lifted into the dry dock using the shipyard’s 1,050-metric ton gantry crane. The modules can weigh over 1000 tons.

CVN-79 is about 25 percent complete and set for deliver in 2022. The ship is on tract to be completed with 445 modules lifts, which is 51 fewer than Ford and 149 fewer than USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77), the last Nimitz-class carrier, according to a company statement.

The largest module in the first Ford carrier was 1026 tons