PCU Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) is to be the lead ship of her class of United States Navy supercarriers. As announced by the U.S. Navy on 16 January 2007, the ship will be named after the 38th President of the United States, the late Gerald R. Ford, whose World War II naval service included combat duty aboard the light aircraft carrier in the Pacific Theater.
The keel of the Gerald R. Ford was laid down on 13 November 2009. Construction work began on 11 August 2005, when Northrop Grumman held a ceremonial steel cut for a 15-ton plate that will form part of a side shell unit of the carrier. The schedule calls for the ship to join the U.S. Navy’s fleet in 2015. Gerald R. Ford is slated to replace the current USS Enterprise, ending her then 50-plus years of active service with the United States Navy.
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