American shipbuilder HII has been awarded a $336 million contract by the US Navy to begin procuring long-lead-time materials for the construction of the future CVN 82, the fifth Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
The undefinitized contract award will enable HII's Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division to initiate advanced procurement of propulsion plant materials considered critical to the future construction of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
According to HII, the contract also sends an early demand signal to suppliers across the US aircraft carrier industrial base.
“Ordering the materials necessary to build the world’s mightiest aircraft carriers is a critical first step as we begin planning for CVN 82,” said Bryan Caccavale, NNS vice president of program management.
“This contract sends an important demand signal to the thousands of suppliers across the nation who make up the aircraft carrier industrial base.”
The future USS William J. Clinton (CVN 82) is planned as a Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The ship was officially named by then-Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro in January 2025, alongside the future USS George W. Bush (CVN 83).
CVN 82 will follow USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79), USS Enterprise (CVN 80) and USS Doris Miller (CVN 81) as part of the U.S. Navy's next-generation aircraft carrier program.
The Ford-class is designed to replace the Nimitz-class carriers. According to the US Navy, the Ford-class design is intended to generate more aircraft sorties, produce greater electrical power, reduce manning requirements, and lower lifecycle operating and support costs compared with the Nimitz class. The carriers are also designed to accommodate future technologies and aircraft, including unmanned systems and directed-energy weapons.