HII predicts completing CVN-79 with fewer man hours than previous in-class ships

By Lee Hudson / September 12, 2016 at 2:23 PM

Huntington Ingalls Industries' Newport News Shipbuilding division anticipates building the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) with fewer man hours than the previous ship in its class.

For example, the Kennedy is on track to be completed with 445 "lifts" into a drydock, which is 51 fewer than the Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) and 149 less than the George H.W. Bush (CVN-77), according to a company statement.

"Fewer lifts to the dock means we're building larger superlifts with more outfitting installed prior to erecting the section in the dock," Mike Butler, Newport News' Kennedy construction program director, said in the same Sept.12 statement.

Recently, the company placed a 900-ton superlift into dry dock.

"We continue to focus on reducing cost, and we are pleased with our progress," Mike Shawcross, Newport News' vice president of CVN-79 carrier construction said in a statement. "The incorporation of lessons learned from CVN-78 on to CVN-79 -- and major build strategy changes to construct the ship a different way -- are having a significant impact on our construction efficiencies, just as we anticipated they would."

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