The US Navy has awarded HII a $336 million contract to begin buying long-lead materials for the planned aircraft carrier CVN 82, starting advance procurement for components needed before full construction gets underway, according to the shipbuilder.
The undefinitised contract was awarded to HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division and will initially fund procurement of propulsion plant materials considered critical to the future construction of the nuclear-powered carrier.
Long-lead items are components which can take considerable time to manufacture or source and therefore need to be ordered well ahead of the main shipbuilding schedule. HII said the award represents the first material procurement step for CVN 82 and will also begin sending work into the wider industrial base supporting US aircraft carrier construction.
Bryan Caccavale, vice president of programme management at Newport News Shipbuilding, said: “Ordering the materials necessary to build the world’s mightiest aircraft carriers is a critical first step as we begin planning for CVN 82.”
He added: “This contract sends an important demand signal to the thousands of suppliers across the nation who make up the aircraft carrier industrial base.”
The US Navy contract announcement covers advance procurement rather than the full construction contract for the ship, with HII beginning work on equipment that has particularly long manufacturing timelines.
Newport News Shipbuilding is the US industrial base’s specialist nuclear-powered aircraft carrier yard and has responsibility for construction and major work on the Navy’s carrier fleet. CVN 82 is planned as another nuclear-powered carrier and will continue the U.S. Navy’s long-running programme of building large-deck carriers at Newport News.
The early purchase of propulsion plant material allows the yard and its suppliers to start work on some of the most time-consuming elements before the wider ship reaches full-rate construction. HII said the award is also important for maintaining continuity across the network of companies which supply specialist components for carrier construction, with thousands of suppliers contributing material and equipment to the programme.
