FACTsheet

For more information, contact:

Christie Miller
757-375-9564
Christie.Miller@hii-co.com

Building a Giant: Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)
About5,000Americanshipbuilders
areparticipatinginthebuildingof
aircraftcarrierGeraldR.Ford(CVN
78).
Atcompletion,Fordwillweighnearly
100,000tonsasmuchas400
StatuesofLiberty.
200,000gallonsofHazeGraypaint
coverCVN78enoughtogivethe
WhiteHouse350coatsofpaint.
Fordhasbeencalledafloatingcity,
holding4,660personneland75
aircraft
Thecarrierhasa5acreflightdeck
Fordproduces400,000gallonsoffreshwaterperday
Theshipproduces15,000mealsaday
Fordcanreachspeedsinexcessof30+knots

Powering the Future

CVN78isthefirstaircraftcarriertomakeasignificantleaptoelectricalpower,replacingmanylegacy
steampoweredsystemsandpreparingtheshipforfuturetechnologies.
Thenewelectricaldistributionsystemincreaseselectricalcapacityby250percent.
An Electromagneticaircraftlaunchsystem(EMALS),similartothesystemthatpowersmanyoftodays
rollercoasters,replacessteamcatapults,enablingasmootherlaunchfortheairwingofthefuture.
TenmillionfeetofelectricalcableisinstalledonFord,enoughcabletospanthedistancefrom
Washington,DCtoAlbuquerque,NM.
FourmillionfeetoffiberopticcableisinstalledonFord,thelengthofmorethan7,200Washington
Monumentsstackedontopofeachother.

Oct.11,2013

Huntington Ingalls Industries- Fact Sheet/Page 2

Designed for Efficiency

CVN78isthemostefficientaircraftcarriereverdesigned,reducingnecessarymaintenanceby30percent.
TheshipsdesignenablestheNavytooperatetheshipwithlessmanpower,savingtheNavymore
than$4billionovertheships50yearlife.
9,900tonsofairconditioningreducesmaintenancecausedbyhumidityandreducesrequired
manninginhotspaces.
About44,000highefficiencyfluorescentT8lightbulbswillbeused,whichproducemorelightand
lastnearlytwiceaslong.

Future Readiness

CVN78isaflexibleplatform,readytomeettheoperationalneedsofthe21stcentury.
CVN78iscapableofgenerating25percentmoresorties(flightmissions)perdaythanNimitzclass
carriers.
CVN78isdesignedwithflexibleinfrastructuretoquicklyadaptinteriorspacesfornewmissions.
TheislandissmallerandfartheraftthantheNimitzclass,increasingspaceforflightdeckoperations
andaircraftmaintenance.
Softwarecontrolledadvancedarrestinggearincreasestheabilitytorecoversmalleraircraftwith
reducedwear.

Oct.11,2013