New U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier To Be Named USS Musk
The U.S. Navy is set to launch it next aircraft carrier, CVN 80, later this year. In a change from the planned USS Enterprise name, the vessel will now be named after the Senior Advisor to the President, Elon Musk.
The U.S. Navy will name its next aircraft carrier the USS
Musk according to an executive order to be issued later today. The vessel, which was originally to be christened the USS
Enterprise (CVN 80), is expected to be launched by Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) in November. It will be the first carrier named after a serving Senior Advisor to the President.
The executive order on ship naming will follow on from a
draft order in February entitled ‘Make Shipbuilding Great Again’. That order addressed the imbalance in shipbuilding between the United States and China. President Trump said at the time
“We used to make so many ships. We don’t make them anymore very much, but we’re going to make them very fast, very soon.”
Ford-class carrier
The USS
Musk will be the 3rd Gerald R Ford-class carrier and will replace the USS
Dwight D Eisenhower (CVN 69) in service from 2029. The name change is being seen as part of a wider clamp down on what is seen as ‘wokeness’ in the military.
The Ford-class carriers are among the largest in the world, displacing around 100,000 tonnes, carrying 2,600 crew, and around 75 aircraft. Only the preceding Nimitz-class, and China’s new
Type-004 Fujian-class are comparable in size.
The ship features an electromagnetic aircraft launch systems (EMALS). This is in keeping with the new namesake’s electric car interests. This technology has however been criticised by President Trump. In 2017 he called for a
return to older steam catapults, complaining that
“the digital costs hundreds of millions of dollars more money and it’s no good”. It is unclear whether the naval architects took note of the president’s expertise on ship design.
Other ship naming news
Also part of the ‘Make Ship Names Great Again’ order, reports suggest that another new vessel, a
Signal Intelligence (SIGINT) ship, will be named after the United States Secretary of Defense Hegseth. This has been denied by the White House press secretary. The administration has roundly criticised speculation based on unclassified-classified sources.
Meanwhile, it now seems likely that the oldest commissioner ship in the U.S. Navy, the USS
Constitution, will be disposed of. The vintage vessel, which is made of wood, is no longer considered fit for purpose. Speaking over the weekend, a spokesperson for DOGE noted that wooden ships have no place in a modern warfare. This will also free up the Navy’s oak forests for commercial purposes.
The U.S. Navy is set to launch it next aircraft carrier, CVN 80, later this year. In a change from the planned USS Enterprise name, the vessel will now be named after the Senior Advisor to the President, Elon Musk.
www.navalnews.com
They are at it again, also I wonder when will it be our turn.
