The US Navy has awarded a contract for the construction of two Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers to Huntington Ingalls Industries' (HII) Newport News Shipbuilding division.
A single contract covering the construction of two ships can ensure up to US$4 billion in savings as compared to individual procurement contracts, Secretary of the Navy Richard V. Spencer said in a statement.
The carriers will be the third and fourth ships of the Gerald R. Ford-class.
The third carrier in the class will be named USS Enterprise while no name has yet been announced for the fourth ship.
The two carriers will replace the Nimitz-class ships USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and USS Carl Vinson, which are due to be decommissioned in 2029 and 2030, respectively.