US Navy announces names for two future Ford-class aircraft carriers

US Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro has announced that two future Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers CVN 82 and CVN 83 will be named in honour of former US Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, respectively.

The future USS William J. Clinton and the future USS George W. Bush will be built by Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division. These will be the fifth and sixth ships in the Ford-class, which will ultimately replace the navy's earlier Nimitz-class carriers.

The names follow the US Navy's tradition of often naming its aircraft carriers after former US presidents.

Of the six Ford-class carriers, only class lead ship USS Gerald R. Ford has been commissioned into service, while construction continues on sisters USS John F. Kennedy, USS Enterprise, and USS Doris Miller. Kennedy is undergoing final outfitting at NNS and is scheduled to be commissioned into service before the end of this year.