Navy Awarded $336 Million Contract For Future Bill Clinton Carrier

The U.S. Navy has awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries $336 million for long-lead materials for CVN-82, the future USS William J. Clinton, a key early step toward the carrier’s planned 2036 commissioning. The contract, issued to Huntington Ingalls’ Newport News Shipbuilding division, is an undefinitized contract award aimed at enabling advanced procurement of propulsion plant materials. Planning calls for the ship to be laid down next year, with a launch in 2032 and commissioning four years later. The naming of CVN-82 for Bill Clinton—and CVN-83 for George W. Bush—has drawn criticism, adding to broader debates over proposed changes to other ship names.