Trump to Help Commission Next-generation Warship in Virginia

FILE - The USS Gerald R. Ford embarks on the first of its sea trials to test various state-of-the-art systems on its own power for the first time, from Newport News, Virginia, in an undated photo provided by the U.S. Navy.
President Donald Trump will help commission Saturday the USS Gerald R. Ford, a nearly $13-billion warship, after three years of delays and billions of dollars of cost overruns, when he delivers the key address at a ceremony in the southeastern coastal city of Norfolk, Virginia.
Trump will officially turn over the first of the next generation of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers to the U.S. Navy at the Naval Station Norfolk.
Before leaving for the ceremony Saturday, Trump tweeted that the USS Ford is the world's largest carrier.

This morning I will be going to the Commissioning Ceremony for the largest aircraft carrier in the world, The Gerald R. Ford. Norfolk, Va.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 22, 2017

Trump visited the warship in March and said the new generation of Ford-class carriers would be the centerpiece of America's military presence around the world. The new carrier will be the flagship of the new class of "super carriers," the first new class in 40 years and the most expensive warships ever built. Construction on the carrier began in 2009 and was scheduled to be completed in 2015 at a cost of $10.5 billion. The Navy said the cost overruns and construction delays were due to the carrier's cutting-edge technology. The ship will have a lifespan of 50 years and its nuclear power plant will allow it to operate for 20 years without the need to refuel.

The USS Ford is named after the country's 38th president, a lieutenant commander in the Navy during World War II. The warship was christened by his daughter, Susan Ford Bales, in 2013.
The Ford-class of carriers will replace the current Nimitz supercarriers, a class of 10 nuclear-powered warships named after World War II Navy Admiral Chester W. Nimitz.
The Navy said it would cost $43 billion to construct the first three ships in the Ford-class of carriers, including the USS John F. Kennedy, named after the country's 35th president, and the USS Enterprise.