USS Enterprise (CVN-80)
USS "Enterprise" (CVN-80) will be the third to be built for the United States Navy. She will be the ninth United States naval vessel and third aircraft carrier to bear the name, and is scheduled to be in operation by 2028. Her construction began in August 2017 with a steel-cutting ceremony. Naming. On 1 December 2012, during the presentation of a pre-recorded speech at the inactivation ceremony for , then-Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announced that CVN-80 would be named "Enterprise". She will be the ninth ship and the third aircraft carrier in the  history of the United States Navy to bear the name. CVN-80 will also be the first American supercarrier not to be named in honor of a person since was commissioned in 1966. In December 2016, Mabus chose Olympic gold medalists Katie Ledecky and Simone Biles to sponsor the ship. Construction. CVN-80 is being built by Huntington Ingalls Industries' Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Virginia. The first cut of steel ceremony, marking the beginning of fabrication of the ship's components, was held on 21 August 2017, with ship's sponsors Katie Ledecky and Simone Biles present. Construction began in  advance of the purchase contract and construction award, in early 2018. Steel from CVN-65 will be recycled and used in the construction of CVN-80. "Enterprise" will replace and is scheduled to be launched in November 2025, with a planned delivery date of March 2028. The keel was laid on 5 April 2022, three weeks ahead of schedule, making the ship about 13% complete.