USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)
Advanced construction of CVN 78 began
in August 2005, and on January 16,
2007 the US Navy formally announced
that its next aircraft carrier would be
named USS Gerald R. Ford in honor of
the 38th president who had died just
weeks earlier. The ship’s keel was laid on
November 14, 2009 and it was christened
on November 9, 2013 at Newport News
Shipbuilding. Pre-commissioning unit
(PCU) Gerald R. Ford was launched
on November 17, 2013. The ship was
formally delivered to the leet on May
31, 2017 and the USS Gerald R. Ford was
placed in commission on July 22, 2017.
The carrier began its post-shakedown
availability/selected restricted availability
(PSA/SRA) in Newport News, Virginia,
July 15 and the PSA is scheduled for
completion in summer 2019.USS John F. Kennedy
(CVN 79)
On May 29, 2011, the US Navy
announced the second ship of theFord class will be named in honor of
the 35th president, John F. Kennedy.
It will be the second aircraft carrier to
bear the name. Construction of the ship
began when the irst steel was cut on
February 25, 2011. Currently scheduled
to be launched in February 2020 and
enter service in 2022, CVN 79 is slated
to receive the new Raytheon Enterprise
Air Surveillance Radar (EASR), which
had originally been planned to enter
the leet aboard CVN 80. The previous
USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) served from
1967 to 2007.USS Enterprise (CVN 80)
During the deactivation ceremony
for the USS Enterprise (CVN 65) on
December 1, 2012, the US Navy
announced that the third ship of the
Ford class would be named Enterprise.
The start of construction of CVN 80 is
planned for 2018, with the ship entering
service in 2027. It will be the ninth
ship and the third aircraft carrier to
carry the name.USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) — CSG-8
Carrier Air Wing One (CVW-1) AB
Squadron Nickname Aircraft MoDex
VFA-11 ‘Red Rippers’ F/A-18F 1xx
VFA-211 ‘Fighting Checkmates’ F/A-18F 2xx
VFA-136 ‘Knighthawks’ F/A-18E 3xx
VFA-81 ‘Sunliners’ F/A-18E 4xx
VAQ-137 ‘Rooks’ EA-18G 5xx
VAW-126 ‘Seahawks’ E-2D 60x
HSC-11 ‘Dragonslayers’ MH-60S 61x
HSM-72 ‘Proud Warriors’ MH-60R 7xx
VRC-40 Det 1 ‘Rawhides’ C-2A xxUSS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) — CSG-1
Carrier Air Wing Two (CVW-2) NE
Squadron Nickname Aircraft MoDex
VFA-2 ‘Bounty Hunters’ F/A-18F 1xx
VFA-137 ‘Kestrels’ F/A-18E 2xx
VFA-192 ‘Golden Dragons’ F/A-18E 3xx
VFA-34 ‘Blue Blasters’ F/A-18C 4xx
VAQ-136 ‘Gauntlets’ EA-18G 5xx
VAW-113 ‘Black Eagles’ E-2C 60x
HSC-4 ‘Black Knights’ MH-60S 61x
HSM-78 ‘Blue Hawks’ MH-60R 7xx
VRC-30 Det 2 ‘Providers’ C-2A xxUSS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) — CSG-10
Carrier Air Wing Three (CVW-3) AC
Squadron Nickname Aircraft MoDex
VFA-32 ‘Swordsmen’ F/A-18F 1xx
VFA-83 ‘Rampagers’ F/A-18E 2xx
VFA-131 ‘Wildcats’ F/A-18E 3xx
VFA-105 ‘Gunslingers’ F/A-18E 4xx
VAQ-130 ‘Zappers’ EA-18G 5xx
VAW-123 ‘Screwtops’ E-2C 60x
HSC-7 ‘Dusty Dogs’ MH-60S 61x
HSM-74 ‘Swamp Foxes’ MH-60R 7xx
VRC-40 Det 4 ‘Rawhides’ C-2A xxUSS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) — CSG-5
Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5) NF
Squadron Nickname Aircraft MoDex
VFA-102 ‘Diamondbacks’ F/A-18F 1xx
VFA-27 ‘Royal Maces’ F/A-18E 2xx
VFA-115 ‘Eagles’ F/A-18E 3xx
VFA-195 ‘Dambusters’ F/A-18E 4xx
VAQ-141 ‘Shadowhawks’ EA-18G 5xx
VAW-125 ‘Tigertails’ E-2D 60x
HSC-12 ‘Golden Falcons’ MH-60S 61x
HSM-77 ‘Sabrehawks’ MH-60R 7xx
VRC-30 Det 5 ‘Providers’ C-2A xxUSS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) — CSG-12
Carrier Air Wing Seven (CVW-7) AG
Squadron Nickname Aircraft MoDex
VFA-143 ‘Pukin’ Dogs’ F/A-18E 1xx
VFA-103 ‘Jolly Rogers’ F/A-18F 2xx
VFA-86 ‘Sidewinders’ F/A-18E 3xx
VFA-25 ‘Fist of the Fleet’ F/A-18E 4xx
VAQ-140 ‘Patriots’ EA-18G 5xx
VAW-121 ‘Bluetails’ E-2D 6xx
HSC-5 ‘Nightdippers’ MH-60S 61x
HSM-79 ‘Griins’ MH-60R 7xx
VRC-40 Det 3 ‘Rawhides’ C-2A xxCARRIER AIR WING ASSIGNMENTS
August 2018The busy flight deck of USS Abraham
Lincoln (CVN 72) during work-up with
CVW-7 embarked.
US Navy/MCSS Will HardyAn F/A-18E of VFA-81 about to ‘trap’ aboard
USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) during
operations in the Mediterranean Sea.
US Navy/MCS2C Thomas GooleyFORCE REPORT // US NAVAL CARRIER AIR POWER
38 October 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net