Written by Steve Cramsie


On the day the U.S. Navy officially took the aircraft carrier Enterprise out of service after 51 years in the fleet, the service announced that the name Enterprise won’t be absent long from the fleet. The third Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier, CVN-80, will become the ninth ship in the Navy’s history to be named Enterprise, said the Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus yesterday in a pre-recorded video message that was played at the inactivation ceremony.

Commissioned in 1961, CVN-65 served for more than 50 years and participated in the blockade of the Cuban Missile Crisis, launched strike operations in Vietnam, and conducted combat missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Construction of the newest "Big E" is slated to begin in 2018 and enter service in 2025. The newest USS Enterprise will replace the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Yeah, I read about that. It's good to see that a new Enterprise will make it all the way into the 21st century (since it will go into service around 2025+50 years of service).