USS Gerald R. Ford departs Naval Station Norfolk, Va., on its first deployment on Oct. 4, 2022. The next two Ford-class aircraft carriers will honor former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, officials announced Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (Riley McDowell/U.S. Navy)
WASHINGTON — The Navy’s next two Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers will honor former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, officials announced Monday.
The future USS William J. Clinton honors the 42nd president who served two terms from 1993 to 2001. The future USS George W. Bush honors the 43rd president who also served two terms, from 2001 to 2009. The names follow the Navy tradition of naming aircraft carriers after U.S. presidents.
President Joe Biden announced the naming of the ships Monday.
“When I personally delivered the news to Bill and George, they were deeply humbled. Each knows firsthand the weight of the responsibilities that come with being commander in chief. And both know well our duty to support the families and loved ones who wait and worry for the safe return of their service member,” Biden said.
During his administration, Clinton worked to deter Iraqi aggression from 1993 to 1998, including Operation Desert Fox, a 1998 air campaign to degrade Iraqi capability to produce weapons of mass destruction. In 1996, he directed a large deployment of U.S. naval forces in response to the third Taiwan Strait crisis to deter Chinese aggression.
Bush rallied the nation in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, forging an international coalition of 25 NATO members and 17 other nations to dismantle terrorist networks in Afghanistan. In 2003, Bush directed Operation Iraqi Freedom, which ended the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein and enabled Iraq’s first direct elections in more than three decades.
“President Clinton and President Bush led the United States through some of the most challenging moments in U.S. history,” Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said. “Their legacies will endure through these aircraft carriers, which serve as formidable platforms dedicated to safeguarding our national security and strengthening our resolve to protect this nation against any who would threaten our freedoms and way of life.”
The aircraft carriers will be constructed in the coming years. Contracts for the ships’ construction have not yet been issued. The ships will be built at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division in Virginia. The location is the only facility in the U.S. that builds nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.
The Ford-class ships are the Navy’s newest aircraft carriers, packed with never-before-seen technology meant to carry the service into the 21st century. The Ford-class carriers are being outfitted with electromagnetic-powered aircraft launch systems and advanced arresting gear. The technology, the Navy said, means the air-wing can get into the air — and return to the battle after rearming and refueling — faster than with the traditional steam-and-hydraulics systems that have been the mainstay for decades.
The lead ship — the USS Gerald R. Ford — was commissioned in 2017 after eight years of construction. It did not set sail for its first full-length deployment until May 2023.
The Ford-class USS John F. Kennedy is slated to be delivered to the Navy this year.
One other Ford-class carrier is now under construction — the USS Enterprise, a historic name handed down from seven other naval ships. It is scheduled to enter service in 2028. The next carrier slated for construction is the USS Doris Miller, named in honor of an enlisted African American sailor and World War II hero. Construction is slated for 2026.
“The future USS William J. Clinton and the future USS George W. Bush will serve as lasting tributes to each leader’s legacy in service of the United States,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement. “Like their namesakes, these two future carriers, and the crews who sail them, will work to safeguard our national security, remind us of our history, and inspire others to serve our great republic.”
