WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – The 100,000 ton ship will be the second US aircraft carrier named after former president Kennedy, who served as a naval officer during World War II.
"The keel-laying for CVN-79 is an important milestone in returning a carrier named John F. Kennedy to our fleet, continuing the rich tradition of the name,” US Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus said in the statement.
The ship will be 1,092 feet in length, have a beam of 134 feet and is capable of traveling at 30 knots. The propulsion system is comprised of two nuclear reactors and four shafts.
The first John F. Kennedy, also a nuclear-powered carrier, launched strikes on Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War and was finally decommissioned in 2007.
