USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69)

(CVN 69)
The mission of USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) is to provide a wide range of flexible mission capabilities, to include maritime security operations, expeditionary power projection, forward naval presence, crisis response, sea control, deterrence, counter-terrorism, information operations, security cooperation and counter-proliferation.

The ship’s embarked air wing is capable of projecting tactical air power over the sea and inland, as well as providing sea-based air, surface and subsurface defense capabilities. The air wing can engage enemy aircraft, ships, submarines and land targets or lay mines hundreds of miles from the ship. Eisenhower’s aircraft are used to conduct strikes, support land battles, protect the strike group or other friendly shipping, and implement a sea or air blockade. The air wing provides a visible presence to demonstrate American power and resolve in a crisis. The ship normally operates as the centerpiece of a carrier strike group commanded by an embarked flag officer and consisting of four to six other ships.

Eisenhower’s two nuclear reactors give her virtually unlimited range and endurance and a top speed in excess of 30 knots. The ship’s four catapults and four arresting gear engines enable her to launch and recover aircraft rapidly and simultaneously. The ship carries approximately 3 million gallons of fuel for her aircraft and escorts, an enough weapons and stores for extended operations without replenishment. The ship also has extensive repair capabilities, including a fully equipped Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department, a micro-miniature electronics repair shop, and numerous ship repair shops.

Construction of the third nuclear-powered and second Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), was authorized by Congress in fiscal year 1970. The carrier, named after the nation’s 34th president, was christened at 11:11 a.m., October 11, 1975, by Mamie Doud-Eisenhower, the ship’s sponsor and widow of the late president. IKE was commissioned October 18, 1977, under the command of Capt. William E. Ramsey. After 14 months of fleet training, the ship made her first Mediterranean Sea deployment in 1978.

“We know that our purpose is a just and moral one, for we seek only peace with freedom and we can succeed in this great endeavor only if each and every one of us is willing to give the full measure of courage, sacrifice, work and vision, not in a divided effort but working together in pursuit of our common goal.” – Dwight David Eisenhower

Namesake: Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States Class: Nimitz-class Aircraft Carrier
Builder: Newport News Shipbuilding Co. in VA
Flagship: Carrier Strike Group 10
Cost: $5.2 billion
Laid Down: 15 August 1970
Launched: 11 October 1975
Sponsored by: Mamie Doud-Eisenhower
Commissioned: 18 October 1977
Homeport: NS Norfolk, Virginia
Motto: I like Ike or Great Each Day
Nicknames: Mighty Ike or Ike
Status: active service
Displacement: 101,600 long tons (113,800 short tons)
Length: Overall: 1,092 feet (332.8 M)
Waterline: 1,040 feet (317.0 M)
Propulsion: 2 x Westinghouse A4W nuclear reactors, 4 steam turbines, 4 x shafts, 260,000 shp (194 MW)
Speed: 30+ knots (56+km/h; 35+mph)
Range: Unlimited distance; 20-25 years
Complement: Ships Company: 3,532, Airwing: 2,480
Sensors & processing systems: AN/SPS-48E 3-D air search radar, AN/SPS-49(V)5 2-D air search radar, AN/SPQ-9B target acquisition radar, AN/SPN-46 air traffic control radars, AN/SPN-43C air traffic control radar, AN/SPN-41 landing aid radars, 4 x Mk 91 NSSM guidance systems, 4 x Mk 95 radars
Aircraft Carried: 90 fixed wing and helicopters