USS Dwight D. Eisenhower

USS Dwight D. Eisenhower
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower underway in the Atlantic Ocean
History
United States
NameDwight D. Eisenhower
NamesakeDwight D. Eisenhower
Awarded29 June 1970
BuilderNewport News Shipbuilding
Cost$679 million ($5.5 billion in 2024 dollars)
Laid down15 August 1970
Launched11 October 1975
Sponsored byMamie Doud-Eisenhower
Christened11 October 1975
Acquired12 September 1977
Commissioned18 October 1977
Renamedfrom Eisenhower, 25 May 1970
ReclassifiedCVN-69, 30 June 1975
HomeportNorfolk, Virginia
Identification
MottoGreater Each Day
Nickname(s)
  • Mighty Ike
  • Ike
Statusin active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class & typeNimitz-class aircraft carrier
Displacement101,600 long tons (113,800 short tons)
Length
Beam
  • Overall: 252 ft (76.8 m)
  • Waterline: 134 ft (40.8 m)
Height244 feet (74 m)
Draft
  • Maximum navigational: 37 ft (11.3 m)
  • Limit: 41 ft (12.5 m)
Propulsion
Speed30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)+
RangeUnlimited distance; 20–25 years
Complement
  • Ship's company: 3,532
  • Air wing: 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 × Mk 91 NSSM guidance systems
  • 4 × Mk 95 radars
Electronic warfare
& decoys
Armament
ArmorUnknown
Aircraft carried90 fixed wing and helicopters

USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) is a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier currently in service with the United States Navy. Commissioned in 1977, the ship is the second of ten Nimitz-class aircraft carriers currently in service, and is the first ship named after the 34th President of the United States and General of the Army, Dwight D. Eisenhower. The vessel was initially named simply as USS Eisenhower, much like the lead ship of the class, Nimitz, but the name was changed to its present form on 25 May 1970. The carrier, like all others of her class, was constructed at Newport News Shipbuilding Company in Virginia, with the same design as the lead ship, although the ship has been overhauled twice to bring her up to the standards of those constructed more recently.

Since commissioning, Dwight D. Eisenhower has participated in deployments including the Gulf War in the 1990s, and more recently in support of U.S. military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen. The carrier currently serves as the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 2.