USS George H. W. Bush

USS *George H. W. Bush* (CVN-77)
History
USS George H. W. Bush in January 2011
United States
Name	George H. W. Bush
Namesake	George H. W. Bush
Ordered	26 January 2001
Awarded	26 January 2001
Builder	Northrop Grumman Newport News
Cost	$6.2 billion
Laid down	6 September 2003
Launched	9 October 2006
Sponsored by	Dorothy Bush Koch
Christened	7 October 2006
Acquired	11 May 2009
Commissioned	10 January 2009
Homeport	Norfolk, Virginia
Identification	MMSI number: 369970663 Callsign: NGHW Hull number: CVN-77
Motto	Freedom at Work
Nickname(s)	Avenger
Status	in active service
Badge
General characteristics
Class & type	Nimitz-class aircraft carrier
Displacement	102,000 long tons (104,000 t)
Length	Overall: 1,092 ft (332.8 m) Waterline: 1,040 ft (317.0 m)
Beam	Overall: 252 ft (76.8 m) Waterline: 134 ft (40.8 m)
Draft	Maximum navigational: 37 ft (11.3 m) Limit: 41 ft (12.5 m)
Propulsion	2 × Westinghouse A4W nuclear reactors (HEU 93.5%) 4 × steam turbines 4 × shafts 260,000 shp (190 MW)
Speed	30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)+
Range	Unlimited distance; 20–25 years
Complement	Ship's company: 3,532 Air wing: 2,480
Sensors & processing systems	SPS-48E 3-D air search radar SPS-49A(V)1 2-D air search radar SPQ-9B fire control radar 2 × SPN-46 air traffic control radars SPN-43C air traffic control radar SPN-41 instrument landing system radar 3 × Mk 91 NSSM guidance systems 3 × Mk 95 radars
Electronic warfare & decoys	AN/SLQ-32A(V)4 countermeasures suite SLQ-25A Nixie torpedo countermeasures
Armament	2 × Mk 29 ESSM launcher 2 × RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile 3 × Phalanx CIWS
Armor	2.5 in (64 mm) Kevlar over vital spaces
Aircraft carried	90 fixed wing and helicopters

USS George H. W. Bush (CVN-77) is the tenth and final Nimitz-class supercarrier of the United States Navy. She is named for the 41st President of the United States and former Director of Central Intelligence George H. W. Bush, who was a naval aviator during World War II. The vessel's callsign is Avenger, after the TBF Avenger aircraft flown by then-Lieutenant George H. W. Bush in World War II. Construction began in 2003 at Northrop Grumman, in Newport News, Virginia and was completed in 2009 at a cost of $6.2 billion. Her home port is Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia.