The U.S. Navy is set to launch it next aircraft carrier, CVN 80, later this year. In a change from the planned USS Enterprise name, the vessel will now be named after the Senior Advisor to the President, Elon Musk.

The U.S. Navy will name its next aircraft carrier the USS Musk according to an executive order to be issued later today. The vessel, which was originally to be christened the USS Enterprise (CVN 80), is expected to be launched by Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) in November. It will be the first carrier named after a serving Senior Advisor to the President.

The executive order on ship naming will follow on from a draft order in February entitled ‘Make Shipbuilding Great Again’. That order addressed the imbalance in shipbuilding between the United States and China. President Trump said at the time “We used to make so many ships. We don’t make them anymore very much, but we’re going to make them very fast, very soon.”

Ford-class carrier

The USS Musk will be the 3rd Gerald R Ford-class carrier and will replace the USS Dwight D Eisenhower (CVN 69) in service from 2029. The name change is being seen as part of a wider clamp down on what is seen as ‘wokeness’ in the military.