Particle.news
Download on the App Store
14 ARTICLES
·
last wk.

Future USS John F. Kennedy Completes First Builder’s Sea Trials

Acceptance trials come next, with delivery currently projected for March 2027.

Image
The first-in-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) steams in the Atlantic Ocean, Nov. 7, 2022. Exercise Silent Wolverine is a U.S.-led, combined training exercise that tests Ford-class aircraft carrier capabilities through integrated high-end naval warfare scenarios alongside participating allies in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is conducting their first deployment in the U.S. Naval Forces Europe area of operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jacob Mattingly)
John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) at sea trials (HII picture)
John F. Kennedy CVN 79 Builder's Sea Trials. Credit: Ricky Thompson/HII.

Overview

  • The carrier sailed from Newport News on Jan. 28 and returned Feb. 4 after roughly a week at sea, following a five-day pier-side Fast Cruise.
  • Pre-commissioning sailors, Newport News shipbuilders, and Navy teams from SUPSHIP, NAVSEA and PEO CVN tested key systems and demonstrated ship operations.
  • Work now returns to completing construction and resolving trial-identified issues, with the timing of acceptance trials under review.
  • Delivery slipped from the prior July 2025 plan due to integrating Advanced Arresting Gear and Advanced Weapons Elevators, even as officials cite notable automation and performance gains over Nimitz-class carriers.
  • The schedule delay is expected to reduce the carrier force to 10 ships for about a year after USS Nimitz retires, and Kennedy will be the first Ford-class carrier to field the AN/SPY-6(V)3 Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar.