Overview
- The carrier, which left Newport News on Aug. 12, 2026, has begun acceptance sea trials to test and evaluate its ships systems and components under Navy oversight.
- Delivery has been delayed by problems with the Advanced Arresting Gear, which stops landing aircraft, and the Advanced Weapons Elevators, which move munitions from deep magazines to the flight deck.
- The Navy recently told Congress that seven of the ship’s 11 advanced weapons elevators are complete, a level that allows crew access to all weapons magazines for training and certification.
- Current Navy planning and budget documents project formal delivery in March 2027 and call for the carrier to be homeported at Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton no earlier than 2029, with $145 million in port upgrades already under way.
- The Kennedy carries congressionally required modifications not fitted to the lead ship, including F-35C support equipment and the Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar, and its trials will test those newer systems as the Navy works to fix class-wide technical issues.