The subsequent Gerald R. Ford class supercarrier, to be referred to as the usJohn F. Kennedy (CVN 79), set sail underneath its personal energy from Newport Information for the primary time on Jan. 28, 2026 to start producer sea trials.
Forward of scheduled supply to the U.S. Navy in March 2027, which can include its personal set of sea trials, these preliminary exams will certify the 100,000 tonne behemoth’s main methods and elements underneath shut watch from specialist Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) personnel.
The Kennedy was laid down on the HII facility in Newport Information, birthplace of all U.S. Navy nuclear plane carriers, in 2015. The next eleven 12 months hole till commencing sea trials is longer than the usGerald R. Ford skilled, the first-of-class having been laid down in 2009 and commenced sea trials in 2017.
This big milestone is the results of the selfless teamwork and unwavering dedication by our unimaginable shipbuilders, suppliers and ship’s drive crew. We want them a secure and profitable time at sea! @USNavy @COMNAV_AIRLANT @USNavyNNPP (2/2) pic.twitter.com/EEwJdltygV
— HII (@WeAreHII) January 28, 2026
Impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic are positive to have had a significant impact, however timelines have been additionally shifted by a Congressional mandate to ship the brand new ship with the aptitude of internet hosting the U.S. Navy’s fifth era F-35C Lightning II fighters. The united statesGerald R. Ford (CVN 78), although the most recent service within the U.S. stock, has but to obtain the modifications essential to function the brand new jet.
These delays pushed supply again past the withdrawal of the usNimitz (CVN 68), which capped off its closing deliberate deployment final month. For a couple of years, the Navy will as soon as once more drop to 10 lively plane carriers moderately than the legally enshrined objective of at the very least 11.
Normally the second-in-class instance of a ship can have a speedier journey by means of trials and testing than its progenitor, although notably the Kennedy incorporates some main design adjustments in comparison with the usGerald R. Ford. Alongside the operation of the F-35C Lightning II – which can want its personal certification course of – from the very begin, the Kennedy ditches the now distinctive AN/SPY-3 Multi-Operate Radar (MFR) and AN/SPY-4 Quantity Search Radar (VSR) combo carried by the Ford in favor of the AN/SPY-6(V)3 as fitted in an alternate type to Flight III Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyers. This has led to a noticeable distinction in design between the ‘island’ or superstructure of the Ford in comparison with the Kennedy.
SPY-6 household of radars from left to proper：🛰️AN/SPY-6(V)1 for Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers🛰️AN/SPY-6(V)2 for Flight II San Antonio-class LPD & LHA-8 & Nimitz-class plane carriers🛰️AN/SPY-6(V)3 for Gerald R. Ford-class plane carriers(beginning with CVN-79) &… pic.twitter.com/OpBSn5YlgJ
— 笑脸男人 (@lfx160219) April 9, 2025
Among the many options carried over from the Ford are the Electromagnetic Plane Launch System (EMALS) catapults, Superior Arresting Gear (AAG), and Superior Weapons Elevator (AWE) weapons dealing with methods. All three of those have had teething points, with the final AWE system on the usGerald R. Ford solely having been put in in 2021 – 4 years after the ship formally entered Navy service. EMALS and AAG, each of which have famously been affected by issues, have change into extra reliable however official stories nonetheless word that reliability is beneath the goal stage.
That is the way you check a brand new plane service’s catapult system 🚢
36,000kg autos are propelled into the water from the usJohn F. Kennedy to simulate the load of an plane that the service will quickly be launching ✈️
📺 Watch right here 👇 pic.twitter.com/8ld0uBYI3P
— BFBS Forces Information (@ForcesNews) March 7, 2024
President Donald Trump, who spoke out in opposition to the fashionable methods way back to his first time period in workplace, promised in October 2025 to signal an govt order mandating a return to steam catapults and hydraulic plane elevators. This order has but to come back, if it ever does in any respect – such a change would virtually definitely be closely opposed by U.S. Navy commanders. Whereas the ruggedness of legacy methods – benefiting from many many years of enhancements and repair expertise – is fashionable amongst ship crews, the newer applied sciences for launching and recovering plane, for instance, are extra environment friendly and far broader in how they are often configured. Exact dialing-in of launch and restoration weights for plane cut back airframe fatigue alongside the smoother experience provided by electromagnets.
Till commissioning, the ship is thought by the U.S. Navy as Pre-Commissioning Unit or PCU John F. Kennedy. Naval personnel have been assigned to PCU John F. Kennedy since 2019 and, having already spent a big time aboard, will play a significant function within the sea trials. On-board facilities just like the store have already been readied and crammed with inventory to help these crew members.
After getting into service, the Kennedy is because of be homeported at Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton within the state of Washington. This can make it the primary Ford class based mostly on the U.S. West Coast, ideally positioned for normal deployments to the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Beneath present plans the service will arrive no sooner than 2029. A $145 million overhaul of the naval port’s amenities – centered on electrical infrastructure – forward of the Kennedy’s arrival started in Might 2025.
Supply of CVN 80, the following Ford class service, bearing the enduring identify of Enterprise, has slipped backwards to 2030. The united statesDwight D. Eisenhower, which it is because of substitute, was initially because of retire in 2028 however will now seemingly serve into the following decade to cowl any hole in service availability attributable to supply delays.
Namesake
CVN 79 would be the second U.S. plane service named after President John F. Kennedy, a U.S. Navy veteran who served as Commander in Chief from Jan. 20, 1961, till his assassination in Dallas, Texas on Nov. 22, 1963. The united statesJohn F. Kennedy (CV 67) was laid down the next 12 months.
Based mostly on the Kitty Hawk class, CV 67 finally included so many design adjustments that it grew to become right into a single ship class of its personal. Plans for nuclear propulsion have been shelved throughout development and the ship was as an alternative fitted with eight steam boilers.
Former USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) plane service being towed into Brownsville, Texas for scrapping – February 2, 2025 #ussjohnfkennedy #cv67
SRC: TW-@BocaChicaGal pic.twitter.com/hFoGij3dUS
— WarshipCam (@WarshipCam) February 2, 2025
Decommissioning in 2007, the unique USS John F. Kennedy was the final conventionally powered plane service within the U.S. fleet. The vessel was saved in Philadelphia till 2025 when it started a voyage underneath tow to Texas for dismantling.
