_Underway_on_Sea_Trial.jpg) John F. Kennedy underway during sea trials in 2026 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 United States | |
| Name | John F. Kennedy |
| Namesake | John F. Kennedy |
| Awarded | January 15, 2009 |
| Builder | Huntington Ingalls Industries |
| Cost | $11.341 billion[1] |
| Laid down | July 20, 2015[2] |
| Launched | October 29, 2019[3][2] |
| Sponsored by | Caroline Kennedy |
| Christened | December 7, 2019[4] |
| Identification | CVN-79 |
| Motto | "Serve with courage" |
| Status | Sea trials |
| Badge | _crest.png) |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Gerald R. Ford-classaircraft carrier |
| Displacement | About 100,000 long tons (100,000 tonnes) (full load)[5] |
| Length | 1,106 ft (337 m) |
| Beam |
|
| Draft | 39 ft (12 m) |
| Installed power | TwoA1Bnuclear reactors |
| Propulsion | Four shafts |
| Speed | In excess of 30knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) |
| Range | Unlimited distance; 20–25 years |
| Complement | 4,660 |
| Sensors & processing systems |
|
| Armament |
|
| Aircraft carried | More than 80, can hold up to 90 combat aircraft |
| Aviation facilities | 1,092 ft × 256 ft (333 m × 78 m) flight deck |
USSJohn F. Kennedy (CVN-79) is the secondGerald R. Ford-classaircraft carrier built for theUnited States Navy. She was launched on October 29, 2019, and christened on December 7, 2019. She is currently scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in March 2027.
On December 7, 2007, the 66th anniversary of theAttack on Pearl Harbor, Arizona CongressmanHarry Mitchell proposed naming this shipArizona. In 2009, Arizona CongressmanJohn Shadegg proposed naming either CVN-79 or the subsequentCVN-80 asBarry M. Goldwater, after thelate U.S. Senator, also from Arizona.[7] On May 29, 2011, theDepartment of Defense announced that the ship would be named forJohn F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, who served in the Navy duringWorld War II.[8] She will be the third navy ship named after members of theKennedy family, and the second aircraft carrier namedJohn F. Kennedy, succeedingUSS John F. Kennedy (CV-67), which was active from 1968 to 2007.
On January 15, 2009, Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII)Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding was awarded a $374-million contract for design work and construction preparation forJohn F. Kennedy.[9] On September 30, 2010, Northrop Grumman announced that preparations were under way to begin construction.[10] On February 25, 2011, the Navy conducted the First Cut of Steel ceremony at Northrop Grumman inNewport News, signalling the formal start of construction forJohn F. Kennedy.[11][12]
John F. Kennedy was originally planned to be completed in 2018. But this deadline was extended to 2020 after Secretary of DefenseRobert Gates announced in 2009 a shift to a five-year building program for the sake of fiscal sustainability. By late 2012, delays had occurred in construction, and theNavy Department was investigating extending the construction time of bothEnterprise andJohn F. Kennedy by an additional two years which could delay the carrier's entry into service until 2022.[1] In September 2013, theGovernment Accountability Office recommended delaying the detail design and construction contract forJohn F. Kennedy until programmatic shortfalls are sorted out. Both the Navy and Defense Department rejected the recommendation. The Navy faces technical, design, and construction challenges to completingGerald R. Ford, including producing systems prior to demonstrating their maturity to meet required installation dates.Gerald R. Ford had its costs increase by 22% to $12.8 billion, and additional increases could follow due to uncertainties facing critical technology systems and shipbuilder under performance. Risk is introduced in the Navy's plan to conduct integration testing of key systems at the same time as initial operational test and evaluation. One action the GAO says could be taken to ensureFord-class carrier acquisitions are supported is conducting a cost-benefit analysis of required capabilities and associated costs.[13]
The ship's keel was laid in Newport News, Virginia on August 22, 2015.[14] As part of the traditionalkeel laying ceremony, the initials of ship sponsorCaroline Kennedy, daughter of President Kennedy and the sponsor of the previousJohn F. Kennedy, were welded into the ship's hull.[14] As of late June 2017 the ship was 50% structurally complete.[15] On February 28, 2018, HII announced that its Newport News Shipbuilding division had built 70% of the structures necessary to completeJohn F. Kennedy.[16] On April 30, 2018, HII announced that she was "75 percent structurally erected and more than 40 percent complete." On May 3, 2018 HII President & CEO Mike Petters reported thatJohn F. Kennedy was to be launched three months ahead of schedule on October 29, 2019.[17] On May 30, 2019 the 588-ton bridge and island was installed. Under the island Captain Todd Marzano placed his wings and the firstKennedy half dollar, which was donated by Caroline Kennedy, was put in place. Next to these Rear Admiral Brian Antonio (former program executive officer for aircraft carriers),[18] Rear Admiral Roy Kelley (commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic),[19] andJennifer Boykin (president, Newport News Shipbuilding)[20] placed coins each embossed with quotes from President Kennedy and parts of the ship's motto. Caroline could not be present, so the order was given via radio for the crane operator to lift the island and set it down on the deck over the ceremonial items and entombing them in the ship's superstructure.[21] The ship was fully completed on July 11, 2019 with the installation of the upper bow and launch deck consisting of the ship's two forward catapults.[22]
On October 1, 2019, the ship's crew was activated for the first time asPre-Commissioning Unit (PCU)John F. Kennedy at a ceremony aboard the vessel atNewport News Shipbuilding.[23] On October 29, 2019, Newport News Shipbuilding began flooding the dry dock whereJohn F. Kennedy has been under construction. The process of filling the dry dock with more than 100,000,000 US gallons (380,000,000 L; 83,000,000 imp gal) of water took place over several days, and it marked the first time the ship has been in water. Once the ship was afloat, she was moved to west end of the dry dock.[24] The ship was christened on December 7, 2019 by Caroline Kennedy, who reenacted the bottle bash she did when the firstJohn F. Kennedy (CV-67) was christened 52 years earlier.[4]
In November 2020, HII received a nine-figure modification on an earlier contract to accomplish CVN 79 "single phase delivery and Joint Strike Fighter (F-35C) capabilities" inNewport News, Virginia.[25] According to the contract announcement, the "single-phase delivery approach" is adopted "to meet both Fleet requirements and a congressional mandate of ensuring that CVN 79 is capable of operating and deploying Joint Strike Fighter (F-35C) aircraft before completing the post-shakedown availability (PSA) as codified in Section 124 of the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (Public Law 116-92)."[25] The ship first tested herElectromagnetic Aircraft Launch System in 2022,[26] and her combat system in 2023.[27] In the same year, the U.S. Navy awarded a contract worth almost $400 million to HII for upgrades to the ship's flight deck, island, and weapon systems.[28] In February 2024 HII and the Navy began dead load testing and the first sleds were shot off the deck in late February until the end of April.[29] With the extra work moved into the base construction period, starting in 2023, the delivery schedule from mid-2024 to sometime in 2025, but moves up the date when she will be in full service, because less of the otherwise extensive finishing work will be left for the post-delivery post-shakedown period.[30]
On April 8, 2025, the Navy announced that the carrier's planned July delivery date would likely be missed.[31][32] The new delivery date is March 2027.[33]
On January 28, 2026, USSJohn F. Kennedy departedNewport News Shipbuilding for initial sea trials.[34] She successfully completed her builder's initial builder sea trials on February 5.[35]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
| on the official YouTube channel of HI Industries(in English) | |
 Building John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) onYouTube | |
| Bringing John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) to Life onYouTube | |
| John F. Kennedy (#CVN79) Christening Ceremony onYouTube |
