Delivery date for next carrier, USS John F. Kennedy, pushed back a year
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The delivery date for the second Ford-class aircraft carrier was pushed back a year, according to budget documents released this week.
The USS John F. Kennedy is slated to be delivered in July 2025 to support a revised ship delivery and post-delivery strategy. The Kennedy will be the second Ford-class carrier to join the fleet, following the USS Gerald R. Ford, which is undergoing a training exercise to certify for deployment.
“The Navy is implementing a strategy to pull baseline work from the post-shakedown availability into the construction period in order to provide more capability at ship delivery,” the documents read.
A post-shakedown availability is done to correct deficiencies found during the shakedown cruise or to make other improvements.
“This approach will prepare CVN-79 as the first Ford-class aircraft carrier to operate in the Indo-Pacific region and decrease the amount of time CVN-79 would be required to be at the shipyard after ship delivery to conduct the PSA,” the documents read.
Sen. Tim Kaine said Friday the Kennedy’s delivery delay is “disappointing” but “it’s not unexpected.”
Kaine pointed to supply chain issues that built up during the pandemic that are delaying the delivery of some equipment and materials needed on all shipbuilding and submarine platforms.
The Kennedy’s delivery is reminiscent of the first-in-class USS Gerald R. Ford, which was years late and $4 billion over budget.
”The Ford was an ordeal but the capacity the Ford provides are already getting rave reviews. I have no doubt the JFK will be even better but it’s not ideal,” Kaine said.
The Kennedy is being built at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding Division. Its construction is more than 80% complete.
A shipyard spokesman said the company supports the Navy’s strategy.
“The Navy strategy would shift work previously planned for post-delivery completion at Newport News Shipbuilding into the baseline contract. NNS and the Navy are currently working through details of that strategy, but the scope of work is expected to include items that NNS previously completed on USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) after delivery,” said Todd Corillo, a spokesperson for the Newport News Shipbuilding division.
When the Kennedy was christened in December 2019 at Newport News Shipbuilding, the Navy was looking at 2022 for delivery. The July 2025 date puts the Kennedy roughly three years behind schedule, in part because the Navy shifted gears in 2020.
The Navy originally planned to accept delivery of Kennedy in two steps, basically to stretch out payments for the ship. The idea was to avoid having both the Kennedy and USS Nimitz — the carrier it is replacing — in the fleet at the same time, which would have stretched Navy personnel and budgets thin. The Navy decided to return to a single-step delivery in November 2020.
While the Kennedy’s delivery date has been pushed back again, the budget documents emphasize the post-shakedown availability will “align to a traditional period of resolving discrepancies discovered during trials.”
The post-shakedown availability can take about 4 months. The USS Gerald R. Ford completed its availability in October 2019 after about 3 1/2 months.
Caitlyn Burchett, caitlyn.burchett@virginiamedia.com
