The US Navy has conducted preliminary acceptance of the future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) from HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), completing a final step towards delivery.
The milestone enables the second Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and its crew to carry out at-sea testing and training to build proficiency ahead of the navy formally accepting the aircraft carrier by March 2027.
Following CVN-79’s completion of builder’s sea trials and acceptance trials earlier this year, the navy announced that the USS John F. Kennedy is “approximately 99 percent complete.”
NNS is currently underway with completing final ship systems testing, including the remaining four Advanced Weapons Elevators (AWEs), after seven out of 11 AWEs were turned over in August.
“Achieving preliminary acceptance marks a new phase for the ship and her crew, allowing them to get more water under the keel as they test and train underway, said Capt. Mark Johnson, the Navy’s Program Manager for Gerald R. Ford-Class New Construction.
USS John F. Kennedy
The second Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier is considered among the largest warships to be built, measuring around 1,106 feet (337 meters) long with a full load displacement of 100,000 long tons (101,600 metric tons), and space for more than 75 aircraft.
Its construction began in 2011. The warship’s original delivery schedule was moved from June 2024 to July 2025, and finally to March 2027, due to the work required to support the completion of new systems incorporated into the ship, including the advanced arresting gear and the AWE technologies.
Once delivered, the USS John F. Kennedy is expected to operate for roughly 50 years of active naval service and take on global power projection and defense missions similar to its predecessor, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78).
