The delivery date for the second Ford-class aircraft carrier has been pushed back another year, according to budget documents released this week.
The USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) 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 (CVN-78), which is currently 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.
In a media availability held Friday, Sen. Tim Kaine said 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 delayed 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 its not ideal,” Kaine said.
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The Kennedy is being built at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding Division. Its construction is more than 80% complete.
When the Kennedy was christened in December 2019 at Newport News Shipbuilding, the Navy was looking at a 2022 delivery date. The July 2025 delivery date puts the Kennedy roughly three years behind schedule, in part because the Navy shifted gears in 2020.
The Navy had 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 yet 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 around 4 months. The USS Gerald R. Ford completed its availability in October 2019 after about 3 1/2 months.
Caitlyn Burchett, [email protected]
