The future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), the Navy’s second Ford-class aircraft carrier, went to sea for the first time on 28 January 2026, US Naval Institute News reports. John F. Kennedy left Newport News, Va., for builder’s trials.
“John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) departed HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division today to undergo builder’s sea trials,” HII spokesman Todd Corillo told USNI News in a statement. “These trials will test important ship systems and components at sea for the first time.”
Builder’s trials happen after a vessel finishes construction, but before the shipbuilder delivers it to the Navy. The trials allow the company to test the ship and its systems before delivery.
JFK is set to deliver to the Navy in March 2027 after facing numerous delays over the years while under construction at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding.
The Navy altered a previously planned dual-phase delivery approach for the carrier in 2020, opting for a single phase delivery. That decision added two years of work to the carrier’s detail design and construction contract, according to the Fiscal Year 2024 Navy budget documents.
The additional work included modifications so the carrier can field the fifth-generation F-35C Joint Strike Fighter Lightning II – a capability the Navy previously planned to backfit later – and the new Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar.
Under the FY 2024 plans, the carrier was scheduled to deliver in July of 2025. But that schedule slipped again last year due to ongoing challenges incorporating new technology and systems.
“The CVN-79 delivery date shifted from July 2025 to March 2027 (preliminary acceptance TBD) to support completion of Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) certification and continued Advanced Weapons Elevator (AWE) work,” reads the latest Fiscal Year 2026 shipbuilding budget documents.
These two technologies – the system used to catch aircraft landing on the carrier’s deck and the weapons elevators that move ordnance through the ship – are new to the Ford class.
In December, Newport News Shipbuilding president Kari Wilkinson told USNI News that JFK was slated for preliminary acceptance in the middle of 2026.
