Key Points and Summary: The U.S. Navy’s Ford-class aircraft carrier program is facing significant new construction delays, according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.
-While the lead ship, USS Gerald R. Ford, is on its second deployment, the second carrier, USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), is now at risk of missing its July 2025 delivery date due to ongoing issues with its Advanced Weapons Elevators.
-More significantly, the delivery of the third carrier, USS Enterprise (CVN-80), has been pushed back by 26 months to May 2030.
-These delays are attributed to persistent shipyard workforce shortages and construction challenges at Huntington Ingalls Industries.
GAO Reports Delays For New Ford-Class Carriers
As the USS Gerald R. Ford first-in-class nuclear aircraft carrier sets sail on its second deployment, a report by the United States Government Accountability Office has revealed ongoing delays to the Ford-class aircraft carrier program.
The delays push back the deployment of two planned Ford-class aircraft carriers at the cost of hundreds of millions of dollars.
The first-of-its-kind CVN 78 Ford-class carrier departed Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, in May 2023 for its first global deployment. In a statement at the time, commander Capt. Rick Burgess said that the deployment was designed to operationalize new technologies on board the vessel.
“This ship and crew are actively reshaping the face of our Navy’s capabilities and strengthening the future of naval aviation,” Burgess said.
As the U.S. Navy familiarizes itself with the first of the new Ford-class carriers, however, delays mean the next ships from the same class could still be years away from their first deployments.
What, and where, are the CVN 79 and CVN 80?
The CVN 79 and CVN 80 are the second and third aircraft carriers in the Ford-class series, designed to replace aging Nimitz-class carriers and modernize the Navy’s carrier strike capabilities. Like the USS Gerald R. Ford, the carriers incorporate a range of advanced technologies, including the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG), and redesigned weapons elevators – all aimed at reducing crew workload, increasing aircraft sortie rates, and improving long-term operational efficiency.
According to the GAO, the CVN 79 nuclear aircraft carrier program’s unit costs have increased by 3 percent, roughly $480 million USD, since last year. Roughly half of that increase was attributed to changes to the CVN 79’s delivery schedule, the report explains, with ongoing shipyard workforce shortages also contributed to rising costs.
The aircraft carrier’s July 2025 delivery is now considered “at risk.”
The report also predicted changes in the CVN 80 delivery schedule, citing ongoing construction challenges. The CVN 80 is now reportedly expected to be delivered in May 2030 – a 26-month extension of the delivery timeline over last year.
“Construction challenges affected CVN 79 and CVN 80 delivery schedules. Continuing delays to Advanced Weapons Elevators construction put CVN 79’s July 2025 delivery at risk, according to program officials. They said that, while this construction improved since CVN 78, they may postpone noncritical work like painting until after delivery to avoid delay,” the report reveals.
Chris Kastner, the CEO of Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), the largest military shipbuilder in the United States, described how problems retaining employees new to the shipbuilding industry has proven a persistent and difficult challenge to the program.
With an attrition rate as high as 60% per year according to the U.S. Navy, the future of the program – or, at least, the completion dates of the second two Ford-class carriers – now hinges on HII’s ability to recruit and retain experienced staff.
About the Author:
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society. His latest book is The Truth Teller: RFK Jr. and the Case for a Post-Partisan Presidency.
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