Key Points and Summary on the Ford-Class Supercarrier: The U.S. Navy’s newest Ford-Class aircraft carrier, the USS John F. Kennedy, is now facing a substantial new delay, with its delivery pushed back nearly two years to March 2027.
-Work on the aircraft carrier started in 2015.
-This setback, attributed to ongoing problems with the ship’s advanced aircraft launch and recovery systems, exacerbates a growing crisis for a carrier fleet already stretched thin.
-With the impending 2026 retirement of the USS Nimitz, the delay leaves a critical gap in America’s global power projection capabilities at a time of rising threats from China and Russia, and highlights deep, systemic problems within the U.S. shipbuilding industry.
Ford-Class USS John F. Kennedy Aircraft Carrier Plagued By Delay
This news about the U.S. Navy is difficult to swallow. The newest American super carrier, the ultra-advanced USS John F. Kennedy, will have a substantial delay of perhaps two additional years before it is delivered to the Navy.
This comes at the worst time when the Americans need every carrier possible to patrol Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia. There are just not enough flat-tops now to answer all of the contingencies, and the John F. Kennedy needed to be on time to deliver value to the U.S. military and meet modern threats from Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and other flashpoints in the Middle East.
New Carriers of the Ford-class Have Difficult Technology to Integrate
The second carrier of the Ford-class features the new Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS), the Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG), and improved weapons elevators. The first carrier of the class, the USS Gerald R. Ford, also endured schedule slips and cost overruns with a final price tag of $13.3 billion.
The Kennedy Needs Until March 2027 to Be Operational
The Navy hoped to welcome the John F. Kennedy into full-time service this month. This would have been a significant development considering the threat environment. It could have added to a carrier fleet that often has ships at port for maintenance instead of steaming in the high seas to project power and create deterrence against U.S. adversaries. Now the Americans will have to wait until March 2027 for the handover.
A Navy spokesperson told Newsweek that the Navy is “exploring opportunities for preliminary acceptance of the vessel prior to formal delivery.”
A Carrier Force That Is Stretched Too Thin
This doesn’t augur well for a U.S. defense strategy that is prioritizing East Asia with the need to have two carrier strike groups operating in the Indo-Pacific and one in Europe and two in the Middle East. With maintenance and refit requirements, at least three carriers may be in port at any given time.
The military is “coordinating closely with stakeholders to ensure the fastest possible transition to fleet operations and a combat capable carrier,” the spokesperson explained.
USS Enterprise Has a Schedule Slip, Too
This delay for the John F. Kennedy has a knock-on effect. The third carrier of the Ford-class, the USS Enterprise, will enter active duty in July 2030 instead of September 2029 as originally planned.
To be sure, many other ships are experiencing delays too, and it is a difficult time for the Navy as it still suffers from supply chain snags and a lack of skilled shipyard workers. The John F. Kennedy faces challenges integrating the F-35C Lightning II stealth fighter jets, requiring updated radars, as well as addressing issues with the arresting gear and advanced elevator, which have delayed the Gerald R. Ford.
Two carriers, the USS Nimitz and the USS Carl Vinson, are currently in the Middle East. The Gerald R. Ford is headed to the eastern Mediterranean.
Could the Nimitz Service Life Be Extended?
Eleven carriers are in service, but this won’t last long as the Nimitz will be retired in May 2026, bringing down the number to 10 as the Navy waits for the John F. Kennedy to enter service.
The Navy has been working on the Kennedy since 2015. That’s an eye-watering 10 years of construction, and it is still not ready.
The Nimitz has been patrolling since 1975. The old carrier could sail for a more extended period until the Kennedy is ready. The Nimitz keeps chugging along, but it would be a shame for the trusty carrier to leave the scene completely next year. It may be necessary to extend its service life and forego retirement until 2027.
Gerald R. Ford Is Finally in Battle Shape
Gerald R. Ford has endured a checkered history. It was commissioned in 2017 and had its share of adverse developments. However, it has completed a deployment that showed it could lead an eight-month mission to the Mediterranean and Middle East in 2024.
The Navy says the Kennedy is 95 percent complete and the Enterprise is 44 percent done. These delays come as China has three operational aircraft carriers and is working on a fourth. China has been able to deploy two carriers in action that steam with strike groups throughout the Indo-Pacific.
The Pentagon is just going to have to bite the bullet and accept the delays. They must remain focused on getting these carriers into the water as fast as possible. If that means more Congressional support for shipbuilding, then now is the time for lawmakers on the Armed Services Committees in both chambers to sound the alarm.
The Heritage Foundation’s Brent Sadler has written extensively about the need to focus on shipbuilding. Sadler calls for a new fully expansionary “Naval Act” last executed in 1938 to prod the U.S. military into a vast strategy for bolstering the fleet.
Sadler wrote that the Department of Defense must have the resources to buy more ships. “Consideration is likewise warranted for a big, beautiful block buy of warships. After 30 years of underinvestment in naval shipbuilding by the U.S., and China acting increasingly confidently and boldly, innovative action is urgently needed,” Sadler wrote.
Unfortunately, a new Naval Act is not on the front burner for many lawmakers on Capitol Hill who are pondering the need for the F-47 NGAD fighter, the B-21 Raider bomber, and new hypersonic missiles. This delay in the Kennedy should wake up the Trump administration and Congress to make shipbuilding, especially aircraft carriers, a priority.
About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
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