PUBLISHED on August 8, 2025, 9:39 AM EDT – Key Points and Summary – The U.S. Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the USS John F. Kennedy, is facing severe construction delays, pushing its delivery back to March 2027.
-This delay, caused by issues with its advanced arresting gear and weapons elevators, is significant because it will coincide with the planned retirement of the USS Nimitz next year.
(Aug. 8, 2017) The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77) at sea during exercise Saxon Warrior 2017, Aug. 8. Saxon Warrior is a United States and United Kingdom co-hosted carrier strike group exercise that demonstrates allied interoperability and capability to respond to crises and deter potential threats. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Theron J. Godbold /Released)
-As a result, the U.S. carrier fleet will temporarily drop from 11 to 10 ships for approximately one year. This carrier shortage comes at a “particularly precarious time,” constraining the Navy’s ability to respond to potential global crises.
Delays Hit Newest US Navy Aircraft Carrier, Fleet Will Drop to Ten
BERLIN, GERMANY – The United States Navy’s newest Ford-class aircraft carrier is facing severe construction delays—delays that will result in its roll-out leaving the Navy with 10 aircraft carriers, down from 11, over the course of about a year, USNI News reports.
US Navy estimates place the delivery of that delayed aircraft carrier, the USS John F. Kennedy, CVN-79, in March of 2027, rather than at the end of July as previously planned.
Where the Problems Are
The United States Navy’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget justification paperwork simply states that the delay is necessary “to support completion of Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) certification and continued Advanced Weapons Elevator (AWE) work.” Both the Advanced Arresting Gear and the Advanced Weapons Elevator are new pieces of technology being pioneered by the Ford-class.
Speaking to USNI News, a spokesperson for the United States Navy explained that the Navy is “exploring opportunities for preliminary acceptance of the vessel prior to formal delivery and is coordinating closely with stakeholders to ensure the fastest possible transition to fleet operations and a combat-capable carrier.”
A spokesperson for HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding, one of the shipbuilders building the Ford-class aircraft carriers, explained that some of the lessons learned from building the first Ford-class are being applied to subsequent carriers to streamline production.
(Oct. 30, 2007) – USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) conducts rudder checks as part of the ship’s Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) following a six-month Planned Incremental Availability. All naval vessels are periodically inspected by INSURV to check their material condition and battle readiness. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class M. Jeremie Yoder (RELEASED)
“Specifically, John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) construction was fairly advanced when many Ford lessons were realized, precluding timely implementation of lessons learned for Kennedy,” company spokesperson Todd Corillo said in a statement. “In contrast, Enterprise (CVN 80) and Doris Miller (CVN 81) have been able to incorporate, leverage and capitalize on Ford lessons learned earlier in the construction process.”
Why the Aircraft Carrier Delays?
It is not the first time that the USS John F. Kennedy has faced delays. Two years ago, in 2023, the US Navy pushed back the carrier’s delivery to this summer, a date which is clearly no longer feasible. It’s not just the USS John F. Kennedy that has faced delays, however. The carrier’s immediate predecessor and lead ship of the Ford-class, the USS Gerald R. Ford, also faced delays, though of a slightly different nature. Difficulties in integrating the USS Gerald R. Ford’s weapons elevators into the new carrier resulted in a delayed service entry.
Documentation from the Congressional Research Service, a non-partisan think tank in Washington that prepares reports for lawmakers, said that the USS John F. Kennedy would cost around $13.2 billion, with another $150 million requested to cover “cost growth on the ship.”
Out With the Old, in With the New
The United States Navy’s oldest aircraft carrier, the storied USS Nimitz, is set to return from service next year, marking half a century since it joined active duty with the US Navy. And while that should be good news, it will leave without an immediate replacement thanks to the USS John F. Kennedy’s delay.
The Navy Needs a Lot of New Warships Besides Aircraft Carriers
The months and years ahead could put several US Navy programs, not just the Ford-class, under pressure.
In addition to the new aircraft carriers, the Navy’s other top acquisition priorities include the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine, with the first of the class, the USS District of Columbia, ongoing.
In parallel to the Columbia-class, shipbuilders are also building the Virginia-class attack submarines — like the Columbias, also nuclear-powered — though that initiative is also behind schedule. Instead of the originally hoped-for two new Virginias per year, actual production is closer to 1.13 submarines per year.
However, that program has already made progress, with 24 Virginias already built and delivered.
The other big-ticket projects for the US Navy are the F/A-XX, a future sixth-generation fighter that the Navy would like to see replace older fourth-generation Hornet fighters on American carriers. That program’s future is uncertain, however, as questions about available funds threaten to derail the project.
So, while the US Navy will receive the carriers it wants, the delay has significant implications not just for the United States but also for its friends and allies. One less carrier in service — even for just a year — would constrain response options for crises around the globe, a limitation that is a significant cause for concern. With potential hotspots ripe for eruption in the Middle East and Asia, a carrier shortage comes at a particularly precarious time.
About the Author: Caleb Larson
Caleb Larson is an American multiformat journalist based in Berlin, Germany. His work covers the intersection of conflict and society, focusing on American foreign policy and European security. He has reported from Germany, Russia, and the United States. Most recently, he covered the war in Ukraine, reporting extensively on the war’s shifting battle lines from Donbas and writing on the war’s civilian and humanitarian toll. Previously, he worked as a Defense Reporter for POLITICO Europe. You can follow his latest work on X.
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Raymond Poteet
August 9, 2025 at 4:48 am
This country can’t build anything anymore. Just look at the G.Ford, a decade late and billions in cost over runs. We’ll never see another new US built carrier. Maybe we need to buy them from China. It seems they are not having any trouble delivering.
ImWolf
August 9, 2025 at 8:46 am
Methinks that as the number of US carriers keeps dropping, so will the incidence of “global crisis”.
Darkwing
August 9, 2025 at 9:54 am
Why does the US military need another carrier???? Repare the old ones
grim fandango
August 9, 2025 at 11:11 am
Dropping from 11 to 10 carriers is a real threat, as it reusults in a reduction of hypersonic missile bullseyes. The fewer the bullseyes, the sooner they are all vaporized.