The USS John F. Kennedy, the US Navy’s next aircraft carrier, is currently pursuing “at-sea testing”—the final necessary step before its expected commissioning next March.

It is approximately 15 nautical miles (about 17 land miles) from Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding to Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia. For the long-delayed future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), the trip has been years in the making.

On Tuesday, the yet-to-be-commissioned CVN-79 departed Newport News, hitting a major milestone with the United States Navy taking “preliminary acceptance” of the nuclear-powered supercarrier. It follows the successful completion of the flattop’s acceptance trials in August. The preliminary acceptance will allow the warship and its crew to begin “at-sea testing” while underway, as the NNS completes its final ship testing—paving the way for the official handover next year.

“Achieving preliminary acceptance marks a new phase for the ship and her crew, allowing them to get more water under the keel as they test and train underway,” said Captain Mark Johnson, the Navy’s Program Manager for Gerald R. Ford-Class New Construction. “This milestone is a testament to the shared commitment of our sailors and our combined Navy-industry team, who remain laser-focused on completing the final stages of construction and test with precision and efficiency to deliver combat-ready lethality to the fleet.”

According to the US Navy, the Kennedy is 99 percent complete, with all major systems installed. NNS is completing the final ship systems test, including the four Advanced Weapons Elevators (AWEs).

Current plans call for the second Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear-powered supercarrier to be commissioned in March 2027. Until that time, it remains designated the “Pre-Commissioning Unit” (PCU) John F. Kennedy.

“Preliminary acceptance allows CVN-79 to be delivered to the US Navy on the fastest path possible to achieve combat readiness,” the Navy said.

During the acceptance trials in August, Navy examiners completed comprehensive testing of the warship’s critical systems and components. That followed the builder’s trials in February of this year, the initial at-sea evaluation that future warships must first undergo. During the February phase, personnel from the shipbuilder, the US Navy, and future crew members tested key operating systems aboard the future supercarrier.

The future CVN-79 will be the second aircraft carrier named for John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, with the former—CV-67, a variant of the Kitty Hawk-class and the final conventionally-powered carrier built for the US Navy—now at the Port of Brownsville, Texas, undergoing a multi-year dismantling process. Caroline Kennedy, Kennedy’s daughter and a former US ambassador to Australia and Japan, was the sponsor of both ships.

What’s Taking the Navy So Long to Commission the Kennedy?

The Navy was supposed to take possession of PCU John F. Kennedy in July 2025, but the handover was delayed following issues with the “Advanced Arresting Gear,” the system that is used to catch fixed-wing aircraft that land on the flight deck, and the AWE elevators that shuttle munitions from ammo storage deep in the ship to the aircraft. Seven of the 11 AWEs had been installed and were operational by this past summer; the four remaining elevators are now being tested.

The US Navy further sought to avoid the need for post-delivery modifications that the USS Gerald R. Ford (CV-78), the lead vessel of the class, required, with many still not completed.

CVN-78 still can’t accommodate the fifth-generation F-35C Lightning II. To head off the same problems aboard the Kennedy, Congress mandated that CVN-79 would be capable of embarking the Joint Strike Fighter on its maiden deployment.

Addressing all those issues pushed back the delivery of the future CVN-79 by approximately 18 months. That in turn resulted in a delay to the decommissioning of the USS Nimitz (CVN-68), as US law requires that the US Navy maintain 11 operational nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.

About the Author: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu has contributed to dozens of newspapers, magazines, and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author at Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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