The newest Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier of the U.S. Navy, the future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79), is scheduled to be christened on December 7, 2019, at Newport News, Virginia. This is an event of real importance in terms of naval history—the second ship to have been built in the Ford-class series and intended to replace the venerable USS Nimitz, CVN 68.
The christening ceremony will feature a keynote address by former NASA Administrator Maj. Gen. Charles F. Bolden, USMC (Ret.). Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President John F. Kennedy, will serve as the ship’s sponsor, breaking a bottle of American sparkling wine against the hull.
Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly stressed the strategic importance of the new carrier: “USS John F. Kennedy will carry the legacy of its namesake and the power of our nation. This aircraft carrier will bring advanced technology and warfighting capabilities to our global challenges, strengthen our allies and partners, extend our reach against potential adversaries, and further the global mission of our integrated naval force.”
The USS John F. Kennedy will be the second aircraft carrier to be named after President John F. Kennedy, who served as a Navy lieutenant during World War II and as the 35th President of the United States. The aircraft carrier itself, combined with its air wing and strike group assets, will provide core capabilities in areas such as forward presence, deterrence, sea control, power projection, maritime security, and humanitarian assistance.
The Gerald R. Ford class has been developed with a host of new technologies, including a new propulsion system, electric plant, EMALS, AAG, and integrated warfare systems. The Gerald R. Ford class is being built by Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding division. This is a very proud and particularly poignant moment for the CVN 79 shipbuilding team,” said Rear Adm. James P. Downey, program executive officer for Aircraft Carriers. “We are grateful to the thousands of engineers and planners from Naval Sea Systems Command, to the HII-NNS shipbuilders, and to the sailors and crew of the John F. Kennedy, who are working tirelessly as a team to construct this formidable aircraft carrier.”
At 1,092 feet in length and weighing 100,000 tons, CVN 79 brings more than 23 new technologies to life, which will dramatically advance propulsion, power generation, ordnance handling, and aircraft launch systems. These innovations eventually are intended to raise the sortie generation rate by 33 percent while reducing manning by those same numbers—both at a significant cost savings compared to Nimitz-class carriers. Gerald R. Ford-class carriers are forecast to save, on average, $4 billion per ship in life cycle operations and support costs.
Advanced systems aboard USS John F. Kennedy will change the face of naval warfare, thus bettering the forward-deployed presence and interoperability of the U.S. Navy with allied naval forces. During this period of great power competition, CVN 79 will be the most agile and lethal combat platform in the world.
Meanwhile, the lead ship of its class, the USS Gerald R. Ford CVN 78, has just returned from an extended maiden voyage that furnished many premier opportunities to test capabilities and sharpen operational procedures. According to the commander of the Navy League, Mark Thompson, this cruise underscores the unwavering commitment of the United States Navy to maritime superiority’s maintenance within an evolving global environment.
The longer voyage gave the crew a chance to put Ford’s advanced features into action, including EMALS and AAG. “Game changed” in operational efficiency and readiness with the advancement of EMALS and AAG, said Rear Adm. Michael Chen while praising Ford’s performance during its recent testing.
General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems announced the start of EMALS testing aboard the future USS John F. Kennedy recently. Testing includes the launching of large, steel-wheeled vehicles called “dead loads” that simulate various weights of aircraft. Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS, said this milestone was important because it marked only the second time the Navy has launched dead loads from a carrier using electromagnetic technology.
GA-EMS also has many contracts with the Navy to support sustainment requirements for the now-deployed USS Gerald R. Ford, as well as to deliver EMALS and AAG for future Ford-class carriers Enterprise (CVN 80) and Doris Miller (CVN 81).
As the USS John F. Kennedy enters the fleet, it ushers in a different kind of warship, with state-of-the-art technologies that will pave the way for U.S. Navy supremacy over the high seas for decades into the future.