Navy Shifts Future Carrier JFK to Single-Phase Delivery With F-35C Modifications Included - USNI...

The Navy today issued a contract modification to move its next Ford-class aircraft carrier to a more traditional single-phase delivery, with the intention of getting the future John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) in deployable shape on a faster timeline.

JFK was previously slated to go through a two-phase delivery process, where the ship would be mostly completed and then the workforce at Newport News Shipbuilding would pause and install electronics and other modifications at a later time. This plan was unveiled in the Fiscal Year 2016 budget as a means of building the carrier on the most cost-effective schedule for the workforce at the construction yard but avoiding an overlap of JFK and USS Nimitz (CVN-68) in the fleet, which would put a strain on Navy budgets and personnel to operate both. By inserting a gap in construction and delaying final delivery, the ship would receive the most up-to-date technology just ahead of its entry to the fleet, once the fleet was ready to induct a new carrier.

However, that decision was made when JFK was expected to deliver in 2022 and the overlap between Kennedy and Nimitz would have been longer. The Navy is now eyeing a 2024 delivery for JFK regardless of whether it delivers fully outfitted or not.