The future USS John F. Kennedy, the U.S. Navy’s second Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier, has started acceptance trials after leaving Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia on 12 August. The ship is moving through the final test phase before delivery, with current reporting pointing to a planned handover in March 2027.
Acceptance trials are the last manufacturer-led sea trials and are designed to verify that the carrier’s systems and equipment meet specification before delivery to the Navy. The ship had already completed builder’s sea trials earlier in the year, and the new phase follows a long development schedule for the Ford-class programme.
John F. Kennedy’s timetable has slipped in the past because of issues linked to the Advanced Arresting Gear and Advanced Weapons Elevators. Its arrival in acceptance trials places the 100,000-tonne carrier one step closer to entering the fleet, while also providing another checkpoint for Newport News Shipbuilding and parent company HII as the programme advances toward commissioning.