Builder Huntington Ingalls Industries said the carrier departed its Newport News Shipbuilding division to test propulsion, weapons and other systems at sea. The Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey will assess the results. The board decides whether the ship meets its contract specifications before delivery.
Acceptance trials follow builder’s trials, an earlier test phase the shipyard completed in February. That test ran for about a week off the Virginia coast. It was Kennedy’s first time underway.
HII credited its shipbuilders, suppliers and the ship’s Navy crew for the milestone. CEO Chris Kastner told analysts earlier this year that the company was focused on getting Kennedy ready for acceptance trials by the end of 2026.
Newport News Shipbuilding is the only U.S. shipyard that builds nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. Work on Kennedy started there in 2015. The ship was launched and christened in 2019. Its contract value has climbed to nearly $13 billion.
Kennedy was originally due for delivery in 2024. The Navy pushed that date back several times. The latest target is March 2027. Two new technologies caused most of the delay. One is the Advanced Arresting Gear, which stops landing aircraft. The other is a new weapons elevator system that moves munitions through the ship. Both systems debuted on this class of carrier.
After acceptance trials, the Navy typically runs final inspections. Builders fix any problems found before formal delivery.
Kennedy is the second carrier in the Gerald R. Ford class. The class is replacing the older Nimitz-class carriers that have served the Navy for decades. Lead ship USS Gerald R. Ford entered service in 2017, also after years of delay.
The Ford class uses a new reactor design. It generates more electrical power than older carriers. It also uses electromagnetic catapults instead of steam catapults. The flight deck layout is different too. The Navy says these changes let the ship launch aircraft faster with fewer crew members.
Two more Ford-class carriers are under construction at Newport News. They are the future USS Enterprise (CVN 80) and USS Doris Miller (CVN 81).
The timing matters for Navy planners. USS Nimitz is nearing retirement. Once it leaves service, the fleet will drop to 10 carriers. Congress requires the Navy to maintain 11. Kennedy’s delivery is meant to close that gap.
