The U.S. Navy’s second nuclear-powered Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier completed testing Wednesday, roughly a week after it powered out to sea.
The USS John F. Kennedy, which is set to join the fleet in 2027, returned to Newport News Shipbuilding, Virginia, after leaving on Jan. 28 to evaluate at-sea systems and equipment, a Navy release said.
“John F. Kennedy going to sea for the first time is truly momentous,” said Capt. Doug Langenberg, John F. Kennedy’s commanding officer. “This event is a result of years of hard work and an incredible shared effort between our shipbuilding partners and this crew who have worked side-by-side to get to this day.”
Now that the Kennedy is docked, it will continue to finish construction and testing before finally embarking on acceptance trials, which are conducted by the U.S. Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey and mark one of the last installments in a vessel’s journey before officially being delivered to the U.S. Navy.
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The ship was launched on Oct. 29, 2019, christened on Dec. 7, 2019 and is the second vessel named after President John F. Kennedy.
The first, USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67), was decommissioned in 2007 after nearly 40 years of service.
The ship was initially supposed to be delivered in July 2025, but setbacks resulted in several delays, the last of which pushed its arrival to March 2027.
The wait appears worth it, with those aboard the Kennedy impressed by its performance.
“The overall capability, the automation, the reduced workload on watch standers is a notable improvement from [the Nimitz-class aircraft carriers],” said Deron Hathaway, who works at Fleet Power Plant Engineering at the Navy Nuclear Laboratory.
The new carrier is 1,092 feet long and weighs 100,000 tons. The Kennedy’s overall procurement cost was $13.2 billion, a December 2025 CRS report indicated.
Riley Ceder is a reporter at Military Times, where he covers breaking news, criminal justice, investigations, and cyber. He previously worked as an investigative practicum student at The Washington Post, where he contributed to the Abused by the Badge investigation.