Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier USS John F. Kennedy Completes Acceptance Sea Trials

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced on August 15 that its subsidiary Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) has successfully completed acceptance sea trials for the second Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, "USS John F. Kennedy" (John F. Kennedy, CVN 79).

USS John F. Kennedy conducted further testing and evaluation of critical ship systems and components at sea before returning to Newport News Shipbuilding. Earlier this year, the carrier had completed builder's sea trials.

Derek Murphy, NNS vice president in charge of the new carrier construction program, stated that the carrier's sea trials demonstrated the shipyard's construction capabilities and personnel commitment, as well as the efforts of the nuclear-powered shipbuilding industry and related shipyard workers in advancing CVN 79 toward fleet introduction.

The sea trials involved NNS shipyard personnel, the crew of USS John F. Kennedy, and U.S. Navy personnel, with the primary mission of testing and evaluating the ship's operational performance.

CVN 79 is a key vessel in the U.S. Navy's next-generation nuclear-powered aircraft carrier platform. Following the completion of acceptance sea trials, the carrier will enter the initial post-delivery phase. This phase will enable the U.S. Navy to begin at-sea testing and evaluation of the dedicated systems aboard USS John F. Kennedy.