USS Gerald R. Ford conducts high-speed turns in the Atlantic Oct. 27.
Breaking Defense: Navy Rushes To Get F-35s on USS JFK; Other Ford Carriers Will Wait
The service's aircraft carrier boss says the COVID economic slowdown hasn't effected building new carriers -- yet.
WASHINGTON: The Navy’s rushed effort to retrofit its newest aircraft carrier to operate the F-35 is forcing the service to put some work on two more new Ford-class carriers on hold, while the service juggles work on all three big decks.
The $11 billion USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) was designed and christened without the capability to fly the 5th generation fighter because of cost caps and the aircraft’s infamously delayed development. Those schedule slippages forced the Navy to design and build the ships while the messy F-35 was still undergoing development.
In the 2020 NDAA Congress indicated it had had it’s fill of delays to the carrier and ordered the Navy to get to work refitting the Kennedy before it sets sail in 2024, forcing the Navy to improvise and refit the just-christened ship.
Speaking with reporters today, Rear Adm. James Downey, head of the Navy’s carrier programs, said those changes are forcing him to hold off on some early work on the forthcoming USS Enterprise (CVN 80), the third Ford-class carrier, and the USS Doris Miller (CVN 81) to ensure the Kennedy retrofits are done correctly before incorporating them on the other ships which have just started their build cycles.
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WNU Editor: Three aircraft carriers being built at the same time. I am sure there is a lot of juggling on what needs to be done.
