US Navy christens USS John F Kennedy
The US Navy christened USS John F Kennedy (CVN 79) at Huntington-Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding on 7 December.
The second Gerald R Ford-class aircraft carrier for the US Navy, CVN 79 incorporates more than 23 new technologies, including advances in propulsion, power generation, ordnance handling and aircraft launch systems.
The class is expected to deliver a 33 percent higher sortie generation rate compared to Nimitz-class carriers, and a reduction of approximately $4 billion per ship in life-cycle operations and support costs.
The new technology and combat capabilities that the John F Kennedy brings to the fleet will support a more capable and lethal forward-deployed US naval presence, and enable enhanced interoperability with other platforms in the carrier strike group as well as with the naval forces of regional allies and partners.
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