โŒ

Normal view

There are new articles available, click to refresh the page.
Before yesterdayMain stream

The one-of-a-kind ex-USS John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier is heading to the scrapyard, but a new JFK flattop is coming

19 January 2025 at 01:03
A composite image shows the decommissioned aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy next to the future Ford-class supercarrier bearing the same name.
A composite image shows the decommissioned aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, left, next to a photo illustration of the future Ford-class supercarrier bearing the same name.

Joshua Karsten/US Navy via Getty Images/US Navy photo illustration courtesy of Newport News Shipbuilding/Business Insider

  • The ex-aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy began its final journey to the scrapyard.
  • The decommissioned vessel was the last conventionally powered flattop built by the US Navy.
  • The Kennedy namesake will continue with the future Ford-class nuclear-powered supercarrier.

The decommissioned aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy embarked on its final journey to be dismantled earlier this week.

The Kennedy was moored at the Navy's Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility in Philadelphia for nearly two decades before being sold to scrap dealers for just a cent.

The Kennedy namesake will live on in the future Ford-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. PCU Kennedy, the second-in-class ship, is scheduled to be commissioned in 2025, three years behind schedule.

Navy's last conventionally powered carrier
The decommissioned aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy is towed to the Navy Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility.
The decommissioned aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy was towed to the Navy Inactive Ships Maintenance Facility.

Anne Marie Gorden/U.S.Coast Guard via Getty Images

Commissioned in September 1968, the Kennedy was the fourth and final vessel in the Kitty Hawk class, initially designated as an attack aircraft carrier.

Comprised of the first-in-class Kitty Hawk, USS Constellation, USS America, and the Kennedy, the vessels were the last group of carriers to be powered by fossil fuels, which were replaced by the Navy's Nimitz-class nuclear-powered flattops.

The name honored the president slain five years before, who had served as a naval officer during World War II. After his motor torpedo boat was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer, he famously helped save his men from the water and relayed their stranded location to nearby allies by writing on a coconut husk.

Only ship of its class
Onlookers watch as the USS John F. Kennedy docks in the Hudson River.
Onlookers watched as the USS John F. Kennedy docks in the Hudson River.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

After undergoing heavy modifications to adapt to a broader range of missions, the Kennedy became a class of its own, changing its classification to CV-67.

Nicknamed "Big John," the Kennedy completed 18 deployments over nearly four decades in service, including operations in the Mediterranean, Tyrrhenian, Ionian, Ligurian, Aegean, and Adriatic Seas.

In 2005, the Navy decided the cost of the maintenance overhaul for the aging carrier outweighed the benefits, opting to retire the ship instead. The aircraft carrier was taken out of service in August 2007 and towed to Philadelphia, moored alongside other inactive Navy vessels.

Deployed to the Mediterranean
USS John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier approaches the Japan-Egypt Friendship Bridge during transit of the Suez Canal
USS John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier approached the Japan-Egypt Friendship Bridge during transit of the Suez Canal

Bill Vonseggern/US Navy/Getty Images

The Kennedy was notably involved in the Arab-Israeli conflict in the 1970s and deployed to the Middle East as part of the US response to the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

The vessel was also sent to waters off the coast of Lebanon after a suicide bomber struck the US Marine Corps Multi-National Forces Barracks at the Beirut International Airport, killing 241 Marines.

Aircraft aboard CV-67 launched the first major strikes on Iraq on the night of January 17, 1991, lighting up the night sky as the 80 sorties flying over Baghdad were pummeled with heavy fire from below.

"Imagine the Disney World light show, then magnify it 100 times," one pilot said. "That's what it looked like from the sky last nightโ€ฆ it was incredible!"

9/11 terror attacks
Sailors gather on deck below the main tower of the USS John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier as it passes the Statue of Liberty.
Sailors gathered on deck below the main tower of the USS John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier as it passed the Statue of Liberty.

STAN HONDA/AFP via Getty Images

The Kennedy and its battle group were also briefly deployed to the mid-Atlantic coastline to support the Nimitz-class carrier USS George Washington, establishing air security following the terror attacks in New York City on September 11, 2001.

"While John F. Kennedy Battle Group's services were needed for only a brief time, every member of the Battle Group was proud of their role in Operation Noble Eagle, providing security along the eastern seaboard of the United States," an observer with the Kennedy's battle group wrote, per the Navy.

The Kennedy also played an early role in the war in Afghanistan, launching the first air strikes off the coast of Pakistan that commenced Operation Enduring Freedom.

One of the greatest military pranks
Aircrew members are lifted from the flight deck of USS John F. Kennedy.
Aircrew members are lifted from the flight deck of USS John F. Kennedy.

Jim Hampshire/US Navy/Getty Images

Not only will the Kennedy go down in history for its involvement in key conflicts in US history, but it was also the setting of one of the greatest military pranks of all time.

A Navy tradition dating back to the 1960s, crews aboard Navy aircraft carriers would prank the sailors aboard the relieving ship by releasing greased pigs on its flight deck.

When the Kennedy was set to relieve the Kitty Hawk-class supercarrier USS America in 1986, aviators aboard the America dropped off an unusual payload on the new arrivals: three greased pigs dyed with red, white, and blue food coloring.

It's #NationalPigDay! Dating back to the early 60s, a prank played by carriers in the Mediterranean was to surprise their relieving carrier by releasing greased pigs on the flight deck. This 1986 video is of a helicopter from USS America dropping off pigs on USS John F. Kennedy. pic.twitter.com/LL6UHnfk0V

โ€” U.S. Naval Institute (@NavalInstitute) March 1, 2022
Final journey
The aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy sails at sunrise off the coast of Boston.
The aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy sails at sunrise off the coast of Boston.

David Goldman/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images

In 2021, the Navy sold two old aircraft carriers โ€” the Kennedy and the Kitty Hawk โ€” to scrap dealers for just one cent each.

Though towing and breaking down the ship for scrap is a costly process, the profit from selling scrap steel, iron, and non-ferrous metal ores will benefit the company.

After 17 years at the Navy's decommissioned ship facility, Big John embarked on its final voyage to International Shipbreaking Limited's scrap metal yard in Brownsville, Texas.

Departing from the Philadelphia naval facility, the ship is set to sail into Delaware Bay and into the North Atlantic Ocean before transiting south, around the Florida peninsula, and then across the Gulf of Mexico.

The next JFK
A rendering shows the future aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, the second ship in the Gerald R. Ford class.
A rendering shows the future aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, the second ship in the Gerald R. Ford class.

US Navy photo illustration courtesy of Newport News Shipbuilding/Released

The Kennedy namesake will live on in the future Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carrier.

Expected to be delivered to the Navy in the summer of 2025, the second-in-class PCU John F. Kennedy touts a hefty $11 billion price tag โ€” albeit $2 billion shy of the $13 billion first-in-class USS Gerald R. Ford.

Measuring 1,092 feet in length โ€” only a few feet shy of the height of the Eiffel Tower โ€” the future Kennedy will be able to accommodate more than 75 aircraft.

Powered by two nuclear reactors, the Navy said its newest warship will incorporate nearly two dozen technological upgrades to make it more efficient, including improvements in propulsion, power generation, ordnance handling, and aircraft launch systems.

''USS John F. Kennedy will carry the legacy of its namesake and the power of our nation,'' then-acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly said in a 2019 statement. ''The advanced technology and warfighting capabilities this aircraft carrier brings to our global challenges will strengthen our allies and partners, extend our reach against potential adversaries, and further the global mission of our integrated naval force.''

Carrying on the Kennedy legacy
Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President John F. Kennedy, delivers remarks at a naming ceremony for the next nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy.
Caroline Kennedy, daughter of President John F. Kennedy, delivered remarks at a naming ceremony for the next nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Kevin O'Brien/US Navy

At just 9 years old, Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of the 35th president, was chosen as the sponsor for the first carrier named after her father.

Fifty-two years later, Caroline Kennedy was once again selected to be the sponsor of the future CVN-79, christening the ship in December 2019 in a ceremony attended by over 20,000 people at Newport News shipyard.

"Having a chance to get to know the people who served on the USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) really gave me insight into who he was and what kind of leader he was in a way that I wouldn't have had any other way," Caroline Kennedy said. "And I know that's going to be just as true now with a whole new generation."

New construction approach
The aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy touched water for the first time during the dry dock flooding at Newport News shipyard.
The aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy touched water for the first time during the dry dock flooding at Newport News shipyard.

Ashley Cowan/HII

Navy Capt. Todd Marzano, then the commanding officer of the Kennedy, told Business Insider said the Kennedy's construction was streamlined by improvements from the inefficiencies and delays that plagued the Ford.

"We are definitely benefiting from being the second aircraft carrier in the class," Marzano said in 2019. "We're leveraging their lessons learned, which has helped not only from the construction side but from our sailor training."

Using a modular process, workers built smaller sections of the ship to form a superlift, a structural unit fitted with piping, electrical equipment, cable, ventilation, and joiner work, before bringing it to the assembly area on the dry dock.

The second-in-class carrier was launched into the James River three months ahead of schedule in October 2019 โ€” then set to be delivered to the Navy in 2022.

Plagued by delays
Thousands of guests attended the christening ceremony of the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy.
Thousands of guests attended the christening ceremony of the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy.

Ben Scott/HII

Despite being leagues ahead of schedule compared to its predecessor, the Kennedy was not immune to shipbuilding delays of its own. The carrier's delivery date kept being pushed back, due in part to supply chain issues brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic and delays in the ship's capability upgrades.

At first, PCU Kennedy wasn't designed to launch fifth-generation stealth fighters, prompting Congress in 2020 to step in and pause the delivery of the $13 billion flattop until it was retrofitted to support the aircraft, which cost over $100 million.

Testing its catapult
The aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy launched into the James River.
The aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy launched into the James River.

Ashley Cowan/HII

In February 2024, the future supercarrier tested its new electromagnetic aircraft launching system by catapulting 80,000-pound wheeled carts into the James River to ensure it could handle actual loaded aircraft.

An improvement on the Nimitz class' steam-powered catapult, the EMALS has a higher launch capacity, sending aircraft barreling down the 300-foot track at over 150 miles per hour.

The modernized catapult and arresting gear are also optimized for more accurate end-speed control, reducing stress on the aircraft.

Joining the Pacific Fleet
Caroline Kennedy, daughter of John F. Kennedy, speaks to sailors on the flight deck of USS John F. Kennedy.
Caroline Kennedy, daughter of John F. Kennedy, spoke to sailors on the flight deck of the future USS John F. Kennedy.

US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Cory J. Daut

The Navy said the second-in-class carrier is now expected to be delivered in July 2025 to perform more work and prepare it for its first deployment in the Indo-Pacific.

The Navy said that assigning the Kennedy to the Pacific fleet would cut down the amount of time the carrier needed at the shipyard to identify any issues with the ship's systems, equipment, or performance.

Deploying the Kennedy to the Indo-Pacific is also intended to strengthen the US' naval presence in the region amid heightened tensions with China.

"Our adversaries are modernizing at speeds akin to the Germans and Japanese during the Interwar period โ€” both in the physical and technological sense," US Fleet Forces Commander Adm. Daryl Caudle said in June 2024.

"Winning this competition means achieving an overmatch of our adversaries," he added. "That necessitates having a fleet of technologically advanced warships with the readiness and lethal capabilities to answer our nation's call at a moment's notice."

Read the original article on Business Insider

Here are the names of the 6 new Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers that will lead the US Navy until 2100

14 January 2025 at 18:02
USS Gerald Ford
The Navy has a tradition of naming its nuclear-powered supercarriers after US presidents, though there are some ship names that deviate from the trend.

United States Navy

  • Two future Ford-class aircraft carriers will be named for Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
  • It's the US Navy convention to name nuclear-powered flattops after presidents, with some exceptions.
  • USS Doris Miller and Enterprise are the only two Ford-class vessels not named after presidents.

President Joe Biden announced Monday that two future Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers will be named after former US presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

"Each knows firsthand the weight of the responsibilities that come with being Commander-in-Chief," Biden said in the White House announcement. "And both know well our duty to support the families and loved ones who wait and worry for the safe return of their servicemember."

US Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said the future Ford-class carriers "will serve as lasting tributes to each leader's legacy in service of the United States."

The newly named flattops follow the sea service's tradition of naming the nuclear-powered carriers after US presidents. The trend has many exceptions, including first-in-class USS Nimitz, USS Carl Vinson, USS John C. Stennis, and future Ford-class ships USS Doris Miller and USS Enterprise.

Here are the names of the first six supercarriers in the Ford class, poised to become the backbone of America's naval power for the rest of the 21st Century.

USS Gerald R. Ford
USS Gerald R. Ford
The US Navy aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) is underway on its own power for the first time.

US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ridge Leoni

The first-in-class USS Gerald R. Ford is named after the 38th US president who office after then-President Richard Nixon resigned in the wake of the Watergate Scandal.

Ford granted Nixon a controversial pardon saying it was in the country's best interest to put an end to the "American tragedy in which we all โ€” all have played a part," he said at the time.

The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest and most advanced aircraft carrier, completed its first full deployment last January, which the Pentagon extended in response to the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel.

The Ford and the other warships in its strike group served in part as a deterrence message for its 239-day deployment to the Mediterranean in 2023.

USS John F. Kennedy
The aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy is the second ship in the Gerald R. Ford class.
A photo illustration of the second-in-class aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy.

US Navy photo illustration courtesy of Newport News Shipbuilding/Released

The second-in-class USS John F. Kennedy was named after the 35th US president, sharing its namesake with the last conventional aircraft carrier built for the Navy before the introduction of the nuclear-powered Nimitz class.

The future carrier was initially set to deliver in June 2024 but was delayed a year to July 2025 so the Navy could perform more work to prepare it for deployment in the Indo-Pacific.

The Navy said the Kennedy would be equipped with "new technology and warfighting capabilities," making the future aircraft carrier the "most agile and lethal combat platform globally."

USS Enterprise
USS Enterprise
A Sea Hawk helicopter flies past the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Enterprise, which was decommissioned in 2017.

Seaman Harry Andrew D. Gordon/U.S. Navy

The future USS Enterprise is one of two Ford-class carriers that wasn't named after a US president. It carries on a storied name whose heritage includes the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, a decorated World War II carrier, and a brig from the Barbary War over 200 years ago.

Still under construction at Huntington Ingalls Industries' Newport News โ€” the US's only aircraft carrier shipyard โ€” the Enterprise was initially scheduled to deliver by March 2028, but the Navy's shipbuilding review found that it will now deliver by May 2030 at the latest.

In November, the Enterprise was moved for the first time at the shipyard to accommodate the construction of USS Doris Miller on the same dry dock.

USS Doris Miller
Artist rendering of USS Enterprise (CVN 80)
An artist rendering of USS Enterprise (CVN 80).

Department of Defense

The other Ford-class carrier without a US president's name is the future USS Doris Miller.

The future supercarrier, named after US Navy sailor Doris "Dorie" Miller, is expected to be delivered a year and a half later than scheduled in early 2032.

Miller was a World War II hero of the surprise Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The mess attendant fired at Japanese aircraft with a .50 caliber machine gun on the battleship USS West Virginia and was the first Black person to be awarded the Navy Cross, the service's second-highest award for valor.

"Naming CVN 81 for Dorie Miller casts long overdue recognition to a true American hero and icon," then-Master Chief Petty Officer Russell Smith said during the ship's naming ceremony. "It also honors the contributions of African Americans and enlisted sailors for the first time in the history of American aircraft carriers."

One controversy has been that the Nimitz-class carrier John C. Stennis honors a key lawmaker behind the funding of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, who was also a longtime segregationist and opponent of the US Navy's racial integration.

USS William J. Clinton
Bill Clinton salutes sailors aboard the USS Eisenhower
Then-President Bill Clinton salutes sailors aboard the USS Eisenhower.

Doug Mills/AP

Bill Clinton served as the 42nd president of the US, becoming the second president in US history to be impeached after Andrew Johnson in 1868. He faced charges of lying under oath and obstruction of justice in the wake of his infamous affair with then-White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

In his time as commander-in-chief, Clinton ordered cruise missile strikes against Iraq in retaliation for the assassination attempt on former President George H.W. Bush. He also played a key role in promoting peace in the Middle East and Northern Ireland through the Oslo Accords and the Good Friday Agreement.

The name of the future CVN 82 was announced in a private ceremony shortly after the new year, during which former President Clinton's daughter, Chelsea Clinton, was announced as the carrier's sponsor.

"It's never far from my mind that the precious freedoms Americans enjoy are safeguarded by our armed forces, anchored by a strong, modern, and agile Navy," Clinton said in a statement. "I'm honored that future servicemembers carrying on that proud tradition will serve on a carrier bearing my name."

USS George W. Bush
Then-president George W. Bush points to a diagram of a small ship on a diagram during a visit to the USS Abraham Lincoln.
Then-president George W. Bush points to a diagram of a small ship on a diagram during a visit to the USS Abraham Lincoln.

Tyler J. Clements/CHINFO/Navy Visual News Service/AFP via Service/AFP via Getty Images

The sixth Ford-class carrier will bear the name of former President George W. Bush, whose presidency was defined by the 9/11 attacks and the launching of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

He implemented domestic counterterrorism measures and built a worldwide coalition to dismantle terrorist groups globally.

"I am honored that my name will be associated with the United States Navy and a symbol of our Nation's might," Bush said in a statement. "I have a special admiration for the men and women of our Navy โ€” including my dad โ€” and ask God to watch over this ship and those who sail aboard her."

The 10th and final Nimitz-class carrier was named after Bush's father, George H.W. Bush, who served as the 41st president of the US. The elder Bush was honored for his service as one of the youngest naval aviators serving in World War II, receiving military decorations like the Distinguished Flying Cross, three Air Medals, and the Presidential Unit Citation.

CVN 82 and CVN 83 will be the fifth and sixth carriers to join the Navy's fleet in the coming decade, but they are not yet under construction, nor have contracts been issued to HII's Newport News.

In a briefing last week, Christopher Kastner, CEO and president of HII, urged the US Navy to follow its shipbuilding timeline to procure USS William J. Clinton by 2028 as planned to avoid supply chain and workforce issues.

Read the original article on Business Insider

โŒ
โŒ