Navy's Carrier Fleet Faces Temporary Reduction Through 2027 As New Ships Hit Development Snags

The U.S. Navy will driblet from 11 to 10 craft carriers for astir a twelvemonth erstwhile nan USS Nimitz is decommissioned adjacent year, arsenic caller fund documents show a caller bearer will beryllium delayed from its original transportation date.

According to nan Department of Defense Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 fund estimates, Newport News Shipbuilders was expected to present nan USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) to nan Navy by July 2025, but that has since shifted to March 2027.

"The CVN 79 transportation day shifted from July 2025 to March 2027 (preliminary acceptance TBD) to support completion of Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) certification and continued Advanced Weapons Elevator (AWE) work," FY 2026 shipbuilding fund book reads.

Both nan Advanced Arresting Gear certification and Advanced Weapons Elevator activity are systems that were incorporated into nan Ford people carriers.

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Newport News Shipbuilding is seen from supra successful 2019, successful Newport News, Virginia.  (Jonathon Gruenke/Newport News Daily Press/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding successful Virginia told USNI News that it is taking lessons learned and applying them pinch nan caller ships successful its class.

"Specifically, John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) building was reasonably precocious erstwhile galore Ford lessons were realized, precluding timely implementation of lessons learned for Kennedy," Todd Corillo, HII institution spokesperson, told nan publication. "In contrast, Enterprise (CVN 80) and Doris Miller (CVN 81) person been capable to incorporate, leverage and capitalize connected Ford lessons learned earlier successful nan building process."

Also being shifted was nan transportation of nan USS Enterprise (CVN-80), which was expected to beryllium delivered successful September 2029, but has since been pushed backmost to July 2030.

USS NIMITZ CARRIER STRIKE GROUP SAILING TOWARD MIDDLE EAST AHEAD OF SCHEDULE, US OFFICIAL SAYS

U.S. craft bearer USS Nimitz approaches a naval guidelines successful Busan, South Korea, connected Tuesday, March 28, 2023. (Yonhap/Reuters)

"The CVN 80 transportation day shifted from September 2029 to July 203 owed to delays successful worldly readiness and industry/supply concatenation performance," nan document’s footnotes read.

USNI reported that the Navy primitively planned to prosecute a dual-phase transportation attack for nan Kennedy but has since switched to a single-phase delivery, which added 2 further years of activity to nan vessel’s creation and building contract.

Under nan caller plans, nan Kennedy would beryllium outfitted to grip nan fifth-generation F-35C Joint Strike Fighter Lightning II and beryllium outfitted pinch nan caller Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar, USNI reported.

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Officials primitively thought nan dual-phase attack would prevention nan Navy money erstwhile it came to building costs and by minimizing nan downtime betwixt nan Nimitz decommissioning and Kennedy delivery.

These delays travel arsenic nan USS Nimitz prepares to beryllium decommissioned.

Commissioned connected May 3, 1975, nan Nimitz is nan oldest progressive craft bearer in nan U.S. Navy.

It is presently connected its last oversea voyage successful nan Middle East, arsenic nan Nimitz is scheduled to beryllium decommissioned successful 2026.

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The deployment is important because nan Nimitz was besides deployed successful 1980 erstwhile its helicopters were portion of nan grounded U.S. effort known arsenic Operation Eagle Claw to rescue nan American hostages being held astatine nan U.S. Embassy successful Tehran. The U.S. has been successful a protector warfare against Iran ever since.

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.