{"id":40509,"date":"2015-08-21T16:06:59","date_gmt":"2015-08-21T16:06:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/uncategorized\/2015\/08\/21\/keel-laying-for-future-carrier-jfk-set-for-saturday\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T19:51:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T19:51:08","slug":"keel-laying-for-future-carrier-jfk-set-for-saturday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/navytimes\/news\/your-navy\/2015\/08\/21\/keel-laying-for-future-carrier-jfk-set-for-saturday\/","title":{"rendered":"Keel laying for future carrier JFK set for Saturday"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The naval legacy of the 35th president will begin a new chapter on Aug. 22 with the keel laying of carrier John F. Kennedy. The event will host a number of<\/span> Navy and congressional leaders, and will include a video from JFK\u2019s daughter Caroline Kennedy, the ship\u2019s sponsor and ambassador to Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While <\/span>Laying a keel is the symbolic beginning of a ship\u2019s construction, but work on the next second-in-class supercarrierJFK<\/span> actually started in 2010. To date, more than 450 of her 1,100 structural units have been constructed, according to Newport News Shipbuilding. The carrier, the second in the Gerald R. Ford-class, is scheduled to launch in February 2020 and be delivered in June 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kennedy will be nearly an exact replica of Ford \u2014 she will employ the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System, or <\/span>EMALS<\/span>, <\/em>boast an\u00a0electrical output three times that of the Nimitz-class, and have a redesigned flight deck that gained 8,000 square feet and promises a 25-percent increase in daily <\/span>sorties over current flattopscarriers<\/span>. Innovative <\/span>Work-saving technologies have cut the ship\u2019s company to 2,600 sailors, about 700 fewer than the typical carrier. They will live in 40-man berthing areas (current <\/span>carriers today cram as many as 180 into a berthing area) with attached heads and common areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ford\u2019s $12.9 billion price tag was cut to $11.35 billion for JFK. Lessons learned and the transfer of specially built tools from Ford will decrease construction man hours by 18 percent, officials said. Having the ship\u2019s complete design from the start also <\/span>gave the Navy better purchase power when buying materials in bulk, which translated to a nearly 15 –<\/span>percent reduction in material cost; the Navy is under mounting pressure to keep ballooning costs down on the Ford-class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JFK opted out of Ford\u2019s dual-band radar, a move that will cut hundreds of millions from the bottom line. Rear Adm. Thomas Moore, program executive officer for aircraft carriers, has called dual-band an “incredible” radar, but “probably a little bit of overkill for an aircraft carrier.” The Navy planned to leverage its dual-band radar buying power off the now-canceled DDG-1000 <\/span>program for DDG-1000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite numerous similarities, <\/span>JFK will have notable improvements. Ford has done away with nearly all of its hydraulics, the exception being its aircraft elevators. Kennedy will make that switch and use electric elevators. The new carrier will also have more flexible infrastructure, meaning spaces can be quickly transformed and tailored to meet any need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the second carrier to be named for Kennedy, who as a lieutenant junior grade commanded Patrol Torpedo Craft 109 in World War II. The first carrier served from 1968 to 2007, and was the last conventionally-powered carrier built by the Navy. Her combat actions and contributions include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n