America’s newest aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy christened as China boosts fleet
- New carrier designed to carry and fly more planes with fewer sailors
John F. Kennedy’s daughter Caroline has christened a new aircraft carrier that is named after the 35th US president.
Caroline Kennedy smashed a bottle across the USS John F. Kennedy carrier’s hull Saturday at the shipyard in Newport News, Virginia.
It marked the second time she christened an aircraft carrier in her father’s name. The first aircraft carrier named for JFK served through Vietnam and into the post-9/11 era. Caroline Kennedy, then a child, launched that ship in 1967.
The new US$11.4 billion ship is the second of the US Navy’s Ford-Class of aircraft carriers. The first was the USS Gerald R. Ford, which was commissioned last year.
The new carriers, which will replace the Enterprise and Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, are designed to carry and fly more planes with fewer sailors.
Guests at the christening ceremony included former US Secretary of State John Kerry.
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Aircraft carriers are built through modular construction. Giant pieces of the ship are assembled in yard, then lifted into the dry dock where the ship takes shape. Kennedy was built with larger and few of these components, which reduced the number of lifts into the dry dock.
The Kennedy’s keel was laid in 2015. The dry dock was flooded in late October.
After the christening, the ship will be moved from the dock to an outfitting pier. It is about 67 per cent complete, so much work remains before it can be declared ready for combat. The US Navy plans to take delivery of the ship in 2022.
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The country currently has just one active carrier, the Liaoning – a refitted Soviet-era vessel – but the first home built carrier, the Type 001, is undergoing sea trials and may soon be ready for service.
Associated Press and Tribune News Service
