Keel Laid for John F. Kennedy Carrier - USNI News
The ceremony marked the symbolic start of construction for the planned 100,000-ton carrier though elements of Kennedy have been built since 2010. The initials of ship sponsor Caroline Kennedy — the daughter of President John F. Kennedy and... “The aircraft carrier came of age in a time of conflict,” Kennedy said. ), Naval Sea Systems Command commander Vice Adm. The ceremony for Kennedy comes as Congress — particularly Senate Armed Services Committee chair Sen. ) — has continued to ask hard questions into the cost growth of the Ford-class carriers. The ships feature several news technologies — including General Atomics’ Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) and Advanced Arresting Gear (AAG) — which promise to increase the amount of aircraft sorties by almost 30 percent with reduced... However, additional design and construction work for the first ship — Gerald R. Ford — have added more than $2 billion to the first-in-class ship since 2008 for a total of $13 billion. The cost estimates for Kennedy have also increased since 2008 to more than $11 billion with Congress and the Navy currently at odds over the the ultimate size of a legislatively mandated cost-cap for the construction of the carrier. Still, NAVSEA has promised to continue to squeeze out additional cost from carrier. Source: news.usni.org
