The United States Navy’s future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) is running two years behind schedule, and the second Gerald R. Ford-class nuclear-powered supercarrier is not expected to join the fleet until at least March 2027. Additionally, the next Ford-class carrier, the future USS Enterprise (CVN-80), has had its delivery date pushed back from September 2029 to July 2030.

Although many of the delays with CVN-79 are still due in no small part to the global COVID-19 pandemic, which shut down production and subsequently resulted in supply chain challenges, other issues include resolving bugs with the Advanced Arresting Gear and Advanced Weapons Elevator, two critical systems on the warship.

The nuclear-powered supercarriers are not the only US Navy flattops facing lengthy delays.

According to the newly released Department of Defense (DoD) budget documents for Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26), which begins on October 1, 2025, the next two America-class “big deck” amphibious assault ships (LHAs), the future USS Bougainville (LHA-8) and future USS Fallujah (LHA-9), are now running a year behind schedule.

Worker shortages at HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding facility in Pascagoula, Mississippi, continued to face “shipyard labor challenges,” the budget document noted. LHA-9 is now expected to be delivered in September 2030, a year later than last year’s projection of September 2029. 

“The Navy and........

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