Latest: Video: New Carrier USS Kennedy Launches Cars Into the Water
Huntington Ingalls' Newport News Shipbuilding has begun testing the catapults aboard the carrier USS John F. Kennedy, the second Ford-class ship.
The carrier is built around a set of electromagnetically-powered launch catapults, which are fundamentally different from the steam-powered systems found aboard all previous CATOBAR carrier designs. The commissioning and testing of these brand new devices caused protracted delays for the first-in-class USS Gerald R. Ford, but they are now fulfilling their mission as designed, according to the Ford's crew.
Kennedy's installation benefits from Ford's earlier shakedown experience, and the topside testing for the catapults is now under way. Newport News' staff have completed no-load tests on the bow catapults, and the team is now in the...