Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced on 30 April that the United States Navy’s (USN's) nuclear-powered aircraft carrier future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) is 75 percent structurally complete and might be launched three months earlier than scheduled. The keel of the ship was laid in August 2015.

USS John F. Kennedy is the second vessel of Gerald R. Ford class carrier being built for the USN. A third key milestone also was achieved recently when the first two generators supporting the electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) were installed. The ship is scheduled to be christened in the fourth quarter of 2019 and delivered to the service in 2022.