The U.S. Navy has postponed delivery of the Ford-class aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy by roughly two years, shifting acceptance from July 2025 to March 2027, according to recent budget documents and service statements. The slip is tied to certification of the ship’s Advanced Arresting Gear and continued work on its Advanced Weapons Elevators after the Navy abandoned a two-phase delivery plan in favor of completing all combat-system work before commissioning. Because the aging USS Nimitz is slated to retire in 2026, the delay will leave the Navy with 10 operational supercarriers—down from the congressionally mandated 11—for about a year. Service officials say the shortage could curb global deployment flexibility during the transition period. The schedule pressure extends beyond the Kennedy. Newport News Shipbuilding, a unit of Huntington Ingalls Industries, now expects to hand over the next hull in the class, USS Enterprise (CVN-80), in July 2030—about 10 months later than planned—citing material availability and wider supply-chain constraints. The carrier setbacks land as the Navy asks Congress for an additional $7.4 billion in unfunded priorities for fiscal 2026, including nearly $1 billion for targeted munitions and money for a sixth-generation fighter program, underscoring the broader resource strains on the service’s modernization plans.