A growing list of U.S. Navy shipbuilding programs is running behind schedule, raising questions about the service’s ability to meet force-level goals and keep pace with competitors. Budget documents, Congressional Research Service analyses and recent program updates show delays across carriers, submarines and amphibious ships, largely attributed to workforce shortages and rising costs. The Ford-class aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) will be handed over in March 2027—two years later than planned—temporarily cutting the operational carrier force from 11 to 10 for roughly a year. The follow-on Ford-class ship, USS Enterprise (CVN 80), has slipped by about 12 months as well, according to program officials. Undersea modernization is also sliding. A CRS report indicates the SSN(X) next-generation attack submarine will not enter service until at least 2040, nine years after the Navy’s earlier target. Each boat is expected to cost between $6.7 billion and $8 billion, far above the roughly $4 billion price tag of today’s Virginia-class submarines. The Navy has asked Congress for $623 million in fiscal-year 2026 research and development funding to keep the program moving. Delays extend to the amphibious fleet. Budget justifications show the first three Flight II San Antonio-class landing platform docks are running nine to 11 months late, with lead ship Harrisburg (LPD-30) now forecast for February 2027. At Ingalls Shipbuilding, labor shortages have pushed delivery of the America-class assault ship Bougainville (LHA-8) to August 2026 and the future Fallujah (LHA-9) to September 2030. The slippages complicate the Navy’s plan to expand from today’s 296 ships to 381 in coming decades. “We need more ships delivered on time and on budget, and we are challenged in both arenas,” acting assistant secretary for research, development and acquisition Brett A. Seidle told lawmakers, noting that schedules across multiple programs are running one to three years late while costs outpace inflation.