NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) – The nation’s next aircraft carrier is now 75 percent structurally complete. The Virginian-Pilot reported Monday that a 750-metric-ton section was installed on the main deck of the future USS John F. Kennedy. The ship has been under construction at Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia since 2015. The ship is being built using modular construction. That means 341 of the Kennedy’s total 447 sections are now in place. The Kennedy is the second ship in its class. The first was the USS Gerald R. Ford, which was commissioned during a ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk in July. The Kennedy is scheduled to be christened in 2019. Delivery to the Navy is expected in 2022.
