Video

Video by Petty Officer 2nd Class Darien Kenney

JFK Dead-Load Shoot

PCU John F. Kennedy (CVN 79)

Feb. 14, 2024 | 0:37

Newport News, V.A. (Feb. 14, 2024) – Sailors assigned to the Pre-Commissioning Unit (PCU) John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) work alongside HII and Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) counterparts during the first “dead-load” testing of the electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS). In this phase of testing, large, wheeled, car-like structures of graduated weights up to 80,000 pounds to simulate the weight of actual aircraft are launched off the carrier’s bow into the James River. John F. Kennedy is the second Ford-class aircraft carrier and is under construction at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division in Newport News, Virginia. (U.S. Navy video taken by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Alexander Timewell)