The aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford sails in formation with the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS Winston Churchill, USS Mitscher, USS Mahan, USS Bainbridge and USS Forrest Sherman in the Atlantic Ocean on Nov. 12, 2024. (U.S. Navy)

BREMERTON, Wash. — The Navy will spend up to $300 million to modernize Naval Base Kitsap so it can serve as the first Pacific homeport of the new Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers.

“The Navy proposes to replace an older Nimitz-class aircraft carrier with the newer Ford-class aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy and upgrade the electrical distribution system at Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton to support the new Ford class carrier,” the Navy said last week.

The John F. Kennedy is scheduled to be commissioned in the summer at HII-Newport News shipyard in Virginia. It will then undergo multiyear sea trials at nearby Naval Station Norfolk.

Before arriving at Kitsap, the Navy must spend up to $300 million to build new electrical substations, reroute and upgrade electrical systems, improve ship-to-shore connections and make other upgrades to the pier where the ship will be berthed.

The work is expected to take up to four years, according to the Navy. When completed, the Kennedy would make a permanent move to its new homeport at Kitsap, which is west of Seattle.

“USS John F. Kennedy is expected to arrive no earlier than 2029,” said Theodore Brown, spokesman for U.S. Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk.

The Navy said advances in automation and computerization mean the Ford-class carriers require more electrical power to execute functions once performed by crew members. The service is going through an environmental assessment to bring a Ford-class carrier to Kitsap, including possible impacts on the community, including air quality, water quality and natural habitats. A final decision is expected this summer.

Power cables supply 4,160 volts to Nimitz-class carriers, but Ford-class ships need more than three times the amount — 13,800 volts.

The John F. Kennedy will use more powerful nuclear reactors. Electromagnets will propel the elevators to bring the ship’s 90 aircraft to the deck and drive the catapults that launch the planes. More powerful radars, propulsion systems and automated ordnance handling for some of its missiles are parts of the additional power requirement.

While needing triple the electricity, the Kennedy would require about 20% less housing for its crew. Automation has reduced the ship’s crew by 344 positions compared with the last Nimitz-class carrier, the USS George H. W. Bush, commissioned in 2009. The Ford-class carrier will carry a crew of about 2,800. While deployed for combat, the ship also carries aircraft squadrons with another 2,500 pilots and crew.

The aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy under construction in 2019 at Huntington Ingalls Industries-Newport News Shipbuilding, Va. (U.S. Navy)

When completed in 2029, the Navy will have two bases — Kitsap on the West Coast and Norfolk on the East Coast — capable of homeporting Ford-class carriers.

They will replace Nimitz-class carriers, which were introduced in 1975. They account for 10 of the 11 aircraft carriers in service.

The USS Nimitz, the first of its class, is homeported at Kitsap. It deployed last week for the western Pacific. The Navy said Nimitz will move to Norfolk by April 2026 to begin a multiyear deactivation and decommissioning.

Kitsap is also homeport to the Nimitz-class carrier USS Ronald Reagan. It is about to go into an intermediate-level maintenance cycle that is scheduled to keep it from service until August 2026.

Nimitz-class carriers were built for a 50-year service life following commissioning. At the halfway point, the ships go through a refueling and overhaul that includes refilling the pair of nuclear reactors that power each ship. The work can only be performed at HII-Newport News in Virginia.

The Navy has built or approved six Ford-class carriers, all slated to replace Nimitz carriers as the new ships are commissioned. But construction delays have pushed back delivery dates.

USS Enterprise, now under construction in Newport News, isn’t expected to be commissioned until 2029, according to Navy planners. The fourth carrier of the class, to be named USS Doris Miller, is under construction with a projected 2032 commissioning.

Two additional Ford-class carriers have been ordered: the USS William J. Clinton and USS George W. Bush. The Clinton has a projected commissioning date of 2036, and a date has not been announced for the Bush.