The U.S. Navy's next carrier, the John F. Kennedy, is now 50 percent complete. Check out this video of a "superlift" from shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls.

WASHINGTON — The future aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, the next ship in the Ford class, is now 50 percent complete, according to the Newport News Naval Shipbuilding division of Huntington Ingalls.

The ship reached the halfway point after a “superlift,” where one of the largest construction units on the ship — a 905-metric-ton aft section — was installed, according to the company news release. That section is 80 feet long, 110 feet wide and four decks in height, the shipbuilder said.

The ship is set to be launched in late 2019.

The Kennedy is the second of at least four planned ships of the Ford class. The lead ship, the Gerald R. Ford, was commissioned last year and is undergoing post-commissioning work. According to Newport News Naval Shipbuilding, the superlift used on the Kennedy will be used for the next two ships of the class, the Enterprise and the unnamed CVN 81.

Here’s the latest on America’s next supercarriers In a conference call with investors, Ingalls' chief executive said the Ford-class aircraft carrier Kennedy is tracking to launch ahead of schedule.

“This was a game changer for us,” said Lucas Hicks, Newport News Naval Shipbuilding’s vice president of the CVN 79 program. “Performing higher levels of pre-outfitting represents a significant improvement in aircraft carrier construction, allowing us to build larger structures than ever before and providing greater cost savings.”

The Ford was plagued with cost overruns and schedule delays, but Newport News has made vocal their desire to launch the ship three months early.

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