Summary and Key Points: The USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67), the last conventionally powered Kitty Hawk-class aircraft carrier, will soon be scrapped, coinciding with the introduction of its successor, the Ford-class CVN 79.
-Its legacy, however, lives on through pioneering Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC)—a revolutionary networked sensor system enabling Navy warships to share real-time radar and threat data across vast distances.
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At sea aboard USS John F. Kennedy (CV 67) Mar. 6, 2002 — The sun rises behind USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), as it prepares to turn over operations to the John F. Kennedy Battle Group. The Kennedy and her embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) are relieving the Roosevelt to conduct missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. U.S. Navy photo by PhotographerÕs Mate 1st Class Jim Hampshire. (RELEASED)
-Originally tested aboard the Kennedy, CEC significantly extends ships’ defensive range beyond their individual sensors, enhancing protection against missiles and aircraft.
-As one Kennedy retires, its technological impact remains central to the U.S. Navy’s advanced maritime warfare strategy, reshaping naval defenses for generations.
USS John F. Kennedy: An Aircraft Carrier History
The famous USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) Kitty Hawk-class carrier was not only the last conventionally powered carrier in the Navy’s history but also a capable, combat-tested maritime warfare platform that served in the Gulf War, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The famous carrier has arrived in Brownsville, Texas, where it will be scrapped in 2025, the same year the new Ford-class CVN 79 USS John F. Kennedy is slated to enter operational service. CVN 79 will be the second operational Ford-class carrier, and its arrival appears appropriately synchronized with the departure of the Kitty Hawk-class CV-67.
One “Kennedy” aircraft carrier will be scrapped and removed from existence, while another more modern “Kennedy” aircraft carrier will take to the seas to preserve the tradition.
Aircraft Carrier Networking
Arguably, the most significant contribution from the USS Kennedy CV 67 likely pertains to its functioning as a testbed for a now widely used netted sensor-networking technology called Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC). This technology integrates key interfaces and protocols to enable over-the-horizon data sharing and threat identification technology. CEC integrates otherwise disaggregated sensor and radar nodes, enabling the rapid transmission of target-track information on incoming enemy missiles, drones, and both rotary and fixed-wing aircraft defense.
CEC Ship Networking Breakthrough
According to a US Navy essay, CEC achieves this by “netting of geographically dispersed sensors to provide a single integrated air picture, thus enabling Integrated Fire Control to destroy increasingly capable threat cruise missiles and aircraft.”
The long-term result of CEC, a technology successfully launched, tested, and pioneered on the USS Kennedy, is that ship-based air defenses can see, detect, and target air threats at distances beyond the standard radar horizon. Perhaps of greatest significance, the information gathered at otherwise disaggregated nodes or sensors can be securely transmitted across land, sea, and air domains to offer Navy warships a much broader and more protective defensive envelope.
USS Kennedy Anticipates Future
A significant research essay on CEC from Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab explains more of the technological nuances woven into what became a successful maritime warfare networking system.
The idea was to enable accurate, real-time data sharing across otherwise incompatible transport layer communication systems by using interfaces to connect a group of meshed nodes.
“Coalescing this collection of equipment into a single war-fighting entity requires a system that will complement both new-generation and older air defense systems by sharing sensor, decision, and engagement data among combatant units, yet without compromising the timeliness, volume, and accuracy of the data,” the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab states.
The fact that the Kitty-Hawk-class USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67) helped pioneer this system so many decades ago would suggest that the carrier was ahead of its time and a fundamental impetus in preparing the Navy for future generations of maritime warfare.
NORFOLK (Aug. 16, 2019) The Nimitz-class aircraft carriers USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), left, and USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) moored at Naval station Norfolk. Making port at Naval station Norfolk is a routine activity for aircraft carriers.
CEC uses interfaces of IP protocol configurations to ensure critical data can be transmitted across a shared picture.
“The system must create an identical picture at each unit of sufficient quality to be treated as local data for engagements, even though the data may have arrived from 30 to 40 mi. away. If a common, detailed database is available to provide a shared air picture as well as the ability to engage targets that may not be seen locally, a new level of capability may be attained,” the JHU paper explains.
CEC testing on board the USS Kennedy CVN-67 can be seen as an impressive precursor to the kinds of networking breakthroughs happening across the US military services today.
The CEC system, which can trace its origins to decades of experimentation on the Kennedy, evolved into one of the Navy’s fundamental “backbone” ship defense and networking technologies.
“CEC has been recognized by Congress, DoD, and the Navy as dissipating the fog of battle by composite tracking and identification with high accuracy and fidelity, resulting in an identical database at each networked unit. A new generation of precision coordination and tactics has thus been made possible,” the JHU essay further explains.
Fremantle Harbour, Australia (Apr. 22, 2004) – Tug boats escort USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) and embarked Carrier Air Wing Five (CVW-5) into Fremantle Harbour, Australia where the crew will enjoy a five day port call. This was Kitty Hawk’s fifth visit to Fremantle and the ninth for CVW-5. Kitty Hawk is one two remaining conventionally powered aircraft carriers in the U.S. Navy, and is currently homeported in Yokosuka, Japan.
About the Author: Kris Osborn
Kris Osborn is Military Technology Editor of 1945 and the President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
