Surface Navy 2026: HII CEO cites potential for aircraft carrier redesign in new Trump fleet concept

Aircraft carriers for the new Trump administration's naval fleet will likely feature modifications to the USS Gerald R Ford , shown here, and its class of ships. (Janes/Michael Fabey)

Future aircraft carriers for the so-called ‘Golden Fleet' as envisioned by the Donald Trump administration will likely be a bit different than the Ford-class carriers currently under construction at HII's Newport News Shipbuilding, according to Chris Kastner, HII CEO.

“The [Golden Fleet] aircraft carrier is potentially some redesign of the current Ford class,” Kastner said on 8 January during a roundtable discussion with the media in advance of the Surface Navy Association National Symposium 2026, which started on 13 January in Arlington, Virginia.

“I don't think it's a major redesign,” Kastner said. “The navy and us are always doing trades relative to incrementally improving the design. So, there could be some of that, as part of this.”

Kastner added, “I don't want to necessarily comment on potential changes that are being evaluated. I don't think there's significant changes to the capability of the ship. There may be some capability added in excess of what they have now, not in excess, but added capability, not taking capability off. But I think it's inappropriate for me to comment on what those are right now.”

However, Kastner said he did think there would continue to be advance procurement funding set aside for the current Ford-class ships.

The Ford-class ships are a redesign of the Nimitz-class carriers, featuring an assortment of new technologies meant to make the carriers more effective, especially for combat operations. Navy officials have touted the operational effectiveness of those technologies on lead ship aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford (CVN 78) during the ship's recent deployments.