The $913 million contract covers refuelling and a complex overhaul of the 25-year-old carrier. The overhaul will be performed in Newport News, Virginia and is expected to be completed by June 2026.
Another Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74), is undergoing its own overhaul and the work on USS George Washington (CVN-73) is completed.
It was proposed in FY2020 that the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) would be retired and replaced by two Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers to save from refuelling and overhaul costs. The proposal was rejected, and it was decided that the carrier would keep undergoing its maintenance and two new carriers would be built, as USNI News reports.
Nuclear-powered aircraft carriers require significantly more time and resources for maintenance, mostly because of their nuclear reactors. This puts them out of service for a significant time for overhauls and refuelling compared to conventionally powered ones like the U.K. Navy’s HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08).
