Huntington Ingalls Wins $291M To Overhaul US Navy’s Nimitz-class Carrier

Huntington Ingalls Industries has won a $290.6 million modification contract to continue planning activities for refuelling and complex overhaul (RCOH) work on USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.

“This modification will provide for fiscal 2019-2020 advance planning efforts, including material forecasting; long-lead-time material procurement; purchase order development; technical document and drawing development; scheduling; resource forecasting and planning; development of cost estimates for work to be accomplished; data acquisition; pre-overhaul tests and inspections, and other technical studies as required to prepare and make ready for the CVN 74 RCOH accomplishment,” the US Department of Defense said in a statement Wednesday.

This contract action includes options for the third year of planning which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value to $476.9 million, the statement read.

The Nimitz-class carriers have a length of 1,092 feet (333 metre) and full-load displacement of over 100,000 tonnes. The vessel can attain a maximum speed of over 30 knots (56 km/h). The carrier’s two A4W pressurized water reactors drive four propeller shafts to produce a maximum power of 260,000 shaft horsepower (190MW).

The Nimitz-class carriers have participated in Operation Eagle Claw in Iran, the Gulf War, and more recently in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The angled flight decks of the carriers use a CATOBAR arrangement to operate aircraft, with steam catapults and arrestor wires for launch and recovery. They can carry 90 aircraft, and short-range defensive weaponry for anti-aircraft warfare and missile defense.

Work is expected to be completed by July 2020.