Huntington Ingalls Industries‘ (HII) Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division has successfully redelivered the fourth Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), to the US Navy.
The redelivery follows the successful completion of a four-year refuelling and complex overhaul (RCOH) and followed by sea trials, to ensure that the ship was a ready for deployment.
During the multi-day sea trials conducted by the US Navy and NNS shipbuilders onboard, the aircraft carrier validated its systems and operations at sea, including high-speed operations.
NNS in-service aircraft carrier programmes vice-president, Chris Miner, said: "Her strong performance during sea trials is a source of pride for the 4,000 shipbuilders who worked tirelessly to return Roosevelt to the navy’s operational fleet today."
The RCOH involved repairing, upgrading and modernising the ship’s tanks, the hull, shafting, propellers, rudders, piping, ventilation, electrical, combat and aviation support systems to enable the ship to perform the remaining 23 years of its 50-year service life.
Additional work included defuelling and refuelling the two nuclear reactors as well as repairs and upgrades to the propulsion plant of the aircraft carrier.
The Newport News Shipbuilding-built ship has a full-load displacement of 102,000t and features AN/SLQ-32(V) electronic warfare system to detect hostile radar emissions.
Capable of accommodating over 6,000 personnel and cruising at a maximum speed of over 30k, the 317m-long Nimitz-class ships are armed with three Raytheon GMLS Mk29 eight-cell launchers for Nato Sea Sparrow surface-to-air missiles.
USS Theodore Roosevelt is preparing to undergo local operations and begin its training flight deck certification.
Image: USS Theodore Roosevelt performing sea trials at Newport News Shipbuilding. Photo: courtesy of Huntington Ingalls Industries.
