HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division has returned the USS George Washington to the U.S. Navy following the completion of its refueling and complex overhaul.
The Nimitz-class nuclear-powered vessel is expected to replace the USS Ronald Reagan as the forward-deployed Naval Forces-Japan aircraft carrier in 2024, the service branch said Thursday.
The USS Washington, also known as CVN 73, was the original FDNF-J aircraft carrier deployed in 2008. It was relieved by the USS Reagan in 2015.
In 2017, Newport News Shipbuilding won the $2.8 billion RCOH contract to refurbish CVN 73, a project that took an extended 69-month period.
The ship underwent a four-day sea trial to test the viability of new technology and equipment, as well as operating systems and maneuverability.
“George Washington’s RCOH represents 26 million man-hours of work, that involved refitting and installing a new main mast, updating the ship’s shafts, refurbishing propellers, and modernizing aircraft launch and recovery equipment,” said Capt. Mark Johnson, manager of the Naval Sea Systems Command’s Program Executive Office, In-Service Aircraft Carriers. “Beyond the critical need to defuel and refuel the ship’s two nuclear reactors and to repair and upgrade the propulsion plant, this work touched every part of the ship—and challenged every member of the planning team and ship’s force.”