Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) got underway for sea trails, May 9, following a four-year refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) at Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia.

The four-day sea trails marks Abraham Lincoln’s first time underway since March 2013. The ship spent its last days in the shipyard completing a five-day “fast cruise,” May 2-7, making final preparations for its transit to Naval Station Norfolk.

“We are looking forward to taking the ship out on the open water where we belong,” said Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt, Lincoln’s executive officer. “I am honored to serve with our crew. This dedicated and impressive group put an incredible amount of work into revitalizing this ship. We are grateful for their efforts and to our partners at Newport News Shipbuilding, and eagerly anticipate completing successful sea trials and returning to the fleet ready for tasking later this year.”

During sea trials, the Abraham Lincoln crew will undergo multiple training scenarios and qualification evolutions to include engineering maneuvers designed to evaluate the performance of the ship after the extensive maintenance period.

“Our team has worked hard to get USS Abraham Lincoln ready to redeliver to the fleet,” said Rear Adm. Brian Antonio, program executive officer for aircraft carriers. “She has undergone significant combat systems modernization and will also be the first CVN capable of accommodating the F-35C Lightning II. This RCOH enabled the ship to meet future missions and continued service life requirements for many years to come.”

During RCOH, more than 2.5 million man-hours of work were conducted aboard the ship, including refueling the reactors, upgrading ship’s infrastructure and modernizing combat systems and air wing capabilities to increase combat effectiveness.

Abraham Lincoln is the fifth Nimitz-class aircraft carrier to complete RCOH, a major lifecycle milestone at Newport News Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries in Newport News. She returns to the fleet as one of the most modern and technologically-advanced Nimitz-class aircraft carriers in service and will continue to be a vital part of the nation’s defense for an additional 25 years.