Huntington Ingalls, the U.S. Navy’s largest shipbuilder, has announced that its Newport News Shipbuilding division has received a $290 million contract modification from the U.S. Navy to continue planning for the refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) of the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74).

The contract, from U.S. Navy, funds the second and third years of planning, long-lead-time material procurement, shop fabrication, shipboard inspections, and facilities readiness for the RCOH. As part of the planning contract, Newport News also will perform some shipboard work, which will take place in Norfolk. The initial year of planning was funded at a base value of $187.5 million.

“The second and third year of planning is important to the overall success of a project of the magnitude of a RCOH,” said Chris Miner, Newport News’ vice president of in-service aircraft carriers. “This contract allows us to continue our critical planning for each step of the process so we’re ready to begin execution when the ship arrives in the first quarter of 2021.”

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Stennis will be the seventh Nimitz-class carrier to undergo a major life-cycle overhaul at Newport News, representing 35 percent of all maintenance and modernization completed during its service life.

An RCOH is an extremely complex engineering and construction project that involves more than 680 suppliers from 40 states providing material and services critical to the overhaul process. Once completed, a recapitalized carrier is capable of supporting current and future warfare doctrine and continuing to operate as the centerpiece of the Navy’s fleet and national defense for another 25 years.

The nuclear-powered USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) was contracted on 29 March 1988, and the keel was laid on 13 March 1991 at Newport News Shipbuilding, Newport News, Virginia.