US’ 100,000-ton nuclear aircraft carrier begins overhaul for 50+ year service life

The US Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) arrived at Newport News Shipbuilding on September 30, 2026, to begin a major midlife overhaul involving reactor refueling and extensive modernization.

The work follows years of advance planning and prepares the carrier for the second half of a service life expected to span more than 50 years.

Truman becomes the eighth Nimitz-class aircraft carrier to undergo a refueling and complex overhaul, or RCOH, at the HII shipyard in Virginia.

Preparing for the overhaul

Newport News Shipbuilding has already conducted thousands of inspections and preliminary tasks to prepare for the carrier’s arrival. The shipbuilder also ordered materials with long procurement lead times to support the project.

“We’ve taken a proactive approach, from ordering long lead-time materials to conducting thousands of inspections and preliminary work, to ensure the RCOH of USS Harry S. Truman is successful,” said Bryan Caccavale, NNS vice president of program management.

“This extensive engineering and construction project to ready the ship to rejoin the fleet is a team effort, across shipbuilders, suppliers and our Navy partners, and we are honored to do our part,” he added.

The preparations support an overhaul that brings together nuclear refueling, structural maintenance, and upgrades across much of the ship.

HII describes the RCOH as representing nearly a third of all maintenance and modernization performed during an aircraft carrier’s service life.

Reactors and ship systems

A central part of Truman’s overhaul involves defueling and refueling its nuclear power plant. The project also includes major upgrades to the propulsion plant and combat systems.

Beyond the reactors, shipbuilders will carry out extensive modernization in thousands of compartments and tanks, along with work on most ship systems.

The scope reaches from the carrier’s internal spaces to the equipment that supports its movement through the water.

Newport News Shipbuilding will blast and paint the hull and freeboard and repair the carrier’s propellers, sea chests, shafts, and rudders.

These tasks make the availability a broad recapitalization effort, combining maintenance of existing equipment with modernization intended to support the carrier’s continued role in the fleet.

HII said the resulting ship would be capable of supporting current and future national strategy objectives while serving as a centerpiece of naval operations for decades.

Contract supports carrier’s next chapter

HII announced a $5.1 billion contract for Truman’s RCOH on September 29, 2026. Options, if exercised, would raise the cumulative contract value.

“Our team has been diligently working to get ahead on this critical engineering and construction project that will prepare USS Harry S. Truman for the second half of her service life,” Caccavale said in the contract announcement.

“When the ship arrives at NNS, we’ll apply that same diligence to working with our suppliers and Navy partners to ensure a successful recapitalization of CVN 75,” he said.

The carrier returns to the shipyard that built it. Truman was christened in 1996 and delivered to the Navy in 1998.

According to HII, the overhaul will prepare Truman to return to the fleet and continue operating for decades.