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// DOSSIER — uss-harry-s-truman-refueling-overhaul
USS Harry S. Truman Begins $5.1 Billion Mid-Life Refueling and Overhaul
REL_TIME: 03 Oct 2026 11:12Z · LANG: EN
The U.S. Navy has awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries' Newport News Shipbuilding a $5.1 billion fixed-ceiling incentive contract to perform the mid-life Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH) of the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). On September 30, 2026, the carrier shifted from Naval Station Norfolk to the Newport News shipyard to officially initiate the multi-year recapitalization, which covers reactor defueling and refueling, propulsion repairs, and hull and combat systems modernization. The contract includes options raising its maximum potential value to $5.18 billion, with final completion scheduled for November 2031.
// Background
Commissioned in 1998, the USS Harry S. Truman reached the midpoint of its planned 50-year service life after 28 years of operational deployments and over 100,000 aircraft launches and recoveries. The RCOH replaces the carrier's expended highly enriched uranium nuclear fuel across two Westinghouse A4W reactors and modernizes thousands of compartments, tanks, and structural elements. Truman entered Newport News as the shipyard nears completion of an overhaul on USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) and progresses fleet transitions toward Gerald R. Ford-class carriers.
// Key Developments
- HII's Newport News Shipbuilding secured a $5,099,973,132 base contract with options up to $5,183,380,744 under a risk-sharing fixed-ceiling incentive structure.
- The RCOH represents approximately one-third of the carrier's 50-year service life maintenance, extending its operational readiness into the 2050s.
- Truman is the eighth Nimitz-class carrier to undergo RCOH at Newport News, the only U.S. facility capable of performing nuclear carrier overhauls.
- The overhaul follows a 251-day Middle East deployment marked by record ordnance delivery as well as a collision with a merchant ship and the loss of three F/A-18 aircraft.
- The start of Truman's RCOH coincides with the Navy's preliminary acceptance of the second Ford-class carrier, the future USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79).
// Timeline
-
The Navy evaluates possibly mothballing USS Harry S. Truman rather than financing its mid-life refueling.
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Newport News Shipbuilding receives a $913 million advance procurement contract for engineering, design, and long-lead material purchases.
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Truman returns to Naval Station Norfolk after a 251-day Middle East deployment countering Houthi forces.
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The carrier commences its formal 'Smart Start' preparation period for shipyard integration.
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Pentagon awards the $5.1 billion RCOH execution contract to HII; Navy concurrently grants preliminary acceptance to future USS John F. Kennedy.
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USS Harry S. Truman relocates from Naval Station Norfolk to Newport News Shipbuilding to begin drydock and overhaul work.
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Scheduled completion date for the Refueling and Complex Overhaul.
// Perspectives
[U.S. Navy]
Views the recapitalization as vital for long-term fleet lethality, utilizing an innovative Fixed Ceiling Incentive model to control costs after having considered mothballing the vessel in 2019.
[Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII)]
Emphasizes extensive advance planning and supply chain coordination to execute the multi-year engineering and nuclear overhaul alongside other major concurrent carrier programs.
// Quotes
“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. 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.”
“Achieving preliminary acceptance marks a new phase for the ship and her crew, allowing them to get more water under the keel as they test and train underway. This milestone is a testament to the shared commitment of our sailors and our combined Navy-industry team.”
