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The USS Ronald Reagan [CVN-76] is scheduled for a $12.1 million makeover at the hands of Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Newport News, VA. The aircraft carrier will undergo a Planned Incremental Availability (PIA), during which its equipment and systems will be altered, repaired, and modernized. In addition, all the ship’s systems and components will be inspected and tested before its next deployment.
The USS Ronald Reagan is returning from the Gulf of Oman, where the carrier and the carrier air wing (CVW 14) were conducting operations in support of coalition forces on the ground in Afghanistan.
During its 50 year life span, an American Nimitz Class carrier has 1 refueling & complex overhaul (RCOH), 4 Drydocking Planned Incremental Availabilities, and 12 PIAs.
According to GlobalSecurity.org, Nimitz Class carriers are the largest warships in the world, are powered by 2 nuclear reactors, and carry 85 aircraft. The crew consists of a ship’s company of 3,200 and an air wing of 2,480.
A Nimitz-class carrier is capable of launching as many as 4 aircraft a minute. The ship’s 4 catapults and 4 arresting gear engines enable her to launch and recover aircraft rapidly and simultaneously.
Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding will perform work on the USS Reagan in San Diego and expects to have the ship ready for duty by May 2010. The work will be performed under a modification to a previously awarded contract (N00024-07-C-4404). Contract funds in the amount of $12.1 million will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Southwest Regional Maintenance Center in San Diego manages the contract.