Aircraft Carriers III

Forward-Deployed Aircraft Carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) Underway for Sea Trials & Ammo Unload

Waters South of Japan: U.S. Navy's forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) underway for sea trials and ammo Unload with the USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE 10) from May 7-12, 2017.

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Carrier Ford to Begin Acceptance Trials this Month; Navy Expects Quick Delivery Afterwards

The first-in-class aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) will head to sea by the end of the month for its last set of trials before the Navy accepts delivery of the ship and commissions it into the fleet, the acting Navy secretary said today.

Sean Stackley told reporters after delivering a speech at the U.S. Naval Institute’s annual meeting that the carrier would head to sea before Memorial Day for its acceptance trials.

Ford

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, marking the last time shipbuilder Newport News Shipbuilding would oversee a test event with the ship.

Acceptance trials will look

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but will be run by the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV). The trials will ensure the ship’s systems all work – from power generation to navigation to communications – and that the crew is ready to operate the carrier at sea, but it will not include launching and recovering airplanes.

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, service leaders have said previously.

“Delivery, pending the results of acceptance trials, we expect to turn delivery around quickly after that,” Stackley said.
“The crew is already onboard, operating and running the systems; she’s at the naval station; she’s loaded out; so the steps to go from acceptance trials to delivery, it’s going to be contingent on, what are the critical starred card type of deficiencies – if any – that are identified during acceptance trials,” he said, referring to the Navy test community’s way of denoting the most serious issues they find during sea trials.

“We came out of builders trials strong, we’re correcting those deficiencies” now before the ship heads back out to sea, Stackley continued.
“I’m pretty confident right now in a good [acceptance trials] and a quick turn around to deliver the ship.”

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Jura said:

now I read
UPDATED: Carrier USS Abraham Lincoln Leaves Newport News on Sea Trials

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Huntington Ingalls Industries has redelivered the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) to the Navy following successful sea trials that tested the ship’s systems following its refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) at the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding division in Newport News, Va., the company announced in a May 12 release.

“The successful completion of sea trials and redelivery of the ship to the Navy is the culmination of over 48 months of teamwork between Newport News shipbuilders, the CVN 72 crew, our government partners and all of our suppliers,” Chris Miner, Newport News’ vice president, in-service aircraft carrier programs, said in the release. “The completion of the refueling and complex overhaul returns a fully recapitalized ship to the fleet, ready to support any mission and serve our nation for another 25 years.”

Abraham Lincoln is the fifth ship of the Nimitz class to complete an RCOH, marking the halfway point in the program to sustain the service live of each Nimitz-class carrier out to 50 years. The main limiting factor is the life of the ship’s two nuclear reactors, which are refueled once in the ship’s career, doubling the service life to 50 years.

The lead ship, USS Nimitz, began its RCOH on May 26, 1998. It was followed in succession by USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, USS Carl Vinson and USS Theodore Roosevelt before the turn for Abraham Lincoln arrived for its 48-month RCOH. The sixth Nimitz carrier, USS George Washington, will enter the Newport News Shipbuilding yard this summer for its RCOH.

“The RCOH process is performed only once during the ship’s 50-year lifetime and involves upgrades to nearly every space and system on the ship,” the release said. “Tanks, the hull, shafting, propellers, rudders, piping, ventilation, electrical, combat and aviation support systems were repaired, upgraded and modernized. Work also included defueling and refueling the ship’s two nuclear reactors and repairs and upgrades to the propulsion plant.”

“Every Sailor, shipyard worker and contractor involved with RCOH and redelivery should be standing tall as we bring this mighty warship back home to Norfolk and put her back into service for the U.S. Navy,” Capt. Ronald Ravelo, Lincoln’s commanding officer, said in the release. “Getting Lincoln back into the fight was truly an all-hands effort, and I could not be more proud of the crew who helped make that happen.”

Newport News Shipbuilding also has completed Builder’s Trials of the next-generation aircraft, the future USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) and is building or acquiring materials for the next two carriers, John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) and Enterprise (CVN 80).

The Navy’s battle fleet includes 10 aircraft carriers — one of which is in RCOH at any given time — of 11 authorized by Congress. The Navy’s 2016 Force Structure Assessment called for fleet growth to 355 ships, including a force of 12 carriers.

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The USS Ronald Reagan's departure has been delayed due to an unspecified issue aboard the aircraft carrier,

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officials said Monday.

"While inport Yokosuka and conducting routine pre-underway checks, a material issue was identified that requires repair," said a Navy statement issued Monday. "There is no impact to the safety of the aircraft carrier."

The maintenance issue delays the departure of the carrier, its embarked air wing and multiple accompanying ships comprising the carrier strike group.

"Details are still being coordinated and will be dependent upon the length of the repair," the statement said.

The Ronald Reagan successfully completed sea trials on Friday, Navy officials said. The ship and its air wing also completed carrier landing practice earlier this month at Iwo Jima, which is also known as Iwo To.

The Ronald Reagan Strike Group is embarking on its regularly scheduled patrol at a time of increased tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, as North Korea continues to develop its nuclear weapons program. The San Diego-based

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strike group's Asia patrol was extended about a month amid a series of North Korean missile launches and speculation that the communist state could soon conduct a nuclear test.

Meanwhile, China has continued developing and militarizing territory in the South China Sea claimed by several of its neighbors. China has also increased patrols near the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands, which Beijing claims as its territory.

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test bd said:

This is more than likely correct. I saw the same story in Pacfic Stars and Stripes. I've no idea how long the delay shall be.

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