Huntington Ingalls Inc., based in Newport News, Virginia, has been awarded an $18,394,985 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to a previously granted contract (N00024-19-C-2100). This modification supports the pre-advanced planning for the defueling and inactivation of the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) aircraft carrier. The USS Nimitz (CVN-68) holds the distinction of being the lead ship of the Nimitz class. Once among the largest warships globally. The work will be conducted in Newport News, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by November 2024. The funds for this contract modification are sourced from the Fiscal 2024 operations and maintenance budget for the Navy, and will be obligated at the time of the award, expiring at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C., oversees this contracting activity., it was initially designated as CVAN-68, an “aircraft carrier, attack, nuclear powered,” upon its commissioning.
The ship was designated as CVN-68, reflecting its role as a “multi-mission, nuclear-powered aircraft carrier” as part of a fleet-wide realignment on June 30, 1975. Named after the World War II Pacific Fleet Commander Chester W. Nimitz, the ship was homeported at Naval Station Norfolk until 1987. It then moved to Naval Station Bremerton in Washington (now part of Naval Base Kitsap). After a significant Refueling and Complex Overhaul in 2001, the Nimitz was stationed at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, California, before relocating to Naval Station Everett, Washington, in 2012. In January 2015, the carrier returned to Naval Base Kitsap. With the decommissioning of the USS Enterprise in 2017, the USS Nimitz became the oldest aircraft carrier in U.S. Navy service, and indeed, the oldest serving aircraft carrier worldwide. The Navy plans to retire the USS Nimitz in fiscal year 2025, initiating the ship’s Terminal Off-load Program. Inactivation is scheduled to commence in 2027.
Initially, there were considerations to extend the carrier’s service life to maintain fleet numbers as the Navy introduces the new Gerald R. Ford-class carriers. However, the decision was reversed once the costs associated with extending the USS Nimitz’s service became apparent. By the time of its decommissioning, the USS Nimitz will have served the United States for half a century, participating in significant operations from Operation ‘Earnest Will’ in the Arabian Gulf to a notable 11-month deployment in the Indo-Pacific and Middle East regions in 2020-2021. As the Navy continues to integrate Gerald R. Ford-class carriers, the service remains committed to maintaining a ready and agile force capable of global competition and success.
Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (HII) is the largest military shipbuilding company in the United States as well as a provider of professional services to partners in government and industry. HII comprises three divisions: Newport News Shipbuilding, Ingalls Shipbuilding, and Mission Technologies. HII’s Newport News and Ingalls Shipbuilding divisions in Virginia and Mississippi, respectively, have built more ships in more ship classes than any other U.S. naval shipbuilder. In April 2022, Huntington Ingalls Industries changed its branding name to HII.
Newport News Shipbuilding is the only shipyard to perform refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) work on aircraft carriers. Newport News Shipbuilding also offers inactivation services for nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. In 2018, NNS successfully completed the inactivation of Enterprise (CVN 65), which began in 2013. The NNS-built Enterprise was the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the only ship of its class.
