USS Theodore Roosevelt Headed Into Mid-Life Overhaul

The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) conducts a Vertical Replenishment weapons on-load with the ammunition ship USS Santa Barbara (AE 28) as they steam in the waters off the Virginia coast on Dec. 20, 1995. The crates of ordnance are being transferred from the Santa Barbara to the Roosevelt by using a CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter. DoD photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Tuemler, U.S. Navy.

** New propellers installed; $48.9M contract. (Jan 11/10)

The USS Theodore Roosevelt [CVN 71] was built by Northrop Grumman’s Newport News sector. Commissioned on October 25, 1986, CVN 71 is expected to remain in service until 2036. As it approaches its mid-life stage, however, the wear begins to show. Instead of putting a ramp on its flight deck, buying it a nice red car, and pairing it with much younger ships, the US government has begun preparing instead for the refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) of CVN 71 and its reactor plants. 

** Northrop Grumman Corporation completed a significant work performance milestone on the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) with the installation of the 010 level of the ship's island on Oct. 8. 

The USS Theodore Roosevelt was scheduled to arrive at the Newport News shipyard in August 2009 to begin its RCOH, and Northrop Grumman has valued the planning phase alone at $558 million. So what exactly is a RCOH, and how expensive is it likely to get before all is said and done?

The RCOH Process

After nearly 25 years of service, the USA’s nuclear aircraft carriers undergo a 3-year maintenance period to refuel their nuclear reactors, upgrade and modernize combat and communication systems, and overhaul the ship’s hull, mechanical and electrical systems. This is the refueling and complex overhaul.

During an American Nimitz Class carrier’s 50 year life span, it has 4 Drydocking Planned Incremental Availabilities and 12 Planned incremental availabilities. It has only one RCOH, however, which is the most significant overhaul the ship receives during its 50-year life span. See DID’s November 2005 coverage and detailing re: the CVN 70 USS Carl Vinson’s RCOH, which is expected to cost a total of $3.1 billion; about $1.94 billion went to Northrop Grumman for planning and execution.

Note that the new CVN-21 Gerald R. Ford Class will have a redesigned nuclear power plant whose features will affect its RCOH. The new system is expected to make use of advances from the USA’s Seawolf and Virginia Class submarine reactors, in order to eliminate expensive reactor refueling completely, increase the reactors’ output, and drop the number of people required to operate them.