The U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command has awarded a contract to Northrop Grumman Corporation's Sperry Marine business unit to upgrade the steering control systems for the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70).
The cost-plus-fixed-fee contract has a total value of $2.1m. The work will be carried out at Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding's Newport News shipyard during the ship's first scheduled maintenance period following its refueling and complex overhaul. Sperry Marine will replace the steering units and helm control console on the bridge and install new electronics and software. The contract also provides for engineering support and documentation.
"This contract advances the Navy's goal of modernizing and standardizing critical systems throughout this class of vessels," said J. Nolasco DaCunha, vice president of Sperry Marine. "Sperry Marine previously completed the same upgrades for eight other Nimitz-class aircraft carriers."
Commissioned in 1982, the USS Carl Vinson was the third Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The ship is currently undergoing a 40-month complex refueling overhaul, in which the nuclear fuel is being replenished and the ship's services and infrastructure are being upgraded to prepare for the next 25 years of the projected 50-year service life.