US Aircraft Carrier Overhaul Deferred
The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln's refueling complex overhaul (RCOH) will not start due to insufficient funding.
Lincoln was expected to move to Newport News shipyard next week to begin the overhaul. However, as a result of the fiscal constraints resulting from the ongoing continuing resolution (CR), the contract for the refueling complex overhaul (RCOH) has not been issued to Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc.
The aircraft carrier will remain pierside at Naval Station Norfolk until sufficient funding is received to start the execution of the RCOH. In the meantime, the ship's Sailors continue to conduct maintenance.
The impact of postponing CVN 72's RCOH is three-fold: the time scheduled for the RCOH will have to be lengthened because the overhaul will not begin when it was expected; delayed redelivery of Lincoln to the fleet, as well as its impact upon industry.
The Navy add that cancelling or delaying maintenance creates a significant backlog of deferred maintenance and affects future year schedules and costs, as well as future readiness. The delay in Lincoln's RCOH will affect other carrier work.