The U.S. Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) began its first sea trials Tuesday after a four years-long refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) period.
The last time the Abraham Lincoln was underway was in March 2013 before it prepared for the RCOH process at Huntington Ingalls Industries [HII] Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va.
“We are looking forward to taking the ship out on the open water where we belong. I am honored to serve with our crew. This dedicated and impressive group put an incredible amount of work into revitalizing this ship,” Capt. Amy Bauernschmidt, Lincoln’s executive officer, said in a statement.
“We are grateful for their efforts and to our partners at Newport News Shipbuilding, and eagerly anticipate completing successful sea trials and returning to the fleet ready for tasking later this year,” she added.
During the current trials, set to last for four days, the ship’s crew will undergo multiple training scenarios and qualification evolutions including engineering maneuvers designed to evaluate the performance of the ship following its far-reaching maintenance period.
Rear Adm. Brian Antonio, program executive officer for aircraft carriers, highlighted the Abraham Lincoln will be the first CVN able to accommodate the F-35C fighter.
“This RCOH enabled the ship to meet future missions and continued service life requirements for many years to come,” Antonio said.
The Navy said the RCOH included over 2.5 million man-hours of work aboard the ship. This included refueling the reactors, upgrading ship infrastructure, and modernizing combat systems and air wing capabilities to increase combat effectiveness.
Before the sea trials began, the Abraham Lincoln spent its final days of the RCOH completing an official “fast cruise,” the final simulation before leaving Newport News Shipbuilding. The fast cruise focused the ship’s crew on training, drills, and ship-wide evolutions that build crew confidence and proficiency to return to sea. The crew first started simulating various emergency scenarios in February.