Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries [HII] a $291 million modification to add Year Two preparation work for the refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) of the USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74).

This award covers fiscal year 2019-2020 advance planning work, which includes material forecasting, long-lead-time material procurement, purchase order development, technical document and drawing development, scheduling, resource forecasting and planning, development of cost estimates, and other work required to get ready for the refueling.

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) transiting the Pacific Ocean in 2017. (Photo: U.S. Navy)

HII explained it as funding the RCOH’s planning, long-lead-time material procurement, shop fabrication, shipboard inspections, and facilities readiness.

This modification also includes an option for a third year of planning that, if exercised, would raise the total contract value to $477 million. The initial contract for RCOH planning was funded at $187.6 million for the first year of work in August 2018.

The company said that as part of the contract, HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding will perform some shipboard work in Norfolk, Va.

Work will occur at HII’s facility in Newport News, Va., and is expected to be finished by July 2020 without the third-year extension. In all, $107.5 million in FY 2019 Navy shipbuilding funds were obligated at award time and will not expire at the end of this fiscal year.

“The second and third year of planning is important to the overall success of a project of the magnitude of an RCOH. This contract allows us to continue our critical planning for each step of the process so we’re ready to begin execution when the ship arrives in the first quarter of 2021,” Chris Miner, Newport News’ vice president of in-service aircraft carriers, said in a statement.

The RCOH is expected to last for four years, finishing by late 2024.

The Stennis first arrived in Norfolk in May, after finishing a seven-month deployment, to start preparing for the RCOH (Defense Daily, May 17).