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Northrop Grumman Newport News has redelivered
to the Navy the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) after
completing its one and only refueling and complex
overhaul in a 50-year life span.
( Photo by Chris Oxley)
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NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – March 25, 2005 – Northrop Grumman
Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has redelivered to the Navy
the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Dwight
D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) after completing its one
and only refueling and complex overhaul in a 50-year
life span.
The work was performed by the company’s Newport News
sector and the ship was redelivered after four days
of successful sea trials, an aggressive series of operational
tests to demonstrate that Eisenhower’s two
nuclear propulsion plants are fully mission capable.
“The effort and complexity of this job was a mammoth
undertaking," said Bob Gunter, senior vice president
for the aircraft carrier program at Northrop Grumman
Newport News. "We’ve worked on every inch of this
ship, installing the latest advancements in technology
to make the 28-year-old ‘Ike’ better than new."
The Eisenhower is the second ship of the Nimitz
class to undergo this major life-cycle milestone. The
work took more than three years to complete and included
the refueling of both of the ship’s reactors as well
as extensive modernization work to more than 2,300 compartments,
to include the ship’s mess decks, medical and dental
spaces, and laundry and berthing spaces. Maintenance
and repair work was performed below the ship’s waterline
and included the application of new paint. In addition,
nearly 3,000 valves were replaced and another 600 were
overhauled in various ship systems.
Major upgrades were made to the flight deck, catapults,
combat systems and the island house. The top two levels
of the island house were removed and replaced to install
a new antenna mast which provides better radar capabilities.
Northrop Grumman Newport News also installed a new radar
tower aboard the ship.
The Eisenhower was built by Northrop Grumman
Newport News and christened on October 11, 1975 by Mrs.
Mamie Doud Eisenhower, wife of the ship’s namesake,
President Dwight D. Eisenhower. The ship was commissioned
by the U.S. Navy in 1977 and began its first deployment
to the Mediterranean Sea in January 1979. After 22 years
of service, the Eisenhower arrived at the Newport
News shipyard in 2001 for its mid-life refueling and
complex overhaul.
Northrop Grumman Newport News, headquartered in Newport
News, Va., is the nation's sole designer, builder and
refueler of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and one
of only two companies capable of designing and building
nuclear-powered submarines. Newport News also provides
after-market services for a wide array of naval and
commercial vessels. The Newport News sector employs
about 19,000 people.
CONTACT:
Jennifer Dellapenta
Northrop Grumman Newport News
757-380-3558
Jennifer.Dellapenta@ngc.com
