Navy awards HII $3 billion contract for Stennis refueling

The Navy announced Friday it has awarded Huntington Ingalls Industries a $3 billion contract for the refueling and complex overhaul of the aircraft carrier John Stennis (CVN-74).

"This effort refuels, overhauls and modernizes USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) to support the second half of its 50-year service life," the Navy's contract announcement states.

The contract was not competitively procured. HII, which was the original building yard contractor for the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, is the only source with "the knowledge, experience and facilities required to accomplish this effort in support of the refueling and overhaul of CVN-74 without an unacceptable disruption of Navy-wide overhaul and repair schedule," the Navy's announcement said.

Work will take place in Newport News and Norfolk, VA and is expected to be completed by August 2025.

Stennis was delivered to the Navy in 1995 and is the seventh Nimitz-class carrier to undergo mid-life refueling and complex overhaul, according to a HII Newport News Shipbuilding division press release.

"Our teams have spent three years preparing and planning for each step of the process along the way, and we look forward to continuing our work with our suppliers and Navy partners in anticipation of the ship's arrival at Newport News," Todd West, Newport News' vice president for in-service aircraft carrier programs, said in the company's press release.

The refueling and complex overhaul will include refueling the ship's reactors and modernization work to more than 2,300 compartments and hundreds of tanks and systems, the company said.

"In addition, major upgrades will be made in the propulsion plant, to the flight deck, catapults, combat systems and the island," the company’s press release said.