Carrier Ford undergoing two simultaneous maintenance availabilities

Aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford, shown here, will be undergoing simultaneous availabilities for maintenance and fire damage repairs. (Michael Fabey)

Aircraft carrier USS Gerald R Ford (CVN 78) is set to undergo two simultaneous maintenance availabilities at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) in Virginia beginning in August, according to Rear Admiral Kavon Hakimzadeh, NNSY commander.

Ford will be starting its regularly scheduled planned incremental availability (PIA) – a general maintenance and modernisation period that most US Navy (USN) ships undergo following a lengthy deployment. Ford recently returned following an 11-month deployment across multiple global theatres, which, according to USN officials, is the longest for any US carrier since the Vietnam war.

The PIA work package is slated to include scheduled inspections and replacement of some physical plant equipment, modernisation of the electrical distribution system, and a technical refresh of aircraft launch-and-recovery equipment.

“Simultaneously, there will be another avail – for emergent work for fire damage,” Rear Adm Hakimzadeh told Janes on 22 July during a briefing about the Ford maintenance work.

US Naval Forces Central Command on 12 March confirmed that Ford had experienced a fire that day, which had originated in the ship's main laundry spaces while the carrier was operating in the Red Sea in support of ‘Operation Epic Fury.'

At that time, Norfolk Naval Shipyard sent an emergency repair team to board the ship at Naval Support Activity Souda Bay on the Greek island of Crete, Rear Adm Haimzadeh told Janes on 11 May during an interview.

Temporary repairs

Within five days the team established systems for temporary lighting and ventilation and made repairs to ship self-defence system components, Rear Adm Hakimzadeh said.