The USS Truman will undergo a $5.1 billion overhaul, expected to be completed in 2031

The U.S. Navy's Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) will undergo a mid-service overhaul. The project includes replenishing nuclear fuel and upgrading major systems such as propulsion and combat. The contract value is up to US$5.1 billion and is expected to be completed in November 2031.

"Defense News" reported that the U.S. Department of Defense announced on September 29 that it had signed a US$5.1 billion (approximately NT$162.8 billion) fixed-cap award contract with Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) to perform the "Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH)" of the USS Truman at the Newport News Shipyard in Virginia.

The USS Truman was commissioned on July 25, 1998. It is the eighth Nimitz-class aircraft carrier of the U.S. Navy and has been in service for 28 years. Its home port is located at the Norfolk Naval Base in Virginia. It has long been part of the U.S. military's Atlantic force system and has been deployed many times in Europe, the Mediterranean and the Middle East. The most recent deployment left port in September 2024 and entered the U.S. 6th Fleet and 5th Fleet areas of responsibility successively, and performed combat missions in the Red Sea.

This RCOH is a large-scale project in the middle of the aircraft's service, accounting for about one-third of the maintenance and modernization work during the entire service period of the aircraft. HII said that in addition to refueling the Truman nuclear reactor, it will also process thousands of cabins and oil tanks, and upgrade most of the ship's systems, including propulsion systems and combat systems.

The Truman's overhaul comes just over a year after completing a 251-day deployment. During the period, the ship fired more than 1.1 million pounds of ammunition and carried out large-scale air strikes. However, accidents occurred one after another during the deployment and triggered military investigations.

In February 2025, the Truman collided with the merchant ship "Besiktas-M" near Port Said, Egypt, and Captain Dave Snowden was subsequently relieved of duty. Three other F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets were lost during the deployment. One of them was accidentally hit by the guided missile cruiser USS Gettysburg, another failed to land and fell into the sea, and another slipped from the hangar deck into the Red Sea while evading an incoming ballistic missile.

The Truman will become the eighth Nimitz-class ship to complete RCOH in Newport News. The U.S. Department of Defense has not announced the official start time of the project, but it is expected to complete the renovation in November 2031. The contract also has additional options, and if all are activated, the total value may be close to US$5.2 billion.