Mary-Louise Hoffman
A Huntington Ingalls Industries division has begun to test steam-powered engines and electrical generators of the U.S. Navy‘s USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.
“Once the work and final testing, including sea trials, is complete, Lincoln will be redelivered to the Navy as one of the most technologically advanced Nimitz-class carriers in the fleet,” Chris Miner, vice president for in-service aircraft carrier programs at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding arm, said Thursday.
The steam test comes under a Lincoln mid-life refueling and complex overhaul initiative, which began in March 2013 and could take up to 44 months, HII noted.
Newport News expects its personnel to perform 23 million man-hours of work to upgrade and maintain the ship.
Lincoln is scheduled to enter the second half of its projected 50-year service life in 2016.
