The Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) departed Bremerton, Washington, March 17, after completing an 18-month docking planned incremental availability (DPIA) at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility and will return to Naval Air Station North Island as it shifts its homeport back to San Diego.
The DPIA achieved significant modernization to the ship’s combat efficiency while also ensuring sustained operational readiness throughout its 50-year lifespan. Upgrades included a flight deck systems retrofit, expanding the ship’s air dominance capabilities to support the F-35C Lightning II, E-2D Advanced Hawkeye, and CMV-22B Osprey, as well as future platforms such as the MQ-25 Stingray unmanned aircraft system. Other combat systems modernization efforts included installation of the Mark 38 Mod III Machine Gun System and upgrades to the AN/SLQ-32 electronic warfare suite; Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES); ship self-defense system (SSDS); surface search radar; and AN/SPQ-9 Fire Control System. The availability also involved a full restoration of crew habitability areas, including crew living quarters and onboard bathrooms; and preventative maintenance and restoration of the ship’s hull, rudders and rudder shafts.
“I’m so grateful for the unrelenting work our crew and our shipyard teammates put into this milestone,” said Commanding Officer Capt. Brian Schrum. “Their sacrifices have enabled us to rejoin the Fleet and to get back to being a warship for our nation. Thanks as well to our Sailors and their families for their resiliency, and to the Puget Sound communities for their unwavering support.”
Prior to DPIA, Theodore Roosevelt was homeported in San Diego and was deployed from December 2020 to May 2021 in the Indo-Pacific region in support of maritime security operations.
Read more about USS Theodore Roosevelt
Source: U.S. Navy
