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USS Abraham Lincoln returns to her homeport at Naval Station Norfolk

Posted at 9:59 AM, May 12, 2017
and last updated 2017-05-12 20:58:57-04

NORFOLK, Va. - The USS Abraham Lincoln returned to her homeport at Naval Station Norfolk on Friday, following years of refueling, overhaul, and modernization.

Tuesday morning, the USS Abraham Lincoln left the Newport News Shipyard for sea trials which included successful testing of the significant combat system modernizations that took place during the overhaul.

Today, Captain Ronald Ravelo, Commanding Officer of the Lincoln, said the sea trials went exceptionally well overall.

The ship's change of command is on Monday, so this week, Captain Ravelo had his first and last day as commanding officer of the Lincoln at sea.

"Just the fact that I was privileged to command an aircraft carrier was pretty special to me," he says. The fact that I actually got her underway, that's just gravy on top of it."

The Lincoln's Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH) began at the shipyard on March 28, 2013.

The nuclear aircraft carrier was refueled, with key systems and components updated and modernized.

The Lincoln is now the first nuclear powered aircraft carrier fully capable of accommodating the F-35C “Lightening II” aircraft, the next-generation fighter jet.

The RCOH will also extend the life of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier by an estimated 25 years. Captain Ravelo says the cost of the entire process was $2.75 billion.

With the return of the USS Abraham Lincoln, Naval Station Norfolk will be the homeport to four carriers for the first time in years.

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