Despite fire, lengthy deployment, Navy expects only six-month maintenance for USS Ford

The world’s largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), transits the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, March 22, 2026. Gerald R. Ford is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations to support the warfighting effectiveness, lethality and readiness of U.S. Naval Forces Europe Africa, and defend U.S., Allied and partner interests in the region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Tajh Payne)

WASHINGTON — Despite the USS Gerald R Ford pushing through a record-setting deployment that included a fire aboard, the Navy still plans to handle those repairs in a six-month period, according to Norfolk Naval Shipyard Commander Rear Adm. Kavon Hakimzadah .

In July, the Ford began a planned incremental availability (PIA) at Norfolk Naval Shipyard to cover maintenance and modernization initiatives. The service is concurrently launching a second availability to repair damage from the fire that broke out aboard the ship in March.

“Gerald R. Ford, sitting in our shipyard right now, we had a planned incremental availability in place [for] six months,” Hakimzadah said during a roundtable on Monday. “It was 10 months, I promised the Fleet commander we could do it in six months. So we set that in place while she was on deployment before she had a fire…I’m still going to deliver that ship back in six months, but we’ve set up a second availability that is overseen by the regional maintenance center with a commercial partner, with a commercial vendor, that is running that availability.”

Hakimzadah said that although there could be some “follow up” and “clean up” at the end to support the ship’s company, he believes the Navy will deliver the ship in six months.

The Ford returned to Naval Station Norfolk in May, after remaining at sea for a total of 326 days as part of a historic deployment. The deployment broke the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln’s previous record of 294 days at sea in 2019 and 2020 for the longest deployment since the Vietnam War era, according to a USNI News carrier database tracking flattop deployments.

While underway, the carrier operated in US Southern Command as part of the Trump administration’s naval buildup in the region ahead of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro’s ouster in January. The ship then shifted to supporting operations in the Middle East, including Operation Epic Fury, with the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln.

Following the extended time at sea , Navy officials had previously signaled that the ship could face additional maintenance, in comparison to a carrier that completed a standard, seven-month deployment.

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“For every 30 days that the ship is extended on deployment, it adds 6 percent of maintenance, so five months extra would add 30 percent for maintenance,” Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao told lawmakers on the House Appropriations Committee in May.

Even so, Hakimzedah said in a statement in July after the Ford’s PIA kicked off that he expected that the Ford would follow the footsteps of carriers Dwight D Eisenhower and George HW Bush, which both completed a PIA at Norfolk Naval Shipyard and that the Navy says were conducted ahead of schedule.

The Navy did not share exact specifics regarding the PIA timeline for the Ford in July, but PIAs are usually planned to last between six to eight months.

2026年3月22日，世界最大的航空母舰“杰拉尔德·R·福特”号（CVN 78）航行于东地中海。“杰拉尔德·R·福特”号正在美国第六舰队作战区域进行例行部署，以支持美国海军驻欧洲非洲部队的作战效能、杀伤力和战备状态，并捍卫美国、盟国和伙伴国在该地区的利益。（美国海军二级大众传播专家塔吉·佩恩摄）

华盛顿——据诺福克海军造船厂司令卡冯·哈基姆扎达海军少将称，尽管“杰拉尔德·R·福特”号航空母舰完成了创纪录的部署，期间还发生了一起舰上火灾，但海军仍然计划在六个月内完成这些维修工作。

7月，福特号航母在诺福克海军造船厂开始了计划内的增量可用性维护（PIA），以完成各项保养和现代化改造项目。与此同时，海军也启动了第二次维护，以修复3月份舰上火灾造成的损坏。

“杰拉尔德·R·福特”号航母目前就停泊在我们船厂，我们原本计划对其进行为期六个月的分阶段维护，”哈基姆扎达在周一的圆桌会议上说道。“原计划是十个月，但我向舰队司令承诺我们可以在六个月内完成。所以，在她部署期间发生火灾之前，我们就制定了这项计划……我仍然会在六个月内交付这艘航母，但我们已经安排了第二次维护，由区域维护中心与一家商业合作伙伴，也就是一家商业供应商共同负责。”

哈基姆扎达表示，虽然最后可能需要一些“后续”和“清理”工作来支持舰员，但他相信海军将在六个月内交付这艘船。

“福特”号航母于五月返回诺福克海军基地，结束了其历史性的海上部署，总共在海上停留了326天。根据美国海军学会新闻网（USNI News）的航母部署数据库，此次部署打破了“亚伯拉罕·林肯”号航母在2019年和2020年创下的294天的海上部署纪录，成为自越南战争以来最长的海上部署。

在航行期间，这艘航母隶属于美国南方司令部，参与了特朗普政府在委内瑞拉领导人尼古拉斯·马杜罗于1月下台前在该地区进行的海军集结行动。随后，该舰转而支援中东地区的军事行动，包括与“亚伯拉罕·林肯”号航空母舰共同执行的“史诗狂怒行动”。

由于长时间在海上航行，海军官员此前曾表示，与完成标准七个月部署的航母相比，该舰可能需要额外的维护。

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“舰艇每延长部署30天，维护费用就会增加6%，因此额外五个月的部署时间将增加30%的维护费用，”海军代理部长洪曹在5月份向众议院拨款委员会表示。

即便如此，哈基姆泽达在福特号航母的PIA启动后的7月份发表声明称，他预计福特号将效仿德怀特·D·艾森豪威尔号和乔治·H·W·布什号航母，这两艘航母都在诺福克海军造船厂完成了PIA，海军方面表示，它们的PIA都提前完成。

海军在 7 月份没有透露有关福特号航母 PIA 时间表的具体细节，但 PIA 通常计划持续六到八个月。