Feb 26, 2019 | By Thomas
United States aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush will spend the next 28 months in dry dock at the Navy's public shipyard for a scheduled overhaul.
The 103,000-ton carrier arrived at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth Thursday. Drydocking and maintaining this 1,092-foot long aircraft carrier is said to be complex. The vessel requires 1.3 million mandays and will comprise the most extensive maintenance period in the ship's life so far and is one of the most complex CVN CNO availabilities in recent Norfolk Naval Ship Yard history.
During that period the carrier will upgraded with 3D printing technology. It will also get exoskeleton suits, laser scanning to create virtual rigging paths and training models using virtual reality, the Navy said. The shipyard workforce will be providing approximately 775,000 mandays.
The Bush became part of the U.S. Navy’s fleet in January 2009 and is the last of the Nimitz-class aircraft carriers. Planning for Bush's maintenance took 18 months and much of its project team will be working on a carrier in dry dock for the first time.
“There are a lot of first time jobs all around given this is the first time Bush has sat on keel blocks since being built,” project superintendent Jeff Burchett said. “With the size of this work package, it will take a total team effort by Norfolk Naval Shipyard.”
"This is a great chance for teaching and mentoring people in new positions how to execute and perform to their top potential," Burchett added.
The Bush returned from a seven-month deployment in August 2017.
Posted in 3D Printing Application
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