Summary and Key Points: Christian D. Orr, a senior defense editor and former Air Force officer, evaluates the Refueling Complex Overhaul (RCOH) crisis affecting the U.S. Navy’s aircraft carrier fleet.
-With the USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) now 14 months behind schedule and the USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) facing a complex post-collision refit, the reliance on a single facility—Newport News Shipbuilding—has created a strategic vulnerability.
The first-in-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) steams in the Atlantic Ocean, Nov. 7, 2022. Exercise Silent Wolverine is a U.S.-led, combined training exercise that tests Ford-class aircraft carrier capabilities through integrated high-end naval warfare scenarios alongside participating allies in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. The Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group is conducting their first deployment in the U.S. Naval Forces Europe area of operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jacob Mattingly)
(March 23, 2023) Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) returns to Naval Air Station North Island following a regularly-scheduled maintenance availability and completion of sea trials, March 23. The ship changed its homeport from Bremerton to San Diego after completing an 18-month docking planned incremental availability in Bremerton, Washington, during which the ship received extensive restorations and upgrades 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. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Keenan Daniels)
-This 19FortyFive report analyzes the technical demands of swapping radioactive fuel rods in A1B and A4W reactors, contrasting current multi-year timelines with the 72-hour turnaround of the USS Yorktown (CV-5) during World War II.
The RCOH Rigamarole: Why it Takes 5 Years to Refuel a U.S. Nuclear Aircraft Carrier
Ever since they replaced battleships as naval capital ships during World War II, aircraft carriers have kept that place as the ultimate power projectors of the U.S. Navy. This is especially true of nuclear-powered supercarriers (CVNs) such as the venerable Nimitz-class warships and their anointed successors, the bigger and mightier Gerald R. Ford-class CVNs. These vessels are marvels, both for their sheer size and technological capabilities. The Ford-class is the largest warship ever constructed.
Nuclear-powered carriers have their downsides: Foremost is their vulnerability to ship-killing missiles. Another is their exorbitant expense—both when building new carriers and later, given their constant maintenance needs. Often carriers are relegated to “hangar queen” or “dock dweller” status.
What keeps a CVN in the dock longest is the extremely time-consuming process of refueling. But why does it take so long to refuel a supercarrier?
Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF): The RCOH Rigamarole
Yes, we’ve discussed the “RCOH rigamarole” before, but it bears repeating. RCOH stands for Refueling Complex Overhaul, and the process involves cutting a massive hole into the hull and replacing everything from catapult systems to water purifiers.
Daksh Chaudhary elaborates further for SlashGear:
“Nuclear aircraft carriers, such as those in the Nimitz class, are powered by two massive reactors, which are strong enough to run everything onboard—from lights and engines to radar systems—for more than 20 years without needing new fuel. This is about how long an aircraft carrier can stay at sea without refueling. But when that time comes, the process is complex and risky. First, the reactors must be cooled down and shut off, which takes days. Then, workers carefully remove the hundreds of radioactive fuel rods, following strict safety procedures. This all happens in dry docks, where the entire ship is drained of water and lifted above for inspection.”
220213-N-TL932-1221 PACIFIC OCEAN (Feb. 13, 2022) Nimitz-class aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), back, and USS Nimitz (CVN 68) transit the Pacific Ocean, Feb. 13, 2022. Vinson and Nimitz are currently conducting routine maritime operations in U.S. 3rd Fleet. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Joshua Sapien)
Nimitz-class and Ford-class vessels have a fully laden displacement of more than 100,000 tons, which requires some pretty serious heavy lifting.
Moreover, continues Chaudhary, “RCOH isn’t just about fuel. In fact, it’s the Navy’s once-in-a-lifetime chance to modernize everything: combat systems, electronics, radar arrays, software, fire controls, and even the ship’s wiring. It’s the only time in 25 years that they can get to some of the ship’s deepest systems, which is why they don’t take any shortcuts.”
There is only one shipyard in the United States that handles this job—Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia. That lack of infrastructure is a sobering reminder of just how much U.S. shipbuilding capability has declined in the post-Cold War era, something that President Donald Trump is attempting to rectify via his April 2025 executive order, “Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance.”
The good news is that RCOH happens only once in each carrier’s half-century service life. But that’s slim comfort to the crew of a carrier caught in the midst of the procedure, and even slimmer comfort to the nation as China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) grows in numbers and capabilities.
RCOH Slowdown Examples
-The USS Harry S Truman (CVN-75): On 12 February 2025, the Truman collided with the Panamanian-flagged bulk carrier M/VBesiktas-M whilst transiting near Port Said, Egypt. Fast-forward eight months, and “HST” was finally scheduled for the completion of her repair work as part of her RCOH procedure at Newport News. The process is expected to be completed in the next eight months.
-The USS George Washington (CVN-73): HST’s sister ship was out of action for a whopping 2,100 days while awaiting ROCH.
-The USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74): Fans of the late great Tom Clancy will remember the heroic role that “Johnny Reb” played in the bestselling novels Debt of Honor and Executive Orders. Well, with all due respect and love to Mr. Clancy, he apparently never heard of RCOH. In the real world, the Stennis has been out of action since 2021, and her projected return to service has just been pushed back to October 2026—more than 14 months late.
They Don’t Make ‘Em Like They Used To
Contrast the RCOH process with the speed at which carriers before the nuclear age could be fully repaired from serious battle damage. A prime example is one of the most famous flattops of World War II, the USS Yorktown (CV-5).
During the Battle of the Coral Sea (May 4–8, 1942), the Yorktown was struck in the center of her flight deck by a single 250-kg. semi-armor-piercing bomb dropped by an Imperial Japanese Navy Aichi D3A “Val” dive bomber. The enemy bomb penetrated four decks before exploding, causing severe structural damage to an aviation storage room and killing or seriously wounding 66 seamen. The blast also damaged the superheater boilers and rendered them inoperable.
Compounding the damage, the shockwaves of the explosions of a dozen near misses damaged the hardy vessel’s hull below the waterline.
In a testament to the ruggedness of the ship and her crew, the Yorktown was able to limp back home to Hawaii. Initially, it was estimated it would take two weeks to repair her, yet amazingly, she was put back out to sea a mere 72 hours after entering drydock at Pearl Harbor. This enabled her to contribute to the next major battle with Japan’s navy, the smashing victory at the Battle of Midway. Sadly, CV-5 was sunk during this engagement, but her sacrifice certainly was not in vain.
About the Author: Christian D. Orr, Defense Expert
Christian D. Orr is a Senior Defense Editor. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He is also the author of the newly published book “Five Decades of a Fabulous Firearm: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Beretta 92 Pistol Series.”
