What You Need to Know: The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) has completed its Planned Incremental Availability (PIA) overhaul at Norfolk Naval Shipyard and is now back at sea for a series of tests ahead of its next deployment in 2025.
-As the tenth and final Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, CVN-77 features modernized designs, including a bulbous bow for improved buoyancy and a smaller, repositioned island for enhanced flight deck access and reduced radar signature.
-Honoring the late President and WWII naval aviator George H.W. Bush, the ship's seal ties its legacy to naval aviation’s past, present, and future, symbolized by the Avenger, Super Hornet, and F-35C.
Ten months ago, the U.S. Navy's tenth and final Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) arrived at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) for a Planned Incremental Availability (PIA) and began an overhaul to improve safety on the warship and receive upgrades to its communications and combat systems.
The nearly year-long effort has been completed, and in a post on Facebook on Tuesday, the warship's communications team announced its departure from Norfolk to begin a series of tests in advance of CVN-77's next deployment in 2025.
"Full Speed Ahead," the Facebook post stated.
"We departed the shipyard to get our warship and our crew back underway where we will test systems and equipment for future operations," it........