The aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman might be closer to deploying.
Nearly three months after announcing that an electrical issue had sidelined the flattop, U.S. Fleet Forces Command announced in a news release Tuesday that repairs to the carrier are complete.
“Every effort is being made to make the carrier, air wing and sailors operationally ready to deploy,” the statement said.
Naval Sea Systems Command spokeswoman Colleen O’Rourke said in an email that components within a portion of the Truman’s electrical distribution panels were damaged as the result of intermittent electrical arcing.
That occurs when current flows from one conductor to another through a non-conductive medium, like air.
Workers replaced damaged parts and tested the system to make sure no future problems would arise, Navy officials added.
“Returning HST (Truman) to full functionality was a team effort with a tremendous amount of work and collaboration by NAVSEA, our industry partners, shipyard workers and the crew of HST to overcome a very challenging technical issue,” NAVSEA commander Vice Adm. Thomas Moore said in a prepared statement.
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Surface warships from Truman’s strike group deployed in mid-September and the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln saw its deployment extended because of Truman’s electrical glitches.
Three guided-missile destroyers that escorted the Lincoln returned to their homeport of Norfolk Naval Station last week.
Truman became the first carrier in nearly three decades to operate in the Arctic Circle during a 2018 deployment.
The flattop made news again earlier this year when the Trump administration pitched the idea of mothballing the ship at its midlife point to save money. Following weeks of debate, Vice President Mike Pence announced during an all-hands call aboard the carrier that the administration was dropping plans to retire Truman.
Courtney Mabeus-Brown is the senior reporter at Air Force Times. She is an award-winning journalist who previously covered the military for Navy Times and The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Va., where she first set foot on an aircraft carrier. Her work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Foreign Policy and more.
