The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower transits the Elizabeth River on April 20, 2026, as it departs for sea trials following completion of maintenance work at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Va. (Nicole Schweigert/U.S. Navy)
USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Navy’s second-oldest aircraft carrier, has completed a maintenance overhaul and sea trials to return to active status.
The Planned Incremental Availability (PIA) maintenance on “the Ike” at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard provided extensive repair, overhaul, inspection and modernization of the carrier, the Navy said. The carrier was commissioned in 1977.
The carrier will return to its homeport at Naval Station Norfolk, Va. It is available for deployment, but the Navy has yet to announce the carrier’s next mission.
The Dwight D. Eisenhower last deployed in October 2023 to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in the Middle East, shortly after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas. It led the U.S. response in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden to missile and drone attacks on military and commercial ships by Houthi rebels in Yemen.
The carrier’s planes flew more than 30,000 hours of missions while the ship sailed 55,000 miles on the deployment. The Navy reported the carrier strike group launched 155 Standard missiles and 135 Tomahawk cruise missiles. The carrier’s aircraft fired 60 air-to-air missiles and released 420 air-launched munitions.
The Dwight D. Eisenhower went into the PIA in January 2025 and was scheduled to finish work by this summer. The Navy said the work involved more than 4,000 people daily who put in the equivalent of 25,000 work days. The Navy said the project was completed early due to time savings in task planning.
“This team also meticulously managed to execute the required new work under budget, saving 2,000 resource days,” said Cmdr. Jason Downs, the project superintendent.
Work on the Dwight D. Eisenhower included inspecting its engine turbine shafts and aircraft catapult launch systems, the Navy said.
“Regularly scheduled maintenance maximizes the lifespan of Navy warships and ensures mission readiness,” the Navy said in a statement.
Eight sailors were injured in a minor fire on the ship earlier in April. All sailors have returned to duty.
The Navy had announced plans in 2023 to retire the Dwight D. Eisenhower as early as 2026, but twice extended the timeline, so the ship is now expected to remain with the fleet until the early 2030s.
The Nimitz-class carriers are about 1,092 ft long, with a displacement of over 100,000 tons. Each has a crew of about 5,000 when a carrier air wing is on board, operating up to 80 fighter/attack, radar, and transport aircraft.
