Pentagon Budget 2026: US Navy requests funding to cover aircraft carrier overhaul cost increases

Aircraft carrier USS John C Stennis , pictured here operating in the Arabian Sea, is undergoing an overhaul. (US Navy)

The US Navy (USN) fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget request includes about USD2.3 billion for aircraft carrier Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH) of Nimitz-class ships, including USD483.1 million for the cost to complete RCOH work, to cover basic RCOH costs as well as cost increases due to delivery delays, contract changes, and equipment acquisition modifications, USN budget documents show.

For FY 2025, the RCOH funding amount was about USD1.5 billion, according to USN budget documents released in early July.

The USD483.1 million cost to complete is meant to pay for RCOH cost growth for carrier USS John C Stennis (CVN 74) for cost growth and time-related charges due to an additional 13-month delivery delay, USN budget documents show.

The work is scheduled to be completed in November 2027, according to the USN documents.

FY 2026 is the second of three years of full funding for USS Harry S Truman (CVN 75). The CVN 75 RCOH starts in FY 2026 with five years of advance procurement from FY 2020 to FY 2024 and three years of full funding from FY 2025 to FY 2027, the USN documents show. Work is due to be completed in January 2031.

The budget supports the planned start of RCOH work at HII's Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia in June 2026.

The FY 2026 documents note funding to cover additional costs or other increases compared with previous years' RCOHs or funding requests, some of which were incorporated into FY 2025 accounting.

For more information about carrier overhaul work and proposed new construction funding, please see