The cost of maintaining the world's first nuclear aircraft carrier has gone up again. The USS Enterprise is undergoing a 16-month dry-dock maintenance at Northrop Grumman Corp.'s shipyard in Newport News. The Navy said Wednesday that a contract modification for "emergent and supplemental" work will increase the project's cost by $6 million.
It's the third contract modification for the maintenance project, which initially was to cost $453.3 million. The price tag is now $480.9 million.
Commissioned in 1961, the Enterprise is on schedule to be re-delivered to the Navy in September. The project will extend the carrier's life until at least 2013. |