After delays, Navy takes possession of carrier Bush

NORFOLK

It's official: The Navy has a new aircraft carrier.

The service took delivery of the George H.W. Bush in a ceremony Monday afternoon. The 10th and final Nimitz-class carrier was built by Northrop Grumman Newport News.

The $6.3 billion ship was granted a special commissioning status during a ceremony in January. It completed builder's trials in February and acceptance trials in April.

Delivery of the ship was delayed by several weeks after crews found an unidentified material in the lube-oil systems of two of the carrier's emergency diesel generators during the April trials.

The shipyard believes the debris either came loose during the testing process or was introduced during maintenance. The shipyard verified its removal before delivery.

Operational training is set for later this year. Operational deployment is expected to begin in 2010.

As the last of its class, the Bush will be followed by the Gerald R. Ford, the first of a new class of supercarriers, which is scheduled for completion in 2015.

Matthew Jones, (757) 446-2949, matthew.jones@pilotonline.com