The USS Ford is back. After nearly a year at sea, the $13 billion aircraft carrier has returned home — and with it comes a repair job that couldn’t be done underway: a significant plumbing problem on board.
The crew gets some leave first. That part is straightforward. But the ship’s return also opens the door to fixing mechanical issues that piled up during the long deployment, including the plumbing trouble that NPR reported had been left unresolved while the Ford was at sea.
Plumbing on a vessel the size of the Ford isn’t a small fix. The carrier cost $13 billion to build, and keeping a ship that size operational — with thousands of sailors living and working on board — means infrastructure problems can’t sit forever. They just had to wait until now.
No timeline for the repairs has been announced, according to NPR’s June 2, 2026 report.
Originally reported by NPR. Read the original report.
