Sailors aboard aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) completed no-load testing on catapult one Jan. 28, marking another milestone in the ship's Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH).

Capt. Ron L. Ravelo, Lincoln's commanding officer, was the first "shooter" to give the signal to launch for the first time in more than three years.

"No-loads are conducted every single day by operational carriers in order to warm up the catapult in anticipation of launching aircraft," Ravelo said. "I look forward to when we are once again operational and firing no-loads in advance of actual flight operations."

Lincoln Sailors worked alongside their counterparts at Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) and Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) to overhaul the carrier's Aircraft Launch and Recovery (ALRE) equipment.

"Throughout the process, there was excellent integration between our ship, NNS and engineers from Naval Air Warfare Center, Lakehurst," said Cmdr. David Burmeister, Lincoln's air boss. "Because these entities worked so well together, we are standing here today executing this major milestone and celebrating a great deal of hard work our Sailors and their teammates put in to bringing these systems back on line."

No-load testing is required to verify the operation function of the entire catapult and provides the ship with an interim certification to launch aircraft.

The duration of testing began Dec. 7, 2015, when all hydraulic, air and steam systems were filled and charged, culminating in 20 catapult shots with no more than five minutes of recovery time between shots.

Lincoln is currently undergoing RCOH at NNS, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries.

Lincoln is the fifth ship of the Nimitz-class to undergo RCOH, a major life-cycle milestone. Once RCOH is complete, Lincoln will be one of the most modern and technologically-advanced Nimitz-class aircraft carriers in the fleet and will continue to be a vital part of the nation's defense.

For more news from USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), visit www.navy.mil/.