Northrop Grumman Corp. won a $1.94 billion contract for the refueling and overhaul of the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier, the U.S. Navy said on Tuesday.

The work, which will be performed by the company’s Newport News sector, is scheduled to last more than three years and will be the ship’s only refueling and complex overhaul over its 50-year life span, L.A.-based Northrop said in a statement.

The contract includes the refueling of the ship’s nuclear reactors, as well as extensive modernization of more than 2,300 compartments and hundreds of systems. Major upgrades will also be made to the flight deck, catapults and combat systems.

More than 3,500 Newport News employees will be working aboard the aircraft carrier during peak periods of the project.

Vinson is the third ship of the Nimitz class to undergo major renovation. Named for former U.S. Rep. Carl Vinson, the carrier Vinson was built at Newport News and christened in 1980. The ship was commissioned by the Navy in 1982.