Nimitz-class aircraft carrier

*Nimitz*-class aircraft carrier
	USS Nimitz (CVN-68), lead ship of the class of supercarriers, at sea near Victoria, British Columbia, after the 1999–2001 refit
Class overview
Name	Nimitz-class aircraft carrier
Builders	Newport News Shipbuilding Company
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	Kitty Hawk class and; Enterprise class;
Succeeded by	Gerald R. Ford class
Subclasses	Theodore Roosevelt class and; Ronald Reagan class;
Cost	US$1.98 billion in 1975 ($11.2 billion in 2023)
Built	1968–2006
In service	1975–present
In commission	3 May 1975
Planned	10
Completed	10
Active	10
General characteristics
Type	Aircraft carrier
Displacement	100,000 to 104,600 long tons (101,600–106,300 t) full load
Length	Overall: 1,092 feet (332.8 m); Waterline: 1,040 feet (317.0 m);
Beam	Overall: 252 ft (76.8 m); Waterline: 134 ft (40.8 m);
Draft	Maximum navigational: 37 feet (11.3 m); Limit: 41 feet (12.5 m);
Propulsion	2 × Westinghouse A4W nuclear reactors (HEU 93.5%); 4 × steam turbines; 4 × shafts; 260,000 shp (194 MW);
Speed	30+ knots (56+ km/h; 35+ mph)
Range	Unlimited distance; 20–25 years
Complement	Ship's company: 3,532; Air wing: 2,480;
Crew	5,000–5,200 (including airwing)
Sensors and ; processing systems	AN/SPS-48E 3-D air search radar; AN/SPS-49(V)5 2-D air search radar; AN/SPQ-9B target acquisition radar; AN/SPN-46 air traffic control radars; AN/SPN-43C air traffic control radar; AN/SPN-41 landing aid radars; 4 × Mk 91 NSSM guidance systems; 4 × Mk 95 radars;
Electronic warfare ; & decoys	AN/SLQ-32A(V)4 Countermeasures suite; SLQ-25A Nixie Torpedo Countermeasures;
Armament	2–3 × Mk 29 Guided Missile Launching Systems, 8 × RIM-162 ESSM or RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missiles each; 3–4 × Phalanx CIWS; 2 × Mk 49 Guided Missile Launching Systems, 21 × RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles each; Mk 38 25 mm Machine Gun Systems;
Armor	2.5 in (64 mm) Kevlar over vital spaces
Aircraft carried	85–90 fixed wing and helicopters

The Nimitz class is a class of ten nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in service with the United States Navy. The lead ship of the class is named after World War II United States Pacific Fleet commander Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who was the last living U.S. Navy officer to hold the rank. With an overall length of 1,092 ft (333 m) and a full-load displacement of over 100,000 long tons (100,000 t),^[3] the Nimitz-class ships were the largest warships built and in service until USS Gerald R. Ford entered the fleet in 2017.^[8]

Instead of the gas turbines or diesel–electric systems used for propulsion on many modern warships, the carriers use two A4W pressurized water reactors. The reactors drive four propeller shafts and can produce a maximum speed of over 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph) and a maximum power of around 260,000 shaft horsepower (190 MW). As a result of nuclear power, the ships are capable of operating for over 20 years without refueling and are predicted to have a service life of over 50 years. They are categorized as nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and are numbered with consecutive hull numbers from CVN-68 to CVN-77.^{[Note 1]}

All ten carriers were constructed by Newport News Shipbuilding Company in Virginia. USS Nimitz, the lead ship of the class, was commissioned on 3 May 1975, and USS George H.W. Bush, the tenth and last of the class, was commissioned on 10 January 2009. Since the 1970s, Nimitz-class carriers have participated in many conflicts and operations across the world, including Operation Eagle Claw in Iran, the Gulf War, and more recently in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The angled flight decks of the carriers use a CATOBAR arrangement to operate aircraft, with steam catapults and arrestor wires for launch and recovery. As well as speeding up flight deck operations, this allows for a much wider variety of aircraft than with the STOVL arrangement used on smaller carriers. An embarked carrier air wing comprising around 64 aircraft is normally deployed on board. The air wings' strike fighters are primarily F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornets. In addition to their aircraft, the vessels carry short-range defensive weaponry for anti-aircraft warfare and missile defense.

The unit cost was about US$8.5 billion in FY 2012 dollars,^[1] equal to US$11.2 billion in 2023.^[2]

^ ^a ^b ^c Cite error: The named reference Navy.mil CVN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 30 November 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
^ ^a ^b Polmar 2004, p. 112
^ Kuperman, Alan; von Hippel, Frank (10 April 2020). "US Study of Reactor and Fuel Types to Enable Naval Reactors to Shift from HEU Fuel". International Panel on Fissile Materials. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
^ Hanlon, Brendan Patrick (19 May 2015). Validation of the Use of Low Enriched Uranium as a Replacement for Highly Enriched Uranium in US Submarine Reactors (PDF) (MSc). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
^ ^a ^b Gibbons, Tony (2001). The Encyclopedia of Ships. London, United Kingdom: Amber Books. p. 444. ISBN 978-1-905704-43-9.
^ Fontenoy, Paul E. (2006). Aircraft carriers: an illustrated history of their impact. ABC-CLIO Ltd. p. 349. ISBN 978-1-85109-573-5.
^ "25 Largest Warships In History". Science & Technology. 5 April 2017. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.

Cite error: There are <ref group=Note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=Note}} template (see the help page).

[Navy.mil_CVN-1] Cite error: The named reference Navy.mil CVN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[inflation-USGDP-2] Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 30 November 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.

[Polmar-3] Polmar 2004, p. 112

[4] Kuperman, Alan; von Hippel, Frank (10 April 2020). "US Study of Reactor and Fuel Types to Enable Naval Reactors to Shift from HEU Fuel". International Panel on Fissile Materials. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2022.

[5] Hanlon, Brendan Patrick (19 May 2015). Validation of the Use of Low Enriched Uranium as a Replacement for Highly Enriched Uranium in US Submarine Reactors (PDF) (MSc). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2022.

[ship_encyclopedia-6] Gibbons, Tony (2001). The Encyclopedia of Ships. London, United Kingdom: Amber Books. p. 444. ISBN 978-1-905704-43-9.

[Fontenoy-7] Fontenoy, Paul E. (2006). Aircraft carriers: an illustrated history of their impact. ABC-CLIO Ltd. p. 349. ISBN 978-1-85109-573-5.

[8] "25 Largest Warships In History". Science & Technology. 5 April 2017. Archived from the original on 12 April 2018. Retrieved 11 April 2018.

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[Note 1]

Class overview
USS Nimitz (CVN-68), lead ship of the class of supercarriers, at sea near Victoria, British Columbia, after the 1999–2001 refit
Name	Nimitz-class aircraft carrier
Builders	Newport News Shipbuilding Company
Operators	United States Navy
Preceded by	Kitty Hawk class and Enterprise class
Succeeded by	Gerald R. Ford class
Subclasses	Theodore Roosevelt class and Ronald Reagan class
Cost	US$1.98 billion in 1975^[1] ($11.2 billion in 2023)^[2]
Built	1968–2006
In service	1975–present
In commission	3 May 1975
Planned	10
Completed	10
Active	10
General characteristics
Type	Aircraft carrier
Displacement	100,000 to 104,600 long tons (101,600–106,300 t) full load^[3]
Length	Overall: 1,092 feet (332.8 m) Waterline: 1,040 feet (317.0 m)
Beam	Overall: 252 ft (76.8 m) Waterline: 134 ft (40.8 m)
Draft	Maximum navigational: 37 feet (11.3 m) Limit: 41 feet (12.5 m)
Propulsion	2 × Westinghouse A4W nuclear reactors (HEU 93.5%)^[4]^[5] 4 × steam turbines 4 × shafts 260,000 shp (194 MW)
Speed	30+ knots (56+ km/h; 35+ mph)^[6]
Range	Unlimited distance; 20–25 years
Complement	Ship's company: 3,532 Air wing: 2,480
Crew	5,000–5,200^[1] (including airwing)
Sensors and processing systems	AN/SPS-48E 3-D air search radar AN/SPS-49(V)5 2-D air search radar AN/SPQ-9B target acquisition radar AN/SPN-46 air traffic control radars AN/SPN-43C air traffic control radar AN/SPN-41 landing aid radars 4 × Mk 91 NSSM guidance systems 4 × Mk 95 radars
Electronic warfare & decoys	AN/SLQ-32A(V)4 Countermeasures suite SLQ-25A Nixie Torpedo Countermeasures
Armament	2–3 × Mk 29 Guided Missile Launching Systems, 8 × RIM-162 ESSM or RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missiles each 3–4 × Phalanx CIWS 2 × Mk 49 Guided Missile Launching Systems, 21 × RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles each Mk 38 25 mm Machine Gun Systems
Armor	2.5 in (64 mm) Kevlar over vital spaces^[7]
Aircraft carried	85–90 fixed wing and helicopters^[6]