Nimitz class aircraft carrier

Nimitz-class aircraft carrier

Nimitz sailing through Canadian waters
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:	Approximately 4.5 Billion USD
In commission:	3 May 1975
Planned:	10
Completed:	10
Active:	10
Lost:	0
Retired:	0
General characteristics
Type:	Aircraft carrier
Displacement:	100,000 to 104,600 long tons (101,600–106,300 t)
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 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: 3,200 Air wing: 2,480
Crew:	Up to 5,000+
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:	SLQ-32A(V)4 Countermeasures suite SLQ-25A Nixie torpedo countermeasures
Armament:	16–24 × RIM-7 Sea Sparrow or NATO Sea Sparrow missiles 3 or 4 × Phalanx CIWSs or RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles
Armor:	2.5 in (64 mm) Kevlar over vital spaces
Aircraft carried:	85–90 fixed wing and helicopters

The Nimitz-class supercarriers are a class of ten nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in service with the United States Navy. The lead ship of the class is named for World War II United States Pacific Fleet commander Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, the U.S. Navy's last fleet admiral. With an overall length of 1,092 ft (333 m) and full-load displacement of over 100,000 long tons, they have been the largest warships built and in service, although they are being eclipsed by the upcoming Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers. Instead of the gas turbines or diesel-electric systems used for propulsion on many modern warships, the carriers use two A4W pressurized water reactors which drive four propeller shafts and can produce a maximum speed of over 30 knots (56 km/h) and maximum power of around 260,000 shp (190 MW). As a result of the use 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 between CVN-68 and CVN-77.

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.