Guardians of The Sea: The Navy’s Nuclear Powered Nimitz-Class Aircraft Carrier

by Maya Carlin, Warrior Contributor, Weapons

Meet the Nimitz-Class: Commissioned in 1975, the USS Nimitz was the second nuclear-powered aircraft carrier ever built after the USS Enterprise (CVN-65).

For decades, the 10 Nimitz class carriers represented the largest and most capable warships in the world, each designed for roughly half-century service lives with one mid-life refueling.

Since the 50-year benchmark is rapidly approaching, the U.S. Navy plans to replace these tried and tested vessels with USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) in the upcoming years. Aircraft carriers are arguably the most important component of America’s Naval forces, which is why the first question often asked in times of crisis is: “Where are the carriers?”

Introducing the Nimitz-Class

The Nimitz-class aircraft carriers were initially designed to supplement the older Kitty Hawk, Forrestal and Enterprise classes.

Several improvements differentiate the Nimitz-class from its predecessors, including fuel output and reactor quantity.

Nimitz-class carriers carry two reactors, which take up less space than the eight reactors needed on Enterprise-class ships.

Two Westinghouse A4W nuclear reactors power the Nimitz, which allows the ship to reach speeds in excess of thirty knots. Additionally, Nimitz-class carriers can carry 90% more aviation fuel and 50% more ordnance than the Forrestal-class ships.