The Navy Is Decommissioning Two Nuclear Aircraft Carriers in a Row
It’s time to wish fair winds and following seas to some of the U.S. Navy’s shrinking fleet.
The service
will decommission two nuclear aircraft carriers, and two
Independence-class Littoral Combat Ships will go up for sale to foreign militaries. The USS
Nimitz will leave the service in 2026, while the USS
Dwight D. Eisenhower will retire a year later. It’s part of a long-term effort to modernize the current fleet of approximately 485 ships.
Decommissioning History
Over the decades, the two aircraft carriers heading to the chopping block have played significant roles in military conflicts. The 48-year-old USS
Nimitz (CVN-68) was commissioned in 1975 and built for a 50-year service life.
The
Nimitz is one of the largest warships in the world, with a length of 1,092 feet, a beam of 252 feet, and a displacement of 100,020 tons. It can carry up to 90 fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, and has a crew of about 6,000 personnel. The ship is powered by two Westinghouse A4W nuclear reactors that provide a speed of over 30 knots and an unlimited range. It has sensors and weapons systems including radars, electronic warfare systems, Sea Sparrow and Rolling Airframe missiles, Phalanx close-in weapons systems, and .50-caliber machine guns.
The
Nimitz will sail to a Virginia shipyard after its last deployment to begin the complex deactivation process which involves removing nuclear fuel. Another former nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, USS
Enterprise, has been engaged in a long-term deactivation process.
“
Enterprise and
Nimitz are similar in that they are large, rugged ships containing low levels of various hazardous materials. However, they are of considerably different design, so the approach to inactivation will reflect those differences,” Jamie Koehler, a Naval Sea Systems Command spokeswoman.
The Nimitz and Eisenhower will soon be history.
www.popularmechanics.com
