USS Nimitz is set to undergo its decommissioning process at Newport News Shipyard, Virginia.
After Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth dispatched a second carrier strike group to join the USS Harry S. Truman in the Middle East amid a resurgence in Houthi-launched hostilities, the Navy will be filling the power gap left in the Pacific with the USS Nimitz. The oldest carrier in its class, the Nimitz is nearing the end of its service life and is expected to sail toward retirement following this one last deployment. CVN 68 departed Naval Base Kitsap last week and is expected to commence its regularly scheduled Indo-Pacific deployment over the next few days. After serving the Navy honorably for five decades, the Nimitz will be remembered as a legendary carrier that played a critical role in maintaining peace and security.
USS Nimitz, notably the oldest active aircraft carrier across the globe, leads Carrier Strike Group 11. Other naval warships apart of CSG 11 include four Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, USS Gridley, USS Curtis Wilbur, USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee, and USS Wayne E. Meyer. Carrier Air Wing 17 is attached to the Nimitz and consists of a range of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft including the F/A-18 Super Hornets, E/A-18G Growlers, MH-60R/S Sea Hawks, E-2D Hawkeyes, and C-2A Greyhounds. Now that the USS Carl Vinson is shifting gears from the Pacific to the Middle East in accordance with Trump administration directives, Nimitz will likely take up the Vinson’s current spot in the South China Sea.
A background on USS Nimitz
When USS Nimitz was commissioned in 1975, it became the second nuclear-powered aircraft carrier ever constructed for the U.S. Navy, following USS Enterprise one decade prior. All ten ships in this class were named to honor the World War II Pacific Fleet commander Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. These massive warships measure more than 1,000 feet in length with full-load displacements of over 100,000 tons. Designed to represent the future of American carrier strength, the Nimitz ships host a range of improvements over their Kitty Hawk and Enterprise-class predecessors. Westinghouse A4W nuclear reactors power the Nimitz carriers, enabling them to carry vastly more aviation fuel and ordnance than older ships. Able to store more aircraft on its larger flight deck, the Nimitz features a steam catapult which helps provide lift for bigger airframes when landing or taking off from its shorter flight deck.
Following Nimitz’s maiden deployment, the lead ship of its class has seen several combat zones over its extensive carrier. From Operation Evening Light in Iran and Operation Earnest Will in the North Arabian Sea to Operation Iraqi Freedom and the subsequent Global War on Terrorism, Nimitz has played crucial roles in many peacekeeping efforts.
Nimitz is set to undergo its decommissioning process at Newport News Shipyard, Virginia, where every nuclear-powered ship is constructed and overhauled. Considering the Enterprise is still not fully scrapped after commencing its decommissioning back in 2017, it could be many more years until the Nimitz is fully scrapped.
About the Author: Maya Carlin
Maya Carlin, National Security Writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin. Carlin has over 1,000 articles published over the last several years on various defense issues.
Image: DVIDS.
