With the decommissioning of the USS Enterprise in 2017, Nimitz is one of the oldest warships currently serving.
Yesterday, the USS Nimitz and its embarked air wing (CVW-17) made port in Guam in the first stop of the venerable ship’s final deployment. Calling on the U.S. base is a common itinerary for ships heading out on deployment from the West Coast, and the Nimitz has been many times. This time, however, will be its last.
USS Nimitz
Commissioned on May 3, 1975, the Nimitz will mark its fortieth birthday in a few short days while underway. With the decommissioning of the USS Enterprise in 2017, Nimitz is one of the oldest warships currently serving. The lead ship in its class, the USS Nimitz’s design represented a major leap forward in aircraft carriers and has become somewhat archetypal for carriers today. While not the first nuclear-powered carrier—a distinction which belongs to the former USS Enterprise—the powerplant aboard the Nimitz was markedly different. Advances in reactor technology meant that instead of the eight reactors required to power the Enterprise, the Nimitz required only two, freeing up space for other uses.
Building on lessons learned in the development of carrier aviation in the first half of the twentieth century, the Nimitz uses steam catapults and arresting gear to perform Catapult Assisted Takeoff but Arrested Recovery (CATOBAR) operations, allowing it to launch and recover much larger and heavier aircraft. The angled flight deck and displaced island, the tower containing bridges, and control rooms mean she can perform simultaneous launches and recoveries, vastly increasing the tempo of operations. The aircraft involved in these operations are part of the Nimitz’s embarked air wing, CVW-17, and functionally, her reason for deploying.
CVW-17
Carriers on their own are relatively defenseless ships. It is only through the aircraft on board that they can both protect themselves as well as project offensive power. Carrier Air Wing 17 is currently deployed aboard the Nimitz for its final deployment and will be conducting operations in the Western Pacific over the coming months.
Although fighter jets are most often associated with aircraft carriers, the wing is made up of several different aircraft with mutually supportive missions. Four of the squadrons are indeed jets, including F/A-18E and F Super Hornets; multirole strike fighters capable of performing a variety of air-to-air and air-to-ground missions. Jets like the E/A-18G Growlers specialize in electronic attack missions. These jets are controlled by personnel aboard E-2D Advanced Hawkeyes, propeller-driven planes mounting large radar discs. Their radar allows them to detect and track threats far from the carriers and assists the fighters in intercepts. Two helicopter squadrons of MH-60S and R helicopters round out the aircraft deployed aboard the Nimitz. Finally, the air wing is supported by MV-22 Ospreys, tiltrotor supply planes that remain on shore, following the strike group from port to port and bringing on personnel, parts, and other supplies.
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.
