USS Nimitz (CVN-68) is an aircraft carrier of the  United States Navy (USN), and the lead ship of  

her class. She is one of the largest warships and  the oldest serving aircraft carrier in the world.  

She was laid down, launched, and commissioned  as CVAN-68 "aircraft carrier, attack,  

nuclear powered", but she was later redesignated  as CVN-68 "aircraft carrier, multi-mission,  

nuclear-powered" on 30 June 1975, as part  of a fleet-wide realignment that year. 

Historically, the ship was named after  USN third fleet admiral Chester W. Nimitz,  

who led the Pacific Force during World War II.  In the beginning, Nimitz aircraft carrier was  

stationed at Naval Station Norfolk until 1987,  which then was transferred to Naval Station  

Bremerton, Washington. Nevertheless, after  her Refueling and Complex Overhaul in 2001,  

her home port was transferred to Naval Air Station  North Island in San Diego County, California.  

Nimitz's home port then was re-located again  to Naval Station Everett in Washington in 2012.  

It was returned to Naval Base Kitsap in  January 2015 after relocating from Everett. 

However, the USS Nimitz will soon  be retired from active USN service.  

The USN confirmed plans on 13 April 2022 to retire  the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz by the middle of  

this decade. The information came to light via  a report from Jane’s. The USN officials stated  

that “USS Nimitz is intended to be removed  from the battle force in fiscal year 2025,  

when the ship's Terminal Off-load Program begins,  with inactivation scheduled to begin in 2027.” 

Moreover, in December 2021, the USN unveiled  its 30-year shipbuilding plan, with an ambitious  

goal of building a 546-ship fleet by 2050. The  plan asks for the construction of 404 new ships  

and the retirement of 304 old ones, including  Nimitz along with 13 nuclear-powered submarines.  

The carrier could be decommissioned by the  end of this year, and start the recycling  

process in 2025. The process involves  at least three phases: inactivation,  

reactor-compartment disposal, and recycling.  However, it won’t be a quick process, since it  

will entail defueling her two nuclear reactors and  moving the fuel to a shielded transfer container,  

which will then be sent to the Naval Reactors  Facility in Idaho in a specially-designed  

container. The reactors will be properly cleaned,  sealed, and removed before being shipped to a  

Department of Energy site in eastern Washington. Initially, the USN had considered extending the  

carrier’s service life in order to maintain the  Navy’s carrier fleet while the new Gerald R.  

Ford-class carriers, the Nimitz-class’ successor,  enter service. However, America’s sailing service  

backtracked when the costs of extending  the USS Nimitz’s service life became clear.  

The carrier has been in service since the  mid-1970s and will be one of the oldest carriers  

in USN service when it is decommissioned. The  USN officials also stated “Upon decommissioning,  

Nimitz will have served its country for 50 years  spanning from Operation ‘Earnest Will' in the  

Arabian Gulf to its 11-month deployment in the  Indo-Pacific and Middle East regions in 2020–2021,  

as the navy continues to accept Gerald R  Ford-class carriers, we will remain a ready,  

agile force to compete and win around the world  at any time.” Moreover, the latest information  

reveals that the USS Gerald R Ford CVN 78  supercarriers are slowly coming online,  

and its first operational deployment is expected  to take place in the third quarter of 2022. 

Moving on to the next scene, let’s take  a look at some notable facts of Nimitz 

Until the construction of the USS Gerald R. Ford,  

the Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarriers  were still the largest ships in the world. Each  

of the carriers is immediately recognizable with  its angled flight deck that is 780 feet in length,  

and each carrier is equipped with three arrester  cables and an arrester net for aircraft recovery.  

The carriers are constructed with  four deck-edge aircraft elevators,  

including two forward, one aft of  the island on the starboard side  

and one on the port side. Furthermore,  the hanger is 25 feet seven inches tall,  

although it can accommodate at most only forty  to fifty percent of the aircraft embarked  

at any one time, and the rest of the aircraft  are kept on the flight deck in aircraft parks. 

In addition, to the protection provided by the  aircraft and accompanying carrier strike group,  

USS Nimitz and her sister ships are armed with  two 21-cell Sea RAM and two MK29 Sea Sparrow  

missiles, as well as two PHALANX CIWS  (Close-In Weapons System) Gatling guns,  

four MK 38 25mm autocannon turrets and ten .50  cal turret emplacements. The warships also have  

a powerful nuclear strike capability, with each  magazine holding over 100 nuclear missiles for  

duties ranging from anti-submarine warfare  to area assaults on an adversary's cities.  

Interestingly, the ships have a complement  of 3,200 sailors with an additional 2.480  

personnel in the airwing, making each of these  supercarriers the size of a small American town,  

and also powered by two Westinghouse A4W  nuclear reactors and four steam turbines,  

the warships carry at least 70 days of supplies  including refrigerated and dry storage goods,  

with the ships’ Food Services Departments  can provide 18,000 to 20,000 meals each day. 

So, what are the difference between  the Nimitz-class and the Ford-class ? 

Compared to the older Nimitz-class ships, the  Ford-class ships offer several operational  

advantages. Outfitted with a pair of newer  and higher-output reactors, the carriers can  

generate more electricity than the Nimitz-class is  capable of. Additionally, the Fords also require  

more electricity for its electromagnetic aircraft  launch system to provide a better sortie rate,  

which need a greater amount of electricity  than the Nimitz-class steam powered catapults.  

Extra electricity generation will also allow  the Ford-class to incorporate some of the USN’s  

most cutting-edge weapon systems in the  future, including laser weapon systems.  

Moreover, nuclear reactors provide  lasers a virtually endless magazine depth  

and a very low cost per shot, despite  the fact that laser weapon technology  

is highly energy-intensive. And though  initially designed as a defensive weapon,  

lasers might theoritically be used  as an attacking weapon on carriers. 

Lastly, for your information, the Navy anticipates  the USS Gerald R. Ford’s first operational  

deployment in late 2022, with the USS John F.  Kennedy, the second ship in the class, already  

launched. Huntington Ingalls Industries' Newport  News Shipbuilding, which is building the carriers,  

is also building two other Ford-class carriers,  the USS Enterprise and the USS Doris Miller. 

That’s all for today, thank you for  watching, and i’ll see you in the next video!