Nimitz-class aircraft carrier
USS Nimitz (CVN-68), lead ship of her class of supercarriers, at sea near Victoria, British Columbia after her 1999–2001 refit
Class overview
Name: Nimitz-class aircraft carrier
Builders: Newport News Shipbuilding Company
Operators: United States Navy
Preceded by:
Kitty Hawk class and
Enterprise class
Succeeded by: Gerald R. Ford class
Subclasses:
Theodore Roosevelt class and
Ronald Reagan class
Cost: Approximately US$8.5 billion
In commission: 3 May 1975
Planned: 10
Completed: 10
Active: 10
General characteristics
Type: Aircraft carrier
Displacement: 100,000 to 104,600 long tons (101,600–106,300 t)[1]
Length:
Overall: 1,092 feet (332.8 m)
Waterline: 1,040 feet (317.0 m)
Beam:
Overall: 252 ft (76.8 m)
Waterline: 134 ft (40.8 m)
Draft:
Maximum navigational: 37 feet (11.3 m)
Limit: 41 feet (12.5 m)
Propulsion:
2 × Westinghouse A4W nuclear reactors
4 × steam turbines
4 × shafts
260,000 shp (194 MW)
Speed: 30+ knots (56+ km/h; 35+ mph)
Range: Unlimited distance; 20–25 years
Complement:
Ship's company: 3,532
Air wing: 2,480
Crew: 6,012[2] (including airwing)
Sensors and
processing systems:
AN/SPS-48E 3-D air search radar
AN/SPS-49(V)5 2-D air search radar
AN/SPQ-9B target acquisition radar
AN/SPN-46 air traffic control radars
AN/SPN-43C air traffic control radar
AN/SPN-41 landing aid radars
4 × Mk 91 NSSM guidance systems
4 × Mk 95 radars
Electronic warfare
& decoys:
AN/SLQ-32A(V)4 Countermeasures suite
SLQ-25A Nixie Torpedo Countermeasures
Armament:
16–24 × RIM-7 Sea Sparrow or NATO Sea Sparrow missiles
3 or 4 × Phalanx CIWSs or RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles
Armor: 2.5 in (64 mm) Kevlar over vital spaces[3]
Aircraft carried: 85–90 fixed wing and helicopters[4]