Nimitz-class aircraft carrier

History
The Nimitz-class supercarriers are a class of ten nuclear-powered aircraft carriers (CVN) in service with the United States Navy. With an overall length of 1,092 ft (333 m) and full-load displacements of over 100,000 long tons, they are the largest capital ships in the world. Instead of the gas turbines or diesel-electric systems used for propulsion on many modern warships, the carriers use two A4W pressurized water reactors which drive four propeller shafts and can produce a maximum speed of over 30 knots (56 km/h) and maximum power of around 260,000 shp (190 MW). As a result of the use of nuclear power, the ships are capable of operating for over 20 years without refueling and are predicted to have a service life of over 50 years. All ten carriers were constructed by Newport News Shipbuilding Company in Virginia. Nimitz, the lead ship of the class, was commissioned on 3 May 1975 and George H. W. Bush, the tenth and last of the class, was commissioned on 10 January 2009.

The angled flight decks of the carriers use a CATOBAR arrangement to operate aircraft, with steam catapults and arrestor wires for launch and recovery. An embarked carrier air wing consisting of up to around 90 aircraft is normally deployed on board. It can carry many plane types, such as: F/A-18C Hornet, F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, S-3 Viking, HH-60 Sea Hawk, E-2C Hawkeye and EA-6B Prowler.

Weaponry

 * 16–24 × Sea Sparrow missiles
 * 3 or 4 × 20mm Phalanx CIWSs
 * RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles

Operators

 * Osean Maritime Defense Force
 * Emmerian Navy
 * Estovakian Navy
 * General Resources Defense Force
 * US Navy

Ships

 * Kestrel (OMDF/AC5/ACZ)
 * OFS Barbette (OMDF/AC5)
 * OFS Vulture (OMDF/AC5)
 * OFS Buzzard (OMDFAC5)
 * Kraken (Estovakian Navy)