More than 330 meters long 77 meters wide. These are the dimensions of us Nimitz, the second most important aircraft carrier in its fleet. While the situation becomes a critic of hour per hour between Israel and Iran for a week, the main power of the world has decided to direct this giant of the seas towards the Middle East to build its “defensive device” in the region. While crossing in the south of the Sea of China, the USS Nimitz went to Western Monday through the Malaca Strait, between the Indonesian island of Sumatra and Malaysia.
A scheduled reception was canceled on Friday as part of a four -day aircraft in Danang, in the center of Vietnam. A letter from the US embassy to the Vietnamese government reports “an emerging operational need” advanced by the United States Ministry of Defense to justify the cancellation of this event. President Donald Trump said last Sunday that it was “possible” that the United States gets involved in the conflict, but that “they were not at that time.”
A retirement of imminent service
Built since the end of the 1960s, the ship was baptized in tribute to Admiral Chester Nimitz, who commissioned the US fleet in the Pacific Ocean during World War II. A few weeks ago, the USS Nimitz celebrated its half century of service at sea, which in fact is the oldest of US carriers currently in activity. On March 26, the Dean of the US Navy aircraft left the San Diego Naval Base for what should be his last deployment before withdrawing from active duty.
From the spring of 2027, the Nimitz will be transferred to the Hii-Newport News shipyard in Virginia, where the process of dismantling nuclear reactors and deactivation of the aircraft carrier will begin, which will last around 30 months.
During its first years of exploitation, the USS Nimitz has patrold a lot of the Mediterranean Sea before going to other geographical areas, such as South America or even Asia, since the end of the 1980s. It has had the approval record with almost 360,000 aircraft for two years.
Up to 90 aircraft and helicopters transported
Much larger than the French Charles-Gaulle, the USS Nimitz is driven by two nuclear reactors and can reach a speed of 30 neuds, approximately 55 km/h, despite its weight that can reach up to 100,000 tons with complete capabilities. The US aircraft carrier can transport between 60 and 90 airplanes depending on its configuration. Thanks to its four steam catapults, it is possible to launch an armed combat plane at 265 km/h in two seconds and more than 100 meters.
Airplanes can be kept in a large hangar located under the bridge, while the shell contains about forty stores that can store about 4,000 tons of pumps and more than 8,000 tons of fuel for devices. In this case, no less than forty missile launchers, three guns, four machine guns, as well as radars of a horizontal range of 400 kilometers and 45 kilometers above sea level are installed. Finally, one of the most powerful world warships in the world can accommodate around 6,000 people on board.
The United States and France are the only two powers in the world that have a nuclear propulsion aircraft carrier. With ten Nimitz class models and one of the Gerald Ford class, Washington is, with much, the most equipped. France only has one. Other countries should join them in the coming years. Brazil must receive yours at the end of the decade and Italy recently issued the desire to have one by 2040. In addition to China, which already has three conventional propulsion aircraft carriers and that could opt for a nuclear model for a room that is currently being developed.
Source: BFM TV
