USS Nimitz U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier Was 'Out of Action for 7 Months'

USS Nimitz is Ready For Next Deployment – One of Her Last: The world's oldest nuclear-powered supercarrier is preparing for her next deployment, likely to be one of her final deployments before she is retired from service. On Tuesday, the United States Navy announced that USS Nimitz (CVN-68) completed her planned incremental availability (PIA) exercise late last month and is now in the pre-deployment phase.

"The culmination of the training evolution was a Final Evaluation Problem (FEP), a command assessment tailored to the unique training portfolio and requirements of Nimitz, as well as the ship's upcoming deployment," the sea service explained.

Sending the massive warships to sea requires weeks of planning, where every facet of the ship's capabilities is put to the test.

"We've overcome the first major hurdle of Nimitz's pre-deployment training and evaluation process," said Capt. Douglas Graber, Nimitz commanding officer. "It was a difficult evolution, but the long hours of training and preparation we put in really paid off. I couldn't be more proud of our crew and their performance throughout the evaluation process."

Nearly a Year in the Making for USS Nimitz 

With the completion of the FEP, USS Nimitz will continue her pre-deployment, which includes being readied for the Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPUTEX). With the successful completion of the COMPUTEX, CVN-68 will head out for her deployment – likely to the Indo-Pacific.

USS Nimitz returned to port in January and underwent a nearly seven-month-long maintenance period – which was longer than initially extended, but necessitated by the U.S. Navy's decision to extend the life of the aging supercarrier.

The lead vessel of the Nimitz-class of nuclear-powered supercarriers was set to be retired next year, but due to delays with the Gerald R. Ford-class carriers, the U.S. Navy pushed back CVN-68's retirement to May 2026.

While the supercarrier will only head out for at most two more deployments, nearly two million man-hours were still spent on the latest enhancements. That included upgrades to her elevators and crew quarters. The end is near for the vessel, yet, it is still important that the ship is in top condition should it have to be deployed in combat operations.

The End is Still Coming for this Aircraft Carrier

Extending the service of USS Nimitz will give the U.S. Navy additional time to prepare for the carrier's recycling. Just as the maintenance and pre-deployment operations are complicated affairs, so too will be the process of breaking up the nuclear-powered vessel.

The Nimitz-class supercarriers are among the largest warships ever built. It took significant time, planning, and effort – not to mention money – to build each of the 10 carriers of the Nimitz class, and it will take additional time, planning, effort, and money to see their safe disposal.

It will cost hundreds of millions of dollars for the scrapping of CVN-68, which now has a planned 2027 inactivation date. In August, Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), Newport News, Virginia, was awarded an $18.4 million contract from the U.S. Navy for the "pre-advanced planning" to scrap USS Nimitz.

Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu

Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: Editor@nationalinterest.org.

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