Instead of the gas turbines or diesel-electric systems used for propulsion on many modern warships, the carriers use two A4W pressurized water reactors. With an overall length of 1,092 ft (333 m) and a full-load displacement of over 100,000 long tons (100,000 t), the Nimitz-class ships were the largest warships built and in service until USS Gerald R. The lead ship of the class is named after World War II United States Pacific Fleet commander Fleet Admiral Chester W. The Nimitz class is a class of ten nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in service with the United States Navy. 2 × Mk 49 Guided Missile Launching Systems, 21 × RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles eachĢ.5 in (64 mm) Kevlar over vital spaces.2–3 × Mk 29 Guided Missile Launching Systems, 8 × RIM-162 ESSM or RIM-7 Sea Sparrow missiles each.
USS Nimitz (CVN-68), lead ship of the class of supercarriers, at sea near Victoria, British Columbia, after the 1999–2001 refit
