WASHINGTON: The United States Navy has extended the service of its oldest aircraft carrier, USS Nimitz (CVN-68), by about 10 months, delaying its planned retirement as the service seeks to maintain required carrier numbers amid delays in new ship deliveries.
The carrier is now scheduled to be decommissioned in March 2027 instead of May 2026, the Navy said in a statement.
“Accordingly, the U.S. Navy plans to inactivate the ship in 2027,” a Navy official told USNI News in a statement issued on Saturday.
As part of preparations for the vessel’s retirement, the Navy has awarded a $96 million contract to HII Newport News Shipbuilding for advance planning and procurement of long-lead materials needed for the ship’s inactivation.
The work will prepare the carrier for nuclear defuelling and retirement at the Virginia shipyard by March 2027, according to a contract announcement released by the service.
The extension of the ship’s operational life was first reported by Breaking Defense.
US Navy carrier fleet levels
The decision comes as the US Navy faces delays in the delivery of its next Ford-class aircraft carrier, USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), which is currently under construction at Newport News.
As of February, the ship was expected to be delivered to the Navy in March 2027.
Maintaining carrier numbers is a legal requirement. A 2011 law passed by the US Congress mandates that the Navy sustain a fleet of at least 11 operational aircraft carriers.
The nearly 51-year-old carrier Nimitz, commissioned in May 1975, returned in December from what had been expected to be its final full operational deployment.
Aircraft from the carrier completed more than 8,500 sorties and logged approximately 17,000 flight hours, according to US Navy figures.
Port calls during the deployment included Malaysia, Bahrain, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates.
Final operational activities
Earlier this month, the Nimitz departed its homeport in Bremerton, Washington, for the final time to take part in exercises.
According to Navy spokesperson Lieutenant Commander Peter Pagano, the carrier is deploying to the United States Southern Command area of responsibility as part of the Southern Seas 2026 deployment.
The exercises are being conducted under U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and the U.S. 4th Fleet.
The ship has also departed Naval Station North Island in California for a transit around the southern tip of South America, before moving to its new homeport at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia.
From there, it will proceed to Newport News Shipbuilding for its final defuelling and inactivation under the revised schedule.
Decades of service
Since entering service in 1975, the USS Nimitz has participated in numerous major conflicts and crises, including the final years of the Vietnam War and the Cold War.
The carrier later served in Operation Desert Storm, as well as military campaigns following the September 11 attacks, including wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.
The ship also participated in numerous other global operations during its nearly five decades of service.
The Navy completed a mid-life refuelling overhaul of the carrier in 2001 and has since managed its remaining nuclear fuel as it approaches retirement.
