Maya Carlin
As the world’s leading “floating airport” design, the Nimitz carriers can carry around 60 airframes.
As tensions between Beijing and Washington continue to mount, the Trump administration has dispatched two of the Navy’s aircraft carriers near China. Both the Nimitz and George Washington Carrier Strike Groups (CSG) are currently operating in the Western Pacific. A US Seventh Fleet spokesperson said that the two Nimitz-class boats were carrying out “routine operations” within the fleet’s area of operations.
However, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has recently showcased improvements being made to its upcoming Fujian carrier. In September, Beijing released imagery depicting the Fujian’s ability to launch and recover aircraft from its flight deck, making the carrier the first-ever catapult-equipped warship in the fleet. While the United States still greatly outpowers and outnumbers China’s aircraft carrier contingent, the PLAN is continuing to expand and advance, posing a threat to American interests globally.
Both USS Nimitz and USS George Washington represent the first and sixth carriers in the Nimitz-class. The Nimitz was initially dispatched to the Middle East to join the Carl Vinson CSG when the carrier set sail on its scheduled deployment over the summer. However, the ongoing ceasefire between Israel and Hamas may have freed up the Navy’s carrier positioning strategy. The USS George Washington is homeported in Japan and often rotates its Pacific operations with its West Coast-based Nimitz-class sister ships. In total, 10 Nimitz carriers are in service today. Up until the introduction of the USS Gerald R. Ford in 2017, the Nimitz carriers were the largest warships ever built and in service.
America’s Mighty Nimitz-class Carrier
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