page_title: Nimitz-class aircraft carrier
section_title: 2001–present
hierarchical_section_title: Nimitz-class aircraft carrier / Service history / 2001–present
caption_attribution_description: English: The Mediterranean Sea (Mar. 31, 2003) -- USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) prepares to engage in flight operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Operation Iraqi Freedom is the multinational coalition effort to liberate the Iraqi people, eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and end the regime of Saddam Hussein. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 1st Class Michael W. Pendergrass (RELEASED)
context_page_description: The Nimitz class is a class of ten nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in service with the United States Navy. The lead ship of the class is named after World War II United States Pacific Fleet commander Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who was the second-to-last living U.S. Navy officer to hold the rank, preceding William Halsey Jr.. With an overall length of 1,092 ft and full-load displacement of over 100,000 long tons, the Nimitz-class ships were the largest warships built and in service until USS Gerald R. Ford entered the fleet in 2017.
  Instead of the gas turbines or diesel-electric systems used for propulsion on many modern warships, the carriers use two A4W pressurized water reactors which drive four propeller shafts and can produce a maximum speed of over 30 knots and maximum power of around 260,000 shaft horsepower. As a result of the use of nuclear power, the ships are capable of operating for over 20 years without refueling and are predicted to have a service life of over 50 years. They are categorized as nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and are numbered with consecutive hull numbers between CVN-68 and CVN-77.
context_section_description: Harry S. Truman's maiden deployment was in November 2000. The carrier's air wing flew 869 combat sorties in support of Operation Southern Watch, including a strike on Iraqi air defense sites on 16 February 2001, in response to Iraqi surface-to-air missile fire against United Nations coalition forces.
  After the September 11 attacks, Carl Vinson and Theodore Roosevelt were among the first warships to participate in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Carl Vinson sailed towards the Persian Gulf intending to support Operation Southern Watch in July 2001. This changed in response to the attacks, and the ship changed course to travel towards the North Arabian Sea, where she launched the first airstrikes in support of the operation on 7 October 2001.
  Following the attacks, John C. Stennis and George Washington participated in Operation Noble Eagle, carrying out homeland security operations off the West Coast of the United States. All active ships have been involved to some extent in Iraq and Afghanistan since that time. This included the invasion in 2003, as well as providing subsequent support for Operation Iraqi Freedom since then.
  The carriers have also provided aid after natural disasters. In 2005, Abraham Lincoln supported Operation Unified Assistance in Indonesia after the December 2004 tsunami, and Harry S. Truman provided aid after Hurricane Katrina later in 2005. 
  The Ronald Reagan Carrier Strike Group performed humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in the Philippines in June 2008 after Typhoon Fengshen, which killed hundreds from the central island regions and the main island of Luzon. In January 2010 Carl Vinson operated off Haiti, providing aid and drinking water to earthquake survivors as part of the U.S. led Operation Unified Response, alongside other major warships and hospital ship Comfort.
caption: Harry S. Truman engaging in flight operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom
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