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The most durable value proposition of an aircraft carrier is the ability to park 4 acres of sovereign US territory 2 miles off the coast of almost any country i
by niels_olson 10y ago
The most durable value proposition of an aircraft carrier is the ability to park 4 acres of sovereign US territory 2 miles off the coast of almost any country in the world within a few days. In close second is the fact that in it's default configuration, it comes with more combat aircraft than most national air forces. We have 12 of them.
Now, that said, current Nimitz-class carriers have a life-span of 50 years. It takes 3 years to refuel them. Changing carriers is a slow process. But 4 acres of sovereign territory anywhere in the world is extremely useful in a crisis.
- SpaceRaccoon 10y agoHow do you define a crisis? They're useful for projecting power against countries that have difficulty defending themselves. They would not be useful against Russia, for example, a country that possesses cutting edge missile technology.
- Kalium 10y agoA nuclear reactor and water purifiers are also useful for humanitarian response.
- TheSpiceIsLife 10y agoThe Nimitz class carries come with a lot of fun facts, including this one: Distillation plants providing 400,000 gallons of fresh water from sea water daily, enough for 2,000 homes.[1] What's a gallon? 1,514,164 litres a day! 1. http://www.public.navy.mil/airfor/cvn71/Pages/FACTSANDFIGURES.aspx http://www.public.navy.mil/airfor/cvn71/Pages/FACTSANDFIGURE...
- hga 10y agoIndeed, some people twitted "What use is it to seen a carrier to help with the Indonesian tsunami?", and this was pointed out, plus its fleet of helicopters which can be used to deliver the water and whatever food stores were on the ship that could be spared for this. And in terms of pure survival, depending on how hot it was and the resulting sweating, 400,000 gallons of water could save many, many people (the problem would be delivery, they've got only so many helicopters).
- jbigelow76 10y agoAny situation in which Russia ends up firing missiles at a US aircraft carrier is the definition of crisis, regardless of whether or not you are a citizen of either of the two countries or which side started the the crisis.
- markdown 10y ago> It takes 3 years to refuel them What do you mean by this?
- detaro 10y agoRefueling, which only happens every 25 years, is quite complex since they have to get still highly radioactive spent fuel out of the sealed reactor, so they combine it with a general overhaul and upgrade, which means the ship is taken out of service for years. (search term "refueling and overhaul")
- markdown 10y agoThanks
- Tuna-Fish 10y agoThe nuclear reactors have an endurance of ~25 years. (Not limited by amount of uranium, but by build-up of undesirable elements). After that, they need to be refueled, and that is done as a part of a complex mid-life refit that takes over 3 years. The construction cadence of the Nimitz class was set with the idea that starting from '98, all the carriers would be refueled and refitted in turn, so that one is always at the yard. Right now, that carrier is USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), which entered the dock in March 2013, and still remains there.
- markdown 10y agoThat's informative. Thank you.