Tag Archives: USS Nimitz (CVN 68)

Nimitz making history on her way out

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The U.S. Embassy in Panama recognized the importance of the recent visit of the USS Nimitz (CVN 68) to Panama City on the country’s West (Pacific) coast as the supercarrier sails to her new homeport in Norfolk from Bremerton. She also hosted representatives from Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador for flight ops in the process as part of the 4th Fleet’s Southern Seas 2026.

Panamanian distinguished visitors and U.S. Embassy Panama personnel pose for a photo during flight operations on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) in the Pacific Ocean, March 28, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jaron Wills)

Note, there are over 25,000 American citizens living in Panama, and something like 300,000 former Canal Zone expats and their descendants.

Armed Forces of El Salvadoran and civilian distinguished visitors observe flight operations on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) in the Pacific Ocean, March 27, 2026. Nimitz is deployed as part of Southern Seas 2026, which seeks to enhance capability, improve interoperability, and strengthen maritime partnerships with countries throughout the region through joint, multinational, and interagency exchanges and cooperation. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd

Mexican military and civilian distinguished visitors observe flight operations on the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) in the Pacific Ocean, March 23, 2026. Nimitz is deployed as part of Southern Seas 2026, which seeks to enhance capability, improve interoperability, and strengthen maritime partnerships with countries throughout the region through joint, multinational, and interagency exchanges and cooperation. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jaron W

An F/A-18E Super Hornet, attached to the “Kestrels” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 137, launches from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) during flight operations in the Pacific Ocean, March 19, 2026. Nimitz is underway in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations as part of a scheduled homeport shift to Norfolk, Virginia. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Timothy Meyer)

Nimitz is accompanied by her escort, USS Gridley (DDG-101).

Of course, Nimitz can’t pass through the Canal as she is both too tall (252 feet to the top of the mast) to sail under the Bridge of the Americas which has a 200 foot clearance at high tide, and is too wide (252-foot beam across deck) to fit into even the new 1,400-foot-long Neopanamax locks, opened in 2016, which are only 180 feet wide.

The Embassy said it was the first visit by a U.S. carrier to Panama in “over 50 years.”

The Canal, which opened in 1914, was first transited by an American carrier in January 1924, when USS Langley transitioned from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Langley in Gaillard Cut, Panama Canal, Nov 16, 1924 185-G-0947 National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) photo. NARA Identifier: 100996474; Local Identifier: 185-G-947; Agency-Assigned Identifier: 80-C139; Container ID: Box 5, Volume 10. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/100996474

Throughout the rest of the 1920s and 30s, it was common to see Lexington and Saratoga pass through the Canal, swapping from Atlantic to Pacific war games and exercises.

Palm trees form a picturesque setting for USS Saratoga (CV 3) in Pedro Miquel Locks, Panama Canal, Canal Zone, 21 January 1935.

Then came Ranger, Yorktown, Enterprise, and the gang. Of note, Ranger made the passage at least four times in her career.

USS Ranger, in the Panama Canal, late 1930s.

Some 15 of the 24 completed Essex-class carriers were completed on the East Coast and, when rushed west to the Pacific, did so via the “Ditch” to save time and fuel, with many later making their way back through the Canal post VJ Day for mothballs or continued service.

USS Yorktown (CV-10) transiting the Panama Canal, bound for the Pacific combat zone, circa 11 July 1943. Note Grumman TBF-1 and Douglas SBD-5 aircraft on deck. SBDs carry markings of VB-4. Also note camouflage screens alongside the canal lock. Photographed by Lieutenant Charles Kerlee, USNR. 80-G-K-15334

While CVEs and CVLs were soon disposed of in all but auxiliary service and the new Midway class CVBs (and every American flattop class after) were too big to transit the man-made wonder, the Canal remained on the menu when redeploying the dwindling Essexes for Korea and Vietnam. Valley Forge did so at least five times, with the last being in 1962.

USS Philippine Sea (CV-47) transits Gatun Locks during her transit of the Panama Canal on 31 May 1950. Note crew on deck, and ship utility unit North American SNJ-type aircraft. 80-G-439853

USS Valley Forge (CVA-45) approaches the Pedro Miguel Lock while transiting the Panama Canal, circa 18 August 1953. Her deckload includes several TBM, F4U, and F2H aircraft and many automobiles. The photograph was released for publication on 16 September 1953. NH 96943

USS Valley Forge (CV-45/LPH-8) passing through the Panama Canal, north to south, en route to San Diego, CA., January 1962

However, it should be noted that some East Coast-based CV9s were sent to Vietnam via the Suez (such as Intrepid in 1967) to both boost American presence in the Med and Middle East, even briefly, and because it was a slightly shorter trip (10,350 from Norfolk to Singapore via Suez, versus 10,900 Norfolk to Singapore via Panama and Pearl). Another outlier, USS Shangri-La, made an epic circumnavigation the long way via Cape Town, going East and Cape Horn going West on her 1970-71 Vietnam deployment.

While I cannot pinpoint the final Canal transit by an American carrier, it can be a safe bet that Lexington, which operated from Pensacola, may have called at Panama sometime between the Cuban Missile Crisis and her decommissioning in 1991.

The “more than 50 years” quote would dial it back to circa 1976 and before. I just wish I could say which flattop that was…

War Costs Big Dollars

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Check out these interesting War Department awards posted late Friday, emphasis mine, including big numbers for AI, the new AEHF satcom system, a half-billion worth of upgrades to EA-18G Growlers (namely to the Beowulf system), committing to the E-7A, buying more SM-3s, and, ironically, allocating millions to decommisson the 51-year-old Nimitz— which just deployed on a final final (we promise this is the last one) mission.

The granddaddy carrier’s 12,400-mile ’round the cape redeployment from Bremerton to Norfolk will be extended by an on-the-way SOUTHCOM tasking with her taking part in South Seas 2026, visiting several partner countries along the way, and, well, you know, there is this whole Venezuela and now Cuba thing, sooooo…don’t be surprised if things get kinetic or are at least billed as “possibly becoming kinetic” to influence politics in the region.

U.S. Sailors conduct preservation on the 68 tower of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) in San Diego, March 12, 2026. Nimitz is pierside at Naval Air Station North Island for a scheduled port visit while operating in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations while executing a scheduled homeport shift to Norfolk, Virginia. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Gina Gallia)

Anyway, the contracts:

Anduril Industries Inc., Costa Mesa, California, was awarded a firm-fixed-price contract with a cumulative total of $20,000,000,000 to consolidate current and future commercial solutions—including the proprietary, open-architecture, AI-enabled Lattice suite, integrated hardware, data, computer infrastructure, and technical support services—into a unified, mission-ready capability supporting the Army’s evolving operational and business needs. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of March 12, 2036. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W9128Z-26-D-A001).

Raytheon Co., Marlboro, Massachusetts, has been awarded a ceiling $2,011,063,181 modification (P00011) to a previously awarded contract FA8735-21-D-0001 for Advanced Extremely High Frequency Terminal. This modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $2,971,063,181 from $960,000,000. Work will be performed at Marlboro, Massachusetts, and Largo, Florida, and is expected to be completed by Aug. 9, 2031. There are no funds being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center Strategic Communications Division, Bedford, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity.

The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, is awarded a not-to-exceed $489,306,966 cost, undefinitized order (N0001926F1055) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0001921G0006). This order is for the procurement of non-recurring engineering and associated test assets, to include four Beowulf A-Kits, four Gunbay Pallet A-Kits, 12 Beowulf B-Kits, 15 sensor control unit B-Kits, and nine power control unit B-Kits, as well as support equipment in support of the design, development, and integration of the AN/ALQ-264(V) Beowulf upgrade to the existing EA-18G platform. Work will be performed in Baltimore, Maryland (61%); St. Louis, Missouri (28%); and Bethpage, New York (11%), and is expected to be completed in February 2030. Fiscal 2026 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $33,988,353 will be obligated at the time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This order was not competed. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

Huntington Ingalls Inc., Newport News, Virginia, is awarded an option exercise of $95,703,960 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-25-C-2127) for advance planning and long-lead-time material procurement to prepare and make ready for the accomplishment of the inactivation and defueling of USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by March 2027. Fiscal 2026 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $32,695,077 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 3204(a)(1), (only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements). Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity.

The Boeing Co., St. Louis Missouri, is awarded a $60,103,735 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification (P00006) to an order (N0001924F0259) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N0001921G0006). This modification adds scope for the procurement of developmental and operational test support, developmental and operational test aircraft installation and capability validation activities, including avionics and airframe material, to support the Growler Block II Phase I upgrade, known as the Next Generation Electronic Attack Unit. Additionally, this modification adds non-reoccurring engineering, consisting of anti-tamper requirements, functional and physical configuration audits, systems engineering, software development and integration, human engineering, test and evaluation requirements, developmental and operational ground and flight testing, product support requirements, and additional software requirement changes. Work will be performed in Linthicum, Maryland (16.3%); Bethpage, New York (37.9%); Minneapolis, Minnesota (27.4%); and St. Louis, Missouri (18.4%), and is expected to be completed in February 2029. Fiscal 2026 research, development, test, and evaluation funds in the amount of $13,082,629 will be obligated at the time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This order was not competed. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

These came on Thursday:

The Boeing Co. Defense, Tukwila, Washington, has been awarded a $2,335,411,756 option exercise modification (P00045) to a previously awarded contract FA8730-23-C-0025 for E-7A Rapid Prototype Airborne Mission Segment. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $4,907,391,116 from $4,907,391,116. Work will be performed at Seattle, Washington (primary); Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Huntsville, Alabama; and Heath, Ohio, and is expected to be completed by August 10, 2032. Fiscal 2026 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $31,000,000 are being obligated at time of award. The Air Force Lifecycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity.

Raytheon, Tucson, Arizona is being awarded a noncompetitive fixed-price-incentive-fee modification (HQ0851-24-C-0001), definitizing two previously announced undefinitized contract actions (P00008 and P00014) for Standard Missile (SM-3) Block IB production.  The value of this contract modification is $266,912,456, increasing the previously announced value of $1,099,000,000 to a total value of $1,365,912,456. The total definitized value of this award increases the total existing contract value from $1,948,713,505 by $1,365,912,456 to $3,314,625,961. Under this modification, the contractor will procure and deliver an additional quantity of 23 SM-3 Block IB All-Up Rounds (AURs) for a total of 78 SM-3 Block IB AURs. This contract includes one-time costs to restart the SM-3 IB production line. The work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona; and Huntsville, Alabama, with an expected completion date of May 2030. Fiscal 2024 and 2025 procurement funds are being used to fully fund this effort upon award. The Missile Defense Agency, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

CVN-68 final call to Battleship Row

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Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) render honors as the ship passes the USS Arizona Memorial while arriving at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, 29 November 2025. The Nimitz made the scheduled port visit while operating in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations during an eight-month deployment as the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 11.

Credit: Navy Seaman Matthew C. Wolf. VIRIN: 251129-N-AW546-1141P

U.S. Navy sailors man the rails on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) while pulling into Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Nov. 29, 2025. Nimitz is underway in the U.S. 3rd Fleet area of operations on a scheduled deployment, demonstrating the U.S. Navy’s unwavering commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jaron Wills)

The photo is appropriate as ADM Chester Nimitz, the supercarrier’s namesake, was dispatched to Pearl Harbor to assume command of the Pacific Fleet just nine days after Arizona went down, and would assume command of the seriously damaged and demoralized force in a ceremony aboard the submarine USS Grayling (SS-209) on 31 December 1941, as no battlewagons were availible since all eight dreadnoughts in the Harbor were sunk or severely damaged.

The carrier was christened on 13 May 1972 by Catherine Nimitz Lay, the daughter of the late admiral.

This is likely CVN-68’s final trip past Battleship Row, as she is scheduled to begin deactivation in early 2026, capping a 51-year career.

Her first port call at Pearl was back during RIMPAC 1988– as OPFOR against the USS Missouri Battleship Battle Group, no less– and she has been back at least 11 times since then.

And, of course, she will live on as Pearl Harbor’s strongest yet unsuccessful defender, ala 1980s The Final Countdown.

The Navy granted access to Nimtz during production of the movie, so when you see those stunning shots of the “Big 6-8 haze gray and underway,” it is not stock footage.

Uncle Chester Shuffles out for One Last Go

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Named in honor of the fleet admiral that oversaw the Pacific War, the USS Nimitz (CVAN/CVN-68) was ordered on 31 March 1967 and commissioned just over eight years later on 11 April 1975.

USS Nimitz (CVN-68) replenishes from USS Mount Baker (AE-34) during UNREP training on her shakedowns in Guantanamo Operations Area, Caribbean, 31 July 1975. At the time, her wing, CVW-8, had two F-4J Phantom squadrons (VF-31 and VMFA-333), two A-7E Corsair units (VA-82, VA-86), an A-6E Intruder squadron (VA-35), and assorted EA-6B, E-2B, and SH-3H dets. She has outlasted all of these types. NHHC K-109941

Even new math shows that her 50th anniversary is coming up in a few weeks, and she will celebrate it haze gray and underway on her 30th deployment- and that’s not even counting almost smashing the Kido Butai!

The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group (NIMCSG) departed Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton, Washington, for a regularly scheduled deployment to the Western Pacific on 21 March, with an all-DDG escort as the carrier has outlasted almost every U.S. cruiser that would have traditionally accompanied her.

Sailors man the rails on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) in the Puget Sound after getting underway for a regularly scheduled Indo-Pacific deployment, March 21, 2025. An integral part of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, the U.S. 3rd Fleet operates naval forces in the Indo-Pacific and provides realistic and relevant training to ensure the readiness necessary to execute the U.S. Navy’s timeless role across the full spectrum of military operations. (U.S. Navy photo 250321-N-QV399-1053 by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Japeth Carter)

As noted by 3rd Fleet PAO:

NIMCSG consists of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68), Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 17, and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 9.

The embarked air wing consists of nine squadrons flying F/A-18C/E/F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growler, E-2D Hawkeyes, C-2A Greyhounds, and MH-60R/S Sea Hawks; Squadrons are the “Fighting Redcocks” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 22, “Mighty Shrikes” of VFA-94, “Kestrels” of VFA-137, “Blue Diamonds” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 146, “Cougars” of VAQ-139, “Indians” of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 6, “Bluetails” of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 121, “BattleCats” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 73, and the “Rawhides” of Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 40.

DESRON 9 consists of the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, USS Curtis Wilbur (DDG 54), USS Gridley (DDG 101), USS Wayne E. Meyer (DDG 108), and USS Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123).

Zap!

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Official caption: “Sailors shoot a Mark 38 25mm machine gun during a live-fire exercise on the fantail of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) in the Pacific Ocean, Oct. 14, 2024. Nimitz is underway in 3rd Fleet conducting routine training operations.”

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Timothy Meyer

To be clear, the mount is a stabilized BAE Mk38 Mod2/3, which can be fired remotely and reportedly has a two to three-fold increase in Probability of Hit (POH) versus the old Mod 1. It has a cyclic rate of 175-to-200 rounds per minute, at least until its onboard 150 linked rounds run out.

Nimitz and her sisters, for the past decade, have carried at least four MK38s for use against surface targets as needed.

The Navy’s program of record for the Mk38 is 501 guns, which may or may not include the USCG that uses the mount on its remaining handful of 210-foot Reliance class cutters (where they replaced the last WWII-era 3″/50 DP wet mounts in U.S. service) and 60+ 158-foot Sentinel-class patrol boats.

Keep in mind that all installed armament on cutters “belongs” to the Navy while the Coasties are on their own to purchase small arms, hence their use of Glocks rather than SIG P320 M17/M18s. 

USCGC Benjamin Bottoms (WPC-1132), note her Navy-owned MK38 forward

Bookends, Flattops

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Two very interesting things have occurred in the past few weeks when it comes to the Navy’s capital ships.

First, USS Nimitz (CVN 68), the oldest-serving U.S. commissioned aircraft carrier in the world, successfully completed its 350,000th arrested aircraft landing while sailing in the South China Sea, a milestone nearly 48 years in the making.

Capt. Craig Sicola, commanding officer of Nimitz, and Cmdr. Luke Edwards, commanding officer of the “Fighting Redcocks” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 22, piloted the landing in a F/A-18F Super Hornet from VFA 22 on the morning of April 22nd. 230422-N-HK462-1291 Photo By: Hannah Kantner

Nimitz is the first active U.S. Navy carrier in the Fleet to reach this milestone– even surpassing the numbers seen by Enterprise, the Forrestal, JFK, Midway, et. al. USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) has the next highest total of arrested landings at 326,600.

The Navy is starting long-lead planning to defuel and dispose of Nimitz (CVN-68), with the carrier scheduled to leave service in 2026 after 51 years in the fleet.

And in a follow-up to that, the first of the new Ford-class supercarriers, CVN-78, departed Naval Station Norfolk for her first real deployment, on 2 May.

The GRFCSG consists of USS Gerald R. Ford, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 12, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 8, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 2, Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60), and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Ramage (DDG 61), USS McFaul (DDG 74), and USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116).

Mighty Mo and ADM Nimitz, together again

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35 Years Ago Today, Gulf of Oman: Below we see a classic “Sea Power” image showing a bow view of the nuclear-powered supercarrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) underway astern of the Iowa-class battleship USS Missouri (BB-63), with the latter’s Turret No. 3 starboard 16″/50 caliber gun framing the shot. A Spruance class destroyer photobombs in the distance.

Note the Cold War classic dungarees on Iowa’s stern, along with the A-6 and S-3 rich airwing carried by Nimitz. You can almost hear “Danger Zone” in the distance. U.S. Navy photo DNST9300653 by PHAN Brad Dillon. National Archives Identifier: 6485327.

Of course, not far from Missouri’s Turret No. 3 stands a marker denoting the location where representatives of the Empire of Japan signed the instrument of surrender ending WWII before the assembled Allied representatives. Admiral Chester W. Nimitz (USNA 1905), who led the Pacific Fleet to that victory, was aboard that day and revisited the spot at least once again, in 1954.

While Nimtz would pass in 1966, at which point Missouri was in mothballs and likely never to return to service, the huge carrier that bears his name was ordered in 1967 and is still kicking while “Mighty Mo” would in fact be reactivated in the 1980s for one last hurrah.

Iconic Underway Shots

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The Navy’s PAO network has really done a good job of putting out great images in the past week. Check these out, taken in three different parts of the world across just three days.

From the ancient waters of the Adriatic:

220606-N-AO868-1147 ADRIATIC SEA (June 6, 2022) Ensign Stephen Hess uses a telescopic alidade in the pilot house of the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS San Jacinto (CG 56), as it transits behind the Nimitz class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) in the Adriatic Sea, June 6, 2022. Truman is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. Naval Forces Europe area of operations, employed by the U.S. Sixth Fleet to defend U.S., Allied, and Partner interests. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Conner Foy/Released)

220606-N-AO868-1167 ADRIATIC SEA (June 6, 2022) The Nimitz class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) transits the Adriatic Sea on June 6, 2022. Truman is on a scheduled deployment in the U.S. Naval Forces Europe area of operations, employed by the U.S. Sixth Fleet to defend U.S., Allied, and Partner interests. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Conner Foy/Released)

To the Atlantic

220605-N-YD731-1271 ATLANTIC OCEAN (June 5, 2022) Sailors assigned to the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Leyte Gulf (CG 55) prepare to shoot line during a replenishment-at-sea with the Military Sealift Command fleet replenishment oiler USNS Leroy Grumman (T-AO 195), June 5, 2022. The George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group (CSG) is underway completing a certification exercise to increase the U.S. and allied interoperability and warfighting capability before a future deployment. The George H.W. Bush CSG is an integrated combat weapons system that delivers superior combat capability to deter, and if necessary, defeat America’s adversaries in support of national security. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Novalee Manzella)

USS Leyte Gulf CG-55 conducts a replenishment-at-sea with USNS Leroy Grumman (TAO-195), on June 5, 2022. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Novalee Manzella)

USS Leyte Gulf CG-55 conducts a replenishment-at-sea with USNS Leroy Grumman (TAO-195), on June 5 2022. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Novalee Manzella)

And to the Pacific

PACIFIC OCEAN (June 7, 2022) An F/A-18F assigned to the “Fighting Redcocks” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 22 makes an arrested gear landing on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Nimitz is underway in the U.S. 3rd fleet area of operations. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Lorenzo Fekieta-Martinez)

PACIFIC OCEAN (June 7, 2022) An aircraft makes an arrested gear landing on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Nimitz is underway in the U.S. 3rd fleet area of operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Lorenzo Fekieta-Martinez)

Between stuff like this, and Maverick, the recruiters just have to sit back and show where to sign.

Of course, a lot of the platforms shown are high-mileage, with Nimitz– the oldest operational aircraft carrier in the world– laid down in 1968 and is planned to be removed from the battle force in fiscal year (FY) 2025, when the ship’s Terminal Off-load Program begins. Meanwhile, Leyte Gulf, the Navy’s 9th Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser and one of its most veteran of the type still in service, had her first steel cut at Pascagoula in 1985 and has a planned decommissioning in 2024 alongside sister San Jacinto, from whom’s bridge the top two images were captured. The oiler Grumman was laid down in 1987 while Nimitz’s sister Truman was ordered the year after. In short, most of the rank and file working on these ships are younger than the compartments they work, eat, and sleep in.

To them, they are serving in the “Old Navy” of which they will one day regale these new recruits.

That’s a whole lot of mobile real estate

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WESTERN PACIFIC (Nov. 12, 2017) The aircraft carriers USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) and USS Nimitz (CVN 68) and their strike groups are underway, conducting operations, in international waters as part of a three-carrier strike force exercise. The U.S. Navy has patrolled the Indo-Asia Pacific region routinely for more than 70 years promoting regional security, stability, and prosperity. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. j.g. James Griffin/Released)

Currently, the Navy has 11 commissioned nuclear aircraft carriers in service (as well as two under construction and two conventional carriers laid up pending disposal). Well, for the first time in a long time, 7 of those 11 are underway with three– USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), USS Nimitz (CVN-68) and USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)— fully armed and conducting operations forward deployed in the Western Pacific. Those three flattops are currently off the Korean Peninsula with vessels of the Republic of Korean Navy and the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force.

WESTERN PACIFIC (Nov. 12, 2017) Three F/A-18E Super Hornets, assigned to the Eagles of Strike Fighter Attack Squadron (VFA) 115, fly in formation over the aircraft carriers USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), USS Nimitz (CVN 68) and their strike groups along with ships from the Republic of Korea Navy as they transit the Western Pacific. (U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Aaron B. Hicks/Released)

There haven’t been seven carriers underway since 2004 and it’s been a decade since three carrier strike groups operated together in the big blue of the Pacific during exercise Valiant Shield 2007.

“It is a rare opportunity to train with two aircraft carriers together, and even rarer to be able to train with three,” said U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander, Adm. Scott Swift in the Navy’s presser on the ops in the West Pac. “Multiple carrier strike force operations are very complex, and this exercise in the Western Pacific is a strong testament to the U.S. Pacific Fleet’s unique ability and ironclad commitment to the continued security and stability of the region.”

Let’s roll that beautiful bean footage: