page_title: Nimitz-class aircraft carrier
section_title: 1990–2000
hierarchical_section_title: Nimitz-class aircraft carrier / Service history / 1990–2000
caption_attribution_description: ID: DN-ST-82-00638 Service Depicted: Navy Operation / Series: EVENING LIGHT An interior view of the hangar bay aboard the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS NIMITZ (CVN-68). The parked RH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters are being readied for Operation Evening Light, a rescue mission to Iran.
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: The two most significant deployments the Nimitz class was involved in during the 1990s were the Gulf War and its aftermath, and Operation Southern Watch in southern Iraq. All active vessels were engaged in both of these to some extent, with Operation Southern Watch continuing until 2003. Most carriers in operation in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm played supporting roles, with only Theodore Roosevelt playing an active part in combat operations.
  Throughout the 1990s and more recently, Nimitz-class carriers have been deployed as part of humanitarian missions. While deployed in the Gulf War, Abraham Lincoln was diverted to the Pacific Ocean to participate alongside 22 other ships in Operation Fiery Vigil, evacuating civilians following the eruption of Mount Pinatubo on Luzon Island in the Philippines. In October 1993, Abraham Lincoln deployed to Somalia to assist UN humanitarian operations there, spending four weeks flying patrols over the area around Mogadishu while supporting U.S. troops during Operation Restore Hope. The same ship also participated in Operation Vigilant Sentinel in the Persian Gulf in 1995.
  Theodore Roosevelt flew patrols in support of the Kurds over northern Iraq as part of Operation Provide Comfort in 1991. In 1996, George Washington played a peacekeeping role in Operation Decisive Endeavor in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1999, Theodore Roosevelt was called to the Ionian Sea to support Operation Allied Force alongside other NATO militaries.
caption: USN RH-53D Sea Stallion helicopters aboard Nimitz in early 1980, prior to execution of Operation Eagle Claw
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