The Navy is sailing into uncharted water as it begins refueling and scrapping the former USS Enterprise (CVN-65), the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, for an undertaking that, though planned for well over a decade, represents a massive departure in how the Navy disposes of nuclear-powered vessels at the end of their service lives.
Since 2018, the 1,101-foot giant has been parked in Newport News, Va., as the Navy has decided what to do with it. Unlike regular ships, most of which can be sent to the scrapyard or used for target practice, the Enterprise is held to a different standard. That’s because of its nuclear power plant. Following years of study, the Navy picked private industry to take on the task— something that could become a model for disposing of nuclear-powered carriers in the future.
The Navy has created a CVN Inactivation and Disposal Program Office (PMS 368) to lead this effort within the Program Executive Office Aircraft Carriers. “Dismantlement and disposal of Enterprise, the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier to serve the nation, is a monumental task and a historic milestone for the Navy,” said Rear Adm. Casey Moton, Program Executive Officer for Aircraft Carriers.
The Navy’s decision to take advantage of the commercial industry is likely to save millions of dollars and years of labor that would free up crucial dock space at public shipyards. According to public Navy documents, the dismantling process for the Enterprise is expected to start in 2025 and run through 2029, a timeline that is important because, in 2026, the USS Nimitz, CVN-68, is to be taken out of service, and in short order, so will the USS Eisenhower, CVN-69.
According to Bryan Clark, a fellow at the Hudson Institute and a retired submariner, the process is intricate. “The Navy has had a tough time figuring out … what’s the process we’d go about dismantling this thing.” For most modern submarines, there is one reactor; in Enterprise, it housed eight.
The Navy will use experience in dismantling nuclear-powered submarines and cruisers as guides, but the enormity of the Enterprise makes things even more difficult. According to Steven Wills, an analyst with the Center for Maritime Strategy, “These carriers take up too much space and affect operational units that are based in Bremerton.”
The Navy has rejected disposal strategies that include Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, instead opting for commercial dismantlement. That work could be executed in Hampton Roads, Va., Brownsville, Texas, and Mobile, Ala. Service estimates of utilizing commercial industry for the dismantlement and disposal range from $554 million to $696 million, a far cry from the $1.1 billion to $1.4 billion estimated for public shipyard alternatives.
One expert, Bradley Martin of the RAND Corporation, agreed that in his opinion, the Navy’s decision to contract with industry would prove worthwhile in the long run. “I think this, if it works out, it’ll be a good model,” he said. “The capacity of Navy shipyards to deal with everything they’re supposed to be dealing with is already pretty strained.”
It was an undertaking, quite literally, in the shadow of Adm. Hyman G. Rickover, considered the father of the Navy’s nuclear propulsion program. Although safety was paramount to Rickover, Wills said the military had not planned for the actual retirement of nuclear ships during his era. “You could probably argue that this is all catching up with us now,” Wills said.
The lessons learned from Enterprise decommissioning will likely set the stage for future nuclear-powered carrier disposals as the Navy presses on with this new and unprecedented task, making sure it can continue to maintain its operational readiness while responsibly managing legacy assets.