Few names hold greater significance in naval history than Enterprise. For close to a century, the U.S. Navy has saved this name for some of its most cutting-edge and formidable aircraft carriers—ships that have repeatedly raised the bar on naval technology and maritime tactics. From the mythical World War II Yorktown-class USS Enterprise (CV-6) to the revolutionary nuclear-powered CVN-65, and now the digitally crafted CVN-80, the Enterprise tradition is one of innovation, ambition, and perseverance.
When USS Enterprise (CVN-65) came into service in 1961, the game changed. The world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, she was a step in bold engineering and a definitive declaration of American naval capability in the Cold War era.
At more than 1,100 feet in length and housing a crew of about 4,600 sailors, the Enterprise was not just a ship—it was a floating city fueled by eight nuclear reactors. This unusual design expressed the hope and inventiveness of the time, a ship unlike any other on the oceans.
But with revolutionary technology comes revolutionary challenges. The same characteristics that made Enterprise legendary—her nuclear power and gigantic size—also make her retirement more complicated. Unlike normal carriers, which can be scrapped or are good for use as target ships, nuclear carriers must be dismantled with painstaking, highly regulated care because of their ears of radiological history.
Usually, the Navy decommissions nuclear ships—such as submarines and cruisers—by defueling and extracting the reactor compartments. But carriers are much bigger and take up valuable dock space, and with Enterprise’s eight smaller reactors—compared to only two on subsequent Nimitz-class carriers—decommissioning is that much more complicated.
Following a lengthy study and public inquiry, the Navy adopted an unorthodox solution: contracting out to private industry for dismantling. By drawing on experience in civilian nuclear facilities, the proposal is to safely section and package the eight defueled reactors for shipment to licensed disposal facilities. Nonradioactive wastes will be recycled or disposed of under strict regulation.
This method conserves both money and time while releasing dock space for operating fleets. Projections indicate the process would take five years and range from $554 to $696 million (2019 dollars), significantly less than if the work stayed in public shipyards alone.
Even while expenses increase with inflation, the plan enables the Navy to prioritize maintaining its existing carriers in full running capacity while acquiring valuable experience for upcoming retirements, such as ships USS Nimitz and USS Eisenhower.
In the meantime, the Enterprise name will keep on sailing ahead. The Newport News Shipbuilding is ready to start construction on the next-generation Ford-class carrier, CVN-80. This ship will be the first aircraft carrier to be designed entirely by digital means, instead of using paper drawings, with tablets and 3D design, racing ahead of schedule and paving the way for future naval ship construction.
The history of the USS Enterprise is more than a chronicle of technical achievements. It’s about evolving to meet new realities, overcoming intricate challenges, and adapting to the demands of a contemporary fleet.
As the Navy innovates new methods for decommissioning nuclear carriers and becomes increasingly reliant on digital technologies in ship construction, the lessons of the past century will see the next Enterprise continue its legacy of excellence, prepared to confront whatever the future brings.