KashifAsrar
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ToI feed dated 1st July 2007.
Kashif
Subodh Varma | TIMES INSIGHT GROUP
New Delhi: Chennai will host a momentous visitor this week — one of the largest war machines ever built by man. For a week, Chennaiites will be able to gaze upon its 18-storey high superstructure straddling a 1,000-feet long deck, as the USS Nimitz drops anchor off Chennai port. It has come to Indian shores from the Arabian Sea, where it is helping out in Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The USS Nimitz is a self-contained floating town of over 6,000 persons. It is powered by two pressurisedwater nuclear reactors, which generate 194 MW of electricity — enough to light up a small Indian city. The power is needed to drive its four massive engines, giving it a maximum speed of over 56 kilometres per hour. Just 56 kmph? Well, try to imagine moving about 98,000 tonnes at that speed.
But that is just the warship’s speed. What it carries on board is far speedier and deadlier. The main purpose of a carrier ship is to provide a platform for fighter aircraft — and the Nimitz has some of the deadliest flying machines on board. There are about 85 aircraft lodged on and below its 4.5-acre landing deck.
Stunning Statistics
18
storeys high
1,000 feet long deck
Houses over
6,000
persons
4.5 acre landing deck
194 MW of power generated by 2 nuclear reactors—enough to light up a small Indian city
Besides aircraft, USS Nimitz loaded with hi-tech weapons
New Delhi: Though the exact number of fighter planes on board the USS Nimitz is unknown, it’s 4.5-acre landing deck may have twelve 18E/F Hornets, thirty-six F/A-18 Hornets, four E-2C Hawkeyes, and four EA-6B Prowlers, besides four SH-60F and two HH-60H Seahawks helicopters.
The Hornets are fighter planes with a maximum speed of about 2,000 kmph at altitudes upto 15,000 metres. A Hornet can fly over a thousand kilometers with 450 kgs of bombs, and an assortment of missiles including Sidewinders, Sparrows, Harpoons and high-speed anti-radiation missiles (HARMS). Among the bombs it carries are cluster bombs, each of which releases 247 bomblets with high explosives, sufficient to penetrate 7 inches of steel armour.
Thousand of these deadly and highly destructive bombs have been used in Iraq. Most of the loaded bombs are “smart” – they are guided to chosen targets. Each Hornet aircraft is also equipped with one six-barrelled Vulcan cannon which fires 6,000 rounds per minute.
The two types of Sikorsky helicopters on board the Nimitz have offensive as well as defensive functions. The SH60, with a range of over 700 kms., carries three torpedoes besides Hellfire and Penguin missiles. It is also armed with machine guns. The HH 60H helicopter carries a variety of jamming equipment, and laser, radar and missile detectors. It too carries Hellfire missiles and several window- or cabin-mounted guns.
Apart from the aircraft, the Nimitz is loaded with several missile systems and sophisticated guns. The 12 feet long Sea Sparrow missiles travel at 4,256 kmph striking targets upto 55 kms away with 40 kgs of fragmentation explosives. The small Sea Rams also travel at nearly 2000 kmph to deliver fragmentation explosives 7.5 kms away. Then you have the Nixie torpedo countermeasure and decoy systems for countering a submarine attack. On the deck of the Nimitz are nine Phalanx close-in weapons systems, each with its radars and a Gaitling gun which fires an incredible 4,500 rounds per minute. It can use depleted uranium or tungsten ammunition, which is highly penetrative and causes complete burning of human bodies.
The Nimitz can also deploy Tomahawk missiles with nuclear warheads and 2,500 km range, although it is claimed that these are not aboard it at present. Inventory of several other weapons and armour is classified and hence not known.
The United States has 8 war ships of the Nimitz class, built over the past 25 years. The latest one is called USS George H.W.Bush, after the father of the present President Bush. The Nimitz cost $4.5 billion dollars when it was commissioned in 1975, which at today’s prices would be about $8.3 billion dollars. Its annual operating cost itself is about $160 million (Rs 6,400 crore). It has seen action all over the world, but since the nineties mainly in the Gulf. It was part of Operations ‘Desert Storm’, ‘Southern Watch’ and now, ‘Iraqi Freedom’.
USS Nimitz is named after Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, who accepted the Japanese surrender at the end of the Second World War. In 1949, he was appointed the Administrator for a plebiscite in Kashmir under a UN plan. So, what is this deathship, commanded by Captain Michael ‘Nasty’ Manazir, doing in an Indian port? It’s on a peace mission, say the American and Indian governments. Go figure.
Kashif
Floating town comes to Chennai
Subodh Varma | TIMES INSIGHT GROUP
New Delhi: Chennai will host a momentous visitor this week — one of the largest war machines ever built by man. For a week, Chennaiites will be able to gaze upon its 18-storey high superstructure straddling a 1,000-feet long deck, as the USS Nimitz drops anchor off Chennai port. It has come to Indian shores from the Arabian Sea, where it is helping out in Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The USS Nimitz is a self-contained floating town of over 6,000 persons. It is powered by two pressurisedwater nuclear reactors, which generate 194 MW of electricity — enough to light up a small Indian city. The power is needed to drive its four massive engines, giving it a maximum speed of over 56 kilometres per hour. Just 56 kmph? Well, try to imagine moving about 98,000 tonnes at that speed.
But that is just the warship’s speed. What it carries on board is far speedier and deadlier. The main purpose of a carrier ship is to provide a platform for fighter aircraft — and the Nimitz has some of the deadliest flying machines on board. There are about 85 aircraft lodged on and below its 4.5-acre landing deck.
Stunning Statistics
18
storeys high
1,000 feet long deck
Houses over
6,000
persons
4.5 acre landing deck
194 MW of power generated by 2 nuclear reactors—enough to light up a small Indian city
Besides aircraft, USS Nimitz loaded with hi-tech weapons
New Delhi: Though the exact number of fighter planes on board the USS Nimitz is unknown, it’s 4.5-acre landing deck may have twelve 18E/F Hornets, thirty-six F/A-18 Hornets, four E-2C Hawkeyes, and four EA-6B Prowlers, besides four SH-60F and two HH-60H Seahawks helicopters.
The Hornets are fighter planes with a maximum speed of about 2,000 kmph at altitudes upto 15,000 metres. A Hornet can fly over a thousand kilometers with 450 kgs of bombs, and an assortment of missiles including Sidewinders, Sparrows, Harpoons and high-speed anti-radiation missiles (HARMS). Among the bombs it carries are cluster bombs, each of which releases 247 bomblets with high explosives, sufficient to penetrate 7 inches of steel armour.
Thousand of these deadly and highly destructive bombs have been used in Iraq. Most of the loaded bombs are “smart” – they are guided to chosen targets. Each Hornet aircraft is also equipped with one six-barrelled Vulcan cannon which fires 6,000 rounds per minute.
The two types of Sikorsky helicopters on board the Nimitz have offensive as well as defensive functions. The SH60, with a range of over 700 kms., carries three torpedoes besides Hellfire and Penguin missiles. It is also armed with machine guns. The HH 60H helicopter carries a variety of jamming equipment, and laser, radar and missile detectors. It too carries Hellfire missiles and several window- or cabin-mounted guns.
Apart from the aircraft, the Nimitz is loaded with several missile systems and sophisticated guns. The 12 feet long Sea Sparrow missiles travel at 4,256 kmph striking targets upto 55 kms away with 40 kgs of fragmentation explosives. The small Sea Rams also travel at nearly 2000 kmph to deliver fragmentation explosives 7.5 kms away. Then you have the Nixie torpedo countermeasure and decoy systems for countering a submarine attack. On the deck of the Nimitz are nine Phalanx close-in weapons systems, each with its radars and a Gaitling gun which fires an incredible 4,500 rounds per minute. It can use depleted uranium or tungsten ammunition, which is highly penetrative and causes complete burning of human bodies.
The Nimitz can also deploy Tomahawk missiles with nuclear warheads and 2,500 km range, although it is claimed that these are not aboard it at present. Inventory of several other weapons and armour is classified and hence not known.
The United States has 8 war ships of the Nimitz class, built over the past 25 years. The latest one is called USS George H.W.Bush, after the father of the present President Bush. The Nimitz cost $4.5 billion dollars when it was commissioned in 1975, which at today’s prices would be about $8.3 billion dollars. Its annual operating cost itself is about $160 million (Rs 6,400 crore). It has seen action all over the world, but since the nineties mainly in the Gulf. It was part of Operations ‘Desert Storm’, ‘Southern Watch’ and now, ‘Iraqi Freedom’.
USS Nimitz is named after Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz, who accepted the Japanese surrender at the end of the Second World War. In 1949, he was appointed the Administrator for a plebiscite in Kashmir under a UN plan. So, what is this deathship, commanded by Captain Michael ‘Nasty’ Manazir, doing in an Indian port? It’s on a peace mission, say the American and Indian governments. Go figure.
