95,000-Ton US Navy Nuclear Aircraft Carrier USS Enterprise Has 8 Nuclear Reactors That Cost $451,000,000 to Build and Now Will Cost $1,431,000,000 to Take Apart
Headline from 19FortyFive
No single 1958 reactor could drive the longest warship ever built, so the designers installed eight — and no shipbreaker had ever faced eight. The full story of the $451 million construction, the estimate blowout, the twice-awarded contract, and the committed $1.
19FortyFive's own description from its feed. We collect headlines and these descriptions, not full articles; read the original reporting below.
Construction on the USS Enterprise began in 1958, and she needed eight nuclear reactors because that was what the technology of the time could deliver. Every Nimitz-class carrier that followed needed two. The Ford class also needs two, of a significantly newer and higher-output design.
Scrapping a US Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is extremely expensive because it involves safely removing nuclear reactors, handling massive amounts of hazardous materials, and managing complex, giant structures
No single 1958 reactor could drive the longest warship ever built, so the designers installed eight — and no shipbreaker had ever faced eight. The full story of the $451 million construction, the estimate blowout, the twice-awarded contract, and the committed $1.
95,000-Ton US Navy Nuclear Aircraft Carrier USS Enterprise Has 8 Nuclear Reactors That Cost $451,000,000 to Build and Now Will Cost $1,431,000,000 to Take Apart | Since Then
