Summary and Key Points: USS Enterprise, the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, left Newport News under tow on November 2, 2026, bound for Mobile, Alabama, and a NorthStar Maritime scrapping scheduled to finish by September 2030.
USS Enterprise CVN-65: An Aircraft Carrier Headed for Retirement
The USS Enterprise, CVN-65, was the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Launched in 1958, it was the eighth U.S. Navy vessel to bear the name Enterprise.
Like her World War II predecessor, her crew nicknamed her “The Big E.”
USS Enterprise Nuclear Aircraft Carrier Creative Commons
Naval Station Norfolk, Va. (Feb. 29, 2004) – The crew “mans the rails” aboard the nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) as she approaches pier 12 where thousands of family members await. The carrier completed a six-month deployment in support of the global war on terrorism. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Journalist (SW/AW) Dave Fliesen, Fleet Combat Camera, Atlantic. (RELEASED)
But now, ten years after its inactivation, the big carrier departed Newport News, Virginia, on November 2, 2026, and is being towed toward Mobile, Alabama, for dismantling.
The vessel had a long, distinguished career in modern U.S. Navy history, including the blockade of Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis; aerial combat and bombardment missions during the Vietnam War; the evacuation of the U.S. Embassy during the fall of Saigon; the bombing of Al Qaeda and Taliban installations after 9/11; and duty in the Persian Gulf in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
She made her final deployment in 2012 and was deactivated later that year.
She was decommissioned in 2017 after her eight reactors.
At the time of inactivation, the “Big E” was the third-oldest commissioned vessel in the United States Navy after the wooden-hulled USS Constitution and USS Pueblo (AGER-2).
“Enterprise will always be remembered for her proud legacy of service, a legacy made possible by the sailors and support personnel whose dedication kept her mission-ready,” said Kevin Cormier, Deputy Portfolio Acquisition Executive Maritime for Aircraft Carriers.
“All who served aboard and sustained this historic ship should take pride in the vital role they played in supporting the fleet. Their dedication ensured that Enterprise remained a lasting example of naval excellence. Fair winds and following seas.”
The Legal Dispute Settled, The Big E Is Heading For The Scrapyard
The carrier’s ultimate fate was in limbo after a legal dispute between Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and NorthStar Maritime, the companies involved in the carrier’s inactivation and final disposal.
The legal wrangling ended last month, when HII withdrew its challenge to the U.S. Navy’s decision to award NorthStar a $418 million contract to complete the work.
Until then, HII had handled the initial stages of inactivation and nuclear fuel removal, tasks that began after the ship’s retirement in 2012.
The Bill, Line By Line
The numbers have finally settled. As USNI News reported, the Navy has spent about $1.3 billion on inactivation work, including removing the nuclear fuel from all eight reactors.
Waste Control Specialists LLC, of Andrews, Texas, will serve as the licensed facility for the disposal of low-level radiological and mixed hazardous waste.
The Navy also considered a no-action alternative in which it would store the Enterprise long-term.
The Navy established the first Nuclear-Powered Aircraft Carrier (CVN) Inactivation and Disposal Program Office (PMS 368) within Program Executive Office Aircraft Carriers (PEO CVN).
The Navy spent another $111 million just to keep the ship tied up at Newport News while it decided.
Then there’s the $418.5 million dismantling contract awarded to NorthStar Maritime Dismantlement Services.
Add those together, and you get roughly $1.43 billion.
The breakdown puts it at $1,431,497,668, down to the dollar.
The Enterprise was commissioned in 1961 at $451.3 million. The actual cost of scrapping her is about three times the cost to build her.
Removing Eight Reactors Was A Big Problem
Every Nimitz-class carrier runs on two reactors.
The Enterprise had eight A2W plants, because in the late 1950s the Navy was building a nuclear carrier for the first time and the reactor technology of the day couldn’t push a 1,123-foot ship to 30-plus knots with fewer.
It worked.
ATLANTIC OCEAN (Feb 04, 2012) Aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65). Enterprise is underway participating in exercise Bold Alligator 2012. Bold Alligator 2012, the largest naval amphibious exercise in the past 10 years, represents the Navy and Marine Corps’ revitalization of the full range of amphibious operations. The exercise focuses on today’s fight with today’s forces, while showcasing the advantages of seabasing. This exercise will take place 30 Jan – 12 Feb, 2012 afloat and ashore in and around Virginia and North Carolina. (US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nick C. Scott)
USS Enterprise At Sea US Navy Creative Commons Photo
She served 51 years and remained one of the fastest ships in the fleet the whole time.
However, eight reactors also mean eight sets of reactor vessels, piping, shielding, and radiologically contaminated compartments that all have to come out. Defueling alone took years. The ship left active service in December 2012 and wasn’t formally decommissioned until February 2017, once the fuel was out.
The Government Accountability Office saw this coming. Back in 2018, The War Zone covered a GAO report warning that the job was “more akin to decommissioning a nuclear power plant” than scrapping a warship.
The GAO put the total at up to $1.5 billion and noted that no government or private shipyard had ever attempted anything on this scale.
The Reactors Couldn’t Be Removed Like Submarines Are
The Navy knows how to dispose of nuclear submarines.
It has done it more than a hundred times at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.
They cut out the reactor compartment from the hull in one piece, seal it, and ship it by barge up the Columbia River to the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington, where they bury it in a trench.
It’s a proven assembly line.
The original plan was to do the same with the Enterprise.
In 2012, the Navy’s environmental assessment called for cutting out the reactor compartments and sending them to Hanford.
However, a carrier isn’t a submarine.
As Christian Orr explained, the Enterprise’s reactor spaces are far too big to lift out as a single block.
You have to take the hull apart around them.
Puget Sound was also already buried in submarine and carrier maintenance.
Pulling a crew off that work to spend a decade scrapping the Enterprise would have hurt fleet readiness, and GAO said so.
The Navy went back to the drawing board and started a new environmental impact statement to look at commercial options.
That study took years, and the ship sat at the pier, costing money the whole time.
The group launched a multi-billion-dollar effort to dismantle and dispose of the former Enterprise and to inactivate, dismantle, and dispose of the USS Nimitz (CVN 68)-class aircraft carriers.
Lessons learned from Enterprise will inform disposal options for the 10 Nimitz-class ships as they retire.
The Contract Fight Added Its Own Chapter
The Navy finally went commercial. In June 2025, it awarded NorthStar a $536.7 million contract to tow the ship to Mobile, Alabama, and take her apart there.
Waste Control Specialists in Texas would handle the low-level radioactive and mixed hazardous waste.
It was billed as the first commercial dismantling of a U.S. nuclear-powered warship.
Then HII ShipCycle protested.
According to Forbes, the Court of Federal Claims found the Navy’s decision to exclude HII’s bid was “arbitrary and capricious,” and it noted that the bid was significantly cheaper.
The Navy rebid the work. NorthStar won again in July 2026, this time for $418.5 million, about $118 million less than the first award.
For once, a legal fight saved the taxpayer money.
The work is now scheduled to wrap up by September 2030.
That’s almost 18 years after the Enterprise made her last deployment.
The Scrapping Of The “Big E” Is A Playbook For The Future
The Enterprise scrapping is the prototype for everything that comes next.
The USS Nimitz is due to leave service in 2027, and nine more Nimitz-class carriers will follow her over the next couple of decades.
Each has two reactors instead of eight, but each will go through the same process of inactivation, defueling, storage, and dismantling.
So, the real value of the Enterprise’s expensive exit is the playbook. If the Navy and NorthStar get this right in Mobile, the Nimitz-class disposals should be faster, cheaper, and more predictable.
If they don’t, the Navy is looking at a string of billion-dollar bills for ships that no longer sail.
The Big E was the first of her kind in 1961.
Now, 55 years later, she is the first again. But it is sad to see the proud ship heading for scrap.
About the Author: Steve Balestrieri
Steve Balestrieri is a National Security Columnist. He served as a US Army Special Forces NCO and Warrant Officer. In addition to writing on defense, he covers the NFL for PatsFans.com and is a member of the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). His work was regularly featured in many military publications.