--- title: "The Pentagon Is Once Again Considering Early Retirement For One Of Its Aircraft Carriers" description: "The fate of the USS Harry S. Truman, which was spared decommissioning in 2019, is up for review as a cost-saving measure." date: "2021-03-11" modified: "2021-03-11" authors: - name: "Thomas Newdick" job_title: "Staff Writer" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/thomas-newdick.md" url: "https://www.twz.com/39724/the-pentagon-is-once-again-considering-early-retirement-for-one-of-its-aircraft-carriers" categories: - "Americas" - "Around The Globe" - "Carriers" - "Navies" - "News & Features" - "Nimitz Class" - "Sea" - "U.S. Homeland" - "U.S. Navy" - "USS George Washington (CVN-73)" - "USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75)" tags: - "aircraft carrier" - "CVN-75" - "Ford Class" - "Nimitz class" - "Truman" - "U.S. Navy" - "USS Harry S. Truman" - "USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79)" --- # The Pentagon Is Once Again Considering Early Retirement For One Of Its Aircraft Carriers ![]() *www.twz.com* The Pentagon is reportedly revisiting the idea of retiring the U.S. Navy’s *Nimitz* class aircraft carrier [USS *Harry S. Truman*]() early, after having [abandoned the very same proposal]() only a few years ago in the face of [massive pushback from Congress](). This renewed debate is part of larger review of the service plans for its future carrier fleets and overall shipbuilding priorities within the context of the upcoming Fiscal Year 2022 defense budget request. *USNI News* [first reported]() the development yesterday, citing two unnamed sources “familiar with the discussions.” This comes ahead of the Fiscal Year 2022 budget submission to Congress, President Joe Biden’s first, which [reportedly]() seeks to trim the previous Trump administration’s base budget proposal from $722 billion down to no more than $704 billion. The new budget is reportedly expected to be unveiled in May. ![message-editor%2F1615506399018-uss\_harry\_s.\_truman\_cvn-75\_underway\_in\_the\_atlantic\_ocean\_on\_11\_september\_2018\_180911-n-ea818-2106.jpeg]() *USS *Harry S. Truman.*, *USN** The *USNI News* story also describes how House Armed Services Seapower and Projection forces ranking member Congressman Rob Wittman asked U.S. Indo-Pacific Command commander Admiral Phil Davidson yesterday if he thought it would make sense to remove a carrier from the Navy’s 11-strong fleet. “There is no capability that we have that can substitute for an aircraft carrier in my view,” Admiral Davidson responded. A Wittman spokesperson later told the publication that the question was hypothetical and reflected earlier moves to reduce the carrier fleet. Deleting a carrier is, however, just one option seemingly under consideration as the Pentagon weighs up its entire shipbuilding plans under the Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation (CAPE), a wide-ranging review of the future shape of the fleet that also considers alternative carrier studies. Indeed, according to *USNI News*, shipbuilding is the top priority when it comes to the FY 2022 budget request. While you can read more about the implications of CAPE in [this previous story](), one of the options is to look again at the potential offered by a new class of [light aircraft carriers](), or CVLs. In the recent past, the Navy has considered designs based on the aviation-focused [*America* class]() amphibious assault ships as well as a “light” derivative of the *Ford* class supercarriers, among others. A smaller carrier would be cheaper than the *Ford* class and, perhaps, could offer other benefits too, as *The War Zone* has [explored in detail]() in the past. Moreover, they could be a way of retaining the 11-carrier fleet — or expanding to an even larger carrier force — that would also help meet the ambitions of the Navy’s Battle Force 2045 proposal, which you can read about [in these]() previous [*War Zone* pieces](). In fact, the studies for a fleet of 500-plus ships that went into Battle Force 2045 recommended, in some cases, cutting the total number of supercarrier hulls in favor of CVLs. ![message-editor%2F1615500268408-201020-n-io312-1419.jpg]() *The *America* class amphibious assault ship could potentially serve as design a starting point for a new light carrier., *U.S. Navy** Back in 2019, the Trump administration looked at taking the [*Nimitz* class]() nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS *Harry S. Truman* (CVN-75). Under the proposal, the carrier would have been retired early sometime in the mid-2020s and the money saved, it was argued, would have helped fund another two ships (the third and fourth) in the follow-on [*Ford* class](). But the plan to retire *Truman* was abandoned the same year. “I am overriding the Decommission Order of the magnificent aircraft carrier *Harry S. Truman*, built in 1998 (fairly new), and considered one of the largest and finest in the world,” Trump tweeted out in May 2019. “It will be updated at a fraction of the cost of a new one (which also are being built)!” In fact, there was no “decommission order” to rescind, but, for whatever reason, the Trump administration shelved the idea. Now, according to those same sources, the proposal to retire *Truman* is back on the table. In practice, that would likely mean the carrier would be withdrawn from service after around 25 years of use, instead of completing the carrier’s planned mid-life [rehab process](), also known as [Refueling and Complex Overhaul]() (RCOH), that would have made it fit for service through 2048. ![message-editor%2F1615500436248-170804-n-kc543-116.jpg]() *The aircraft carrier USS *George Washington* begins the transit to Newport News, Virginia, to undergo a Refueling and Complex Overhaul., *U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Alora R. Blosch** In 2019, *The War Zone* [looked in detail]() at why the proposal to retire the *Truman* early was unlikely to proceed, not least due to opposition from a Congress that has [enshrined in law]() a requirement for the Navy to have at least 11 carriers in service at any time. That still holds true today. With plans to commission the next *Ford* class carrier, the future [USS *John F. Kennedy*](), in 2024, decommissioning *Truman* could end up with the Navy breaking the law. Meanwhile, the Navy itself has also consistently campaigned for more carriers, not fewer. Back in 2016, for example, the Navy determined that the [optimal number was 12](). ![message-editor%2F1615500539204-kkkaca1.jpeg]() *The future *USS John F. Kennedy* (CVN 79), procured in 2013 and, as of last year, calculated to cost $13 billion., *MC2 RIDGE LEONI/U.S. NAVY** There is also the very real concern that the available carrier fleet is already being pushed close to its limits. Last December, the carrier [USS *Theodore Roosevelt*]() left port to begin its second operational deployment of the year, while the crew of its sister ship [USS *Dwight D. Eisenhower*]() prepared to do the same. Known as “double pump” deployments, these are driven by increasing demand for aircraft carriers to support U.S. military operations around the world, at a time when a significant number of flattops are tied up undergoing maintenance and major overhauls. For its part, the lead ship of the class, USS *Nimitz*, returned to its homeport last month after a grueling 10 months at sea; in the process of that deployment, there was a period when the Navy had [no aircraft carrier]() in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. ![message-editor%2F1615500655190-topshot-nimitz-and-roosevelt-south-china-sea-scaled.jpeg]() *USS *Theodore Roosevelt* sails alongside its sister ship, USS *Nimitz,* in the South China Sea earlier this year., *U.S. NAVY/MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST 3RD CLASS ELLIOT SCHAUDT** Meanwhile, all the other same arguments that were made against decommissioning in 2019 remain relevant today. Prominent among these is the lack of evidence that removing a carrier from the inventory earlier than planned is good value for money. Back then, it was said that $3.4 billion would be needed to keep *Truman* operational for another 25 years, a relative bargain compared to buying a new [*Ford*-class aircraft carrier]() over the same period. Ultimately, the debate over *Truman*’s future may have been more about attempting to secure *additional* funding from Congress, rather than about cutting costs. As it turned out, the *Ford* block buy, used as an argument in favor of retiring *Truman*, was approved anyway. In addition, the process of actually decommissioning a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier is costly in itself, with a price tag of $2.5 billion [back in 2014](). The effort to decommission the USS *Enterprise*, the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, has been notably costly and complicated, a saga you can read about [here](). It is worth bearing in mind, too, that a similar proposal to off another carrier, USS *George Washington*, in 2014 under President Barack Obama, met a similar fate, although in that case, the battle with Congress dragged out for [nearly a year](). ![message-editor%2F1615500805040-5910375561\_5eb4c6ff84\_o.jpg]() *USS *George Washington* (CVN 73) steams in the Indian Ocean in 2011. Three years later, the supercarrier survived proposals calling for its retirement., *U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 2rd Class Adam K. Thomas** Whatever the next defense budget request brings, it is perhaps surprising that consideration is again being given to retiring *Truman* early, only a few years after Congress crushed the very same idea. *Contact the author: thomas@thedrive.com* ## Author Thomas Newdick is a staff writer at *TWZ*, where he covers military aviation, defense technology, weapons systems, and international security. Based in Berlin, Germany, he reports on conflicts, military modernization efforts, and emerging aerospace technologies around the world, with a particular interest in airpower and its role in contemporary warfare. His reporting is informed by deep expertise in modern and historical airpower, particularly in Europe, with a focus on military aviation, air campaigns, and aerospace developments across the continent and beyond. Over a journalism career spanning more than 25 years, Thomas has become known for making complex defense and aerospace topics accessible to a broad audience. His reporting combines technical expertise, historical context, and a focus on the real-world operational and strategic implications of military developments. ### Author social links [Twitter]()