U.S. Uses USS Nimitz Aircraft Carrier to Train U.S. Navy Pilots Ahead of Deactivation.

The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) has completed an Atlantic training period supporting carrier qualifications for F/A-18E/F Super Hornet aviators and students flying T-45C Goshawk trainers. The activity gave pilots entering or returning to fleet service experience launching from and landing aboard a carrier, while keeping the ship engaged in aviation training ahead of its eventual deactivation.

An F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 106 launches from USS Nimitz during carrier qualifications in the Atlantic Ocean on November 3, 2026, supporting training for aviators entering or returning to fleet service. (Picture source: U.S. Department of War/Defense)

Key Tactical Insights:

• U.S. Navy fleet aviation training: U.S. Navy Nimitz aircraft carrier supported both Super Hornet carrier qualifications and student training, providing flight deck access at different stages of naval aviator development.

• U.S. aircraft carrier pilots training progression: T-45C carrier operations bring students beyond classroom, simulator, and shore-based flying into the launch-and-recovery environment they must master for carrier aviation.

• Continuing contribution: Further qualification periods are planned before deactivation, extending the ship’s training role. The U.S. Navy’s report does not specify how many aviators completed qualification.

The U.S. Navy USS Nimitz (CVN 68) aircraft carrier returned to Naval Station Norfolk on November 9, 2026, according to a report released by the ship’s public affairs team. The underway period included 103 sorties, 442 arrested landings and 152 touch-and-go landings. These are activity totals; they do not indicate how many pilots qualified.

Following recertification of its Carrier Air Traffic Control Center, the carrier supported Carrier Air Wing 1 and Strike Fighter Squadron 106, the “Gladiators.” The fleet replacement squadron’s participants included aviators preparing for their initial fleet assignments and experienced personnel returning from sea-duty positions without flying responsibilities. Student aviators from Training Air Wings 1 and 2 subsequently conducted carrier training in T-45C aircraft.

From shore-based preparation to carrier landings

The T-45C is a carrier-capable jet trainer with a digital cockpit. The U.S. Naval Air Systems Command describes the Goshawk training system as combining aircraft, simulators and academic instruction to prepare Navy and Marine Corps pilots for carrier aviation and tactical flying. Its role is to develop the skills needed before transition to fleet aircraft.

Carrier qualification builds on extensive preparation ashore. Training Squadron 9, part of Training Air Wing 1, describes training that progresses through instrument flying, aircraft handling, formation, and tactical instruction before field carrier landing practice. Its published carrier qualification sequence includes four touch-and-go landings and ten arrested landings at sea. These published requirements provide context for the training process; the Nimitz report does not give individual students’ results.

The shipboard environment also depends on coordinated launch and recovery equipment. Catapults accelerate aircraft for takeoff, while a landing aircraft’s tailhook engages a transverse deck wire to stop it. NAVAIR identifies the Mk-7 arresting gear as the recovery system used aboard Nimitz-class carriers. Qualification therefore involves operating within the carrier’s deck procedures and equipment as well as flying the aircraft itself.

Why carrier pilot training is exceptionally demanding

Landing aboard an aircraft carrier requires pilots to manage a precise approach to a moving flight deck, with limited space for touchdown and arrestment. A U.S. Navy account of carrier aviation describes how deck movement and disturbed airflow behind the ship complicate the transition from shore-based practice to sea operations. These conditions require pilots to make timely corrections close to the landing area, where maintaining the correct flight path is critical.

Darkness adds another challenge to carrier landings, making precise approach control and coordination with landing signal officers particularly important. These specially trained naval aviators help guide aircraft safely onto the flight deck.

The difficulty also explains why qualification must be supported by continued practice. U.S. Fleet Forces Command states that field carrier landing practice is required before carrier landing operations and that pilots of all experience levels must routinely practice these skills to maintain currency and proficiency. Returning aviators therefore need opportunities to rebuild and demonstrate the precision required at sea. A previous deployment does not eliminate the need for recurrent training.

Qualified aviators underpin U.S. carrier power

For the United States, maintaining a supply of carrier-qualified pilots is directly connected to the military value of its aircraft carriers. The Navy describes the carrier strike group and its embarked air wing as a combined force whose aviation capabilities enable power projection. The operational implication is straightforward: a flight deck and available aircraft require proficient aircrews to generate usable airpower. Training capacity is therefore part of carrier readiness.

Carrier aviation gives U.S. commanders options to engage threats in the air, at sea and ashore while supporting American and coalition forces. Maintaining those options requires aviators who can conduct their missions and recover safely aboard ship afterward. Repeated launch-and-recovery training supports the ability to sustain flying operations, rather than simply demonstrating that an aircraft can take off from a carrier once.

Nimitz’s training role consequently has significance beyond the individual qualification period. Providing opportunities for students and returning fleet aviators helps sustain the personnel skills on which other carriers and air wings depend. This is a continuing readiness contribution, although the reported activity totals alone cannot establish its effect on fleet-wide pilot availability or deployment readiness.

The U.S. Navy plans additional Nimitz carrier qualification periods before deactivation. Its immediate continuing contribution is flight deck time for aviator training, with the schedule and qualification results of those future periods still unspecified.

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Written by Alain Servaes – Chief Editor, Army Recognition Group
Alain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis on military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.