Original vintage 1970s Collins Radio Company advertisement, "When the fleet sails, Collins sails with it."
 
The Nimitz class is a class of ten nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in service with the USN.  The lead ship of the class is named after World War II United States Pacific Fleet Commander Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who was the last living USN officer to hold the rank.
 
Since the 1970s, Nimitz-class carriers have participated in many conflicts and operations across the world, including Operation Eagle Claw in Iran, the 1991 Gulf War, and more recently in Iraq and Afghanistan during the Global War on Terror.
 
Oh – and also the iconic films, “Top Gun” (1986), and the newly relevant “Clear and Present Danger” (1994).
 
Dimensions: Approx. 8.25 inches wide by 11 inches high.
 
The Nimitz-Class Aircraft Carrier
With an overall length of 1,092 ft (333 m) and a full-load displacement of over 100,000 long tons (100,000 t), the Nimitz-class ships were the largest warships built and in service until USS Gerald R. Ford entered the fleet in 2017.  As noted, 10 were made, with each carrier costing approx. US$8.5 billion in FY 2012 dollars (equal to US$11.2 billion now).
 
As a result of nuclear power, the ships are capable of operating for over 20 years without refueling and are predicted to have a service life of over 50 years.  They are categorized as nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and are numbered with consecutive hull numbers from CVN-68 to CVN-77.
 
All ten carriers were constructed by NNS in Virginia; the lead ship of the class, the USS Nimitz, was commissioned on 3 May 1975, and USS George H. W. Bush, the tenth and last of the class, was commissioned on 10 January 2009.  
 
An embarked carrier air wing comprising around 64 aircraft is normally deployed on board, and the air wings' strike fighters are primarily F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornets.  In addition to their aircraft, the vessels carry short-range defensive weaponry for anti-aircraft warfare and missile defense.
 
When an aircraft carrier deploys, it takes a Carrier Strike Group (CSG), made up of several other warships and supply vessels that allow the operation to be carried out.  The armament of the Nimitz class is made up only of short-range defensive weapons, used as a last line of defense against enemy missiles and aircraft.
 
As with all surface ships, an aircraft carrier is particularly vulnerable to attack from below, specifically from submarines.  An aircraft carrier is an expensive, hard to replace, and a strategically valuable asset, and therefore holds immense value as a target.
 
As a result of its target value and vulnerability, aircraft carriers are always escorted by at least one submarine for protection.  The other vessels in the Strike Group provide additional capabilities, such as long-range Tomahawk missiles or the Aegis Combat System, and protect the carrier from attack.  A typical Strike Group may include, in addition to an aircraft carrier: up to six surface combatants, including guided-missile cruisers and guided-missile destroyers, used primarily for anti-aircraft warfare and anti-submarine warfare, and frigates/guided-missile frigates, prior to their retirement from USN service.
 
Also making up part of the group is one or two attack submarines for seeking out and destroying hostile surface ships and submarines and an ammunition, oiler, and supply ship from Military Sealift Command to provide logistical support. The numbers and types of vessels that make up each strike group can vary from group to group, depending on deployments, mission, and availability.
 
Collins Radio Company
Rockwell Collins, Inc. was a multinational corporation headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, providing avionics and information technology systems and services to government agencies and aircraft manufacturers.  It was formed when the Collins Radio Company, facing financial difficulties, was purchased by Rockwell International in 1973.
 
It was acquired by United Technologies Corporation on November 27, 2018, and since then operates as part of Collins Aerospace, a subsidiary of the RTX Corporation (formerly Raytheon Technologies).  Arthur A. Collins founded Collins Radio Company in 1933 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and the company designed and produced both shortwave radio equipment and equipment for the AM radio broadcast industry.  
 
Collins supplied the military, the scientific community, and the larger AM radio stations with equipment, to include providing the equipment to establish a communications link with the South Pole expedition of Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd in 1933. Throughout World War II, the company provided many systems to the U.S. military, and became the principal supplier of radio and navigation equipment used in the military.
In the postwar years, the Collins Radio Company expanded its work in the communications field, while broadening its technology into flight-control instruments, radio-communication devices, and satellite voice transmissions.  Collins provided communications for the United States' role in the Space Race, including equipment for astronauts to communicate with earth stations and equipment to track and communicate with spacecraft.  Collins communications equipment was used for Projects Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo.  In 1973, the U.S. Skylab program used Collins equipment to provide communication from the astronauts to Earth.
 
After facing financial difficulties, the Collins Radio Company was purchased by Rockwell International in 1973.  In 2001, the avionics division of Rockwell International was spun off to form Rockwell Collins, Inc, retaining its name. Rockwell Collins was highly concentrated in the defense and commercial avionics markets, and no longer marketed receivers to the public.
 
On September 4, 2017, United Technologies of Farmington, Connecticut, agreed to acquire the company for $30 billion.