USS Emancipator

The last Nimitz-class aircraft carrier built for the United States Navy (and the first full-sized supercarrier built specifically to support 'bright operations' (metahuman-oriented military operations, as opposed to 'black' or special operations), USS Emancipator is the lead ship in Carrier Strike Group Nineteen.

Construction on Emancipator was begun in early 2007. She was launched in late 2009, and commissioned in mid-2012.

Emancipator has been graded with greater defensive capabilities; she carries 6 Phalanx CIWS systems (future ships are scheduled to replace them with the newly-introduced Gladius CIWS systems), improved RIM-7 Sea Sparrow short-range anti-aircraft/anti-missile weapons, and a single Mark 141 Harpoon SSM missile battery with two missiles (with four more missiles in storage that can be loaded in for further defensive actions. Emancipator also has two M134 miniguns (one to port, one to starboard) as a defense against metahuman boarding actions. In addition, Emancipator has been specifically hardened against NBC attacks; she is particularly hardened against EMP (electromagnetic pulse) attacks.

Emancipator is also equipped for metahuman flight operations (including use of metahuman flight combat operations with or without use of conventional flight equipment); in addition, there is always at least one flight squadron of all metahuman pilots aboard. For USS Emancipator, that is currently VFA-86 (known as the  'Black Rhinos' ), who fly the Boeing F/A-18H Advanced Super Hornet tandem-seat/multi-role fighter.

USS Emancipator is only the second nuclear-powered surface warship permanently stationed outside the continental United States, as her home port is now in Italy, at NSA Naples.

The sister ship to USS Emancipator is USS Dauntless. Built at the same time at Emancipator, her home port is Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.