A4W reactor

The A4W reactor is a naval reactor used by the United States Navy to propel warships and generate onboard electricity.

The A4W designation stands for:

• A = Aircraft carrier platform
• 4 = Fourth-generation core designed by the contractor
• W = Westinghouse, the contracted designer

These nuclear fission pressurized water reactors (PWRs) were jointly designed by Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory and Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory^[1] and built by Westinghouse Electric Corporation. Their reactor cores are expected to operate for about 20 years.^[1] The only ships to use these nuclear reactors are the Nimitz class supercarriers, which have two apiece, each of which generates enough steam to produce 140,000 shaft horsepower (104 MW).^[2]

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