List of aircraft carriers in service
Encyclopedia
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
s which are currently in service, in reserve or being constructed or rebuilt.
List of countries by aircraft carriers
| Country | Navy | In service | In reserve | Under construction | Being rebuilt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States Navy United States Navy The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S... |
11 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
| Italian Navy Italian Navy Italian Navy may refer to:* Pre-unitarian navies of the Italian states* Regia Marina, the Royal Navy of the Kingdom of Italy * Italian Navy , the navy of the Italian Republic... |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Indian Navy Indian Navy The Indian Navy is the naval branch of the armed forces of India. The President of India serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. The Chief of Naval Staff , usually a four-star officer in the rank of Admiral, commands the Navy... |
1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | |
| Royal Navy Royal Navy The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service... |
1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Brazilian Navy Brazilian Navy The Brazilian Navy is a branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces responsible for conducting naval operations. It is the largest navy in Latin America... |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| French Navy French Navy The French Navy, officially the Marine nationale and often called La Royale is the maritime arm of the French military. It includes a full range of fighting vessels, from patrol boats to a nuclear powered aircraft carrier and 10 nuclear-powered submarines, four of which are capable of launching... |
1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Russian Navy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Spanish Navy Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Armada is responsible for notable achievements in world history such as the discovery of Americas, the first world circumnavigation, and the discovery of a maritime path... |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Royal Thai Navy Royal Thai Navy The Royal Thai Navy is the navy of Thailand and part of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, it was established in the late 19th century. Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartiwongse is "The Father of Royal Thai Navy". Similar to the organizational structure of the United States, the Royal Thai Navy includes the... |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| People's Liberation Army Navy People's Liberation Army Navy The People's Liberation Army Navy is the naval branch of the People's Liberation Army , the military of the People's Republic of China. Until the early 1990s, the navy performed a subordinate role to the PLA Land Forces. Since then, it has undergone rapid modernisation... |
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Carriers in service
| Country | Name | Hull number Hull number Hull number is a serial identification number given to a boat or ship. A lower number implies an older vessel. The precise usage varies by country and type.... |
Tonnage Tonnage Tonnage is a measure of the size or cargo carrying capacity of a ship. The term derives from the taxation paid on tuns or casks of wine, and was later used in reference to the weight of a ship's cargo; however, in modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically refers to a calculation of the volume... |
Class | Type | Commission date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAe São Paulo | A12 | 32,800 tons | Clemenceau Clemenceau class aircraft carrier The Clemenceau class aircraft carrier are a pair of aircraft carriers which served in the French Navy from 1961 through 2000, and of which one currently remains in active service with the Brazilian Navy... |
Conventionally-powered carrier | 15 November 2000 | |
| Charles de Gaulle | R91 | 42,000 tons | - | Nuclear-powered carrier | 18 May 2001 | |
| INS Viraat INS Viraat INS Viraat is a Centaur class aircraft carrier currently in service with the Indian Navy. INS Viraat is the flagship of the Indian Navy, the oldest carrier in service and one of two aircraft carriers in the Indian Ocean Region.The Viraat was completed and commissioned in 1959 as the Royal Navy's... |
R22 | 28,700 tons | Centaur Centaur class aircraft carrier The Centaur class of aircraft carriers of the British Royal Navy was the last of the light fleet carrier designs started during the closing years of World War II.-Ships In Class:HMS Centaur... |
Conventionally-powered STOVL STOVL STOVL is an acronym for short take off and vertical landing.This is the ability of some aircraft to take off from a short runway or take off vertically if it does not have a very heavy payload and land vertically... carrier |
20 May 1987 | |
| Conte di Cavour | 550 | 27,100 tons | - | Conventionally-powered STOVL carrier | 27 March 2008 | |
| Giuseppe Garibaldi | 551 | 13,850 tons | - | Conventionally-powered STOVL carrier | 30 September 1985 | |
| Admiral Kuznetsov | 063 | 55,000 tons | Admiral Kuznetsov | Conventionally-powered STOBAR STOBAR STOBAR is a system used for the launch and recovery of aircraft from the deck of an aircraft carrier, combining elements of both STOVL and CATOBAR .Aircraft launch under their own power using a ski-jump to assist take-off STOBAR (Short Take Off But Arrested Recovery) is a system used for the... carrier |
21 January 1991 | |
| Principe de Asturias Spanish aircraft carrier Principe de Asturias The Príncipe de Asturias , originally named Almirante Carrero Blanco, is an aircraft carrier, the flagship of the Spanish Navy... |
R11 | 16,700 tons | - | Conventionally-powered STOVL carrier | 30 May 1988 | |
| HTMS Chakri Naruebet | CVH-911 | 11,400 tons | - | Conventionally-powered STOVL carrier | 10 August 1997 | |
| HMS Illustrious HMS Illustrious (R06) HMS Illustrious is the second of three Invincible-class light aircraft carriers built for the Royal Navy in the late 1970s and early 1980s. She is the fifth warship and second aircraft carrier to bear the name Illustrious, and is affectionately known as "Lusty" to her crew... |
R06 | 22,000 tons | Invincible Invincible class aircraft carrier The Invincible class is a class of light aircraft carrier operated by the British Royal Navy. Three ships were constructed, , and . The vessels were built as aviation-capable anti-submarine warfare platforms to counter the Cold War North Atlantic Soviet submarine threat, and initially embarked... |
Conventionally-powered STOVL carrier | 20 June 1982 | |
| USS Enterprise USS Enterprise (CVN-65) USS Enterprise , formerly CVA-65, is the world's first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and the eighth US naval vessel to bear the name. Like her predecessor of World War II fame, she is nicknamed the "Big E". At , she is the longest naval vessel in the world... |
CVN-65 | 94,700 tons | - | Nuclear-powered supercarrier Supercarrier Supercarrier is an unofficial descriptive term for the largest type of aircraft carrier, usually displacing over 70,000 long tons.Supercarrier is an unofficial descriptive term for the largest type of aircraft carrier, usually displacing over 70,000 long tons.Supercarrier is an unofficial... |
25 November 1961 | |
| USS Nimitz | CVN-68 | 100,000 tons | Nimitz Nimitz class aircraft carrier The Nimitz-class supercarriers are a class of ten nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in service with the United States Navy. With an overall length of and full-load displacements of over 100,000 long tons, they are the largest capital ships in the world... |
Nuclear-powered supercarrier | 3 May 1975 | |
| USS Dwight D. Eisenhower USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) USS Dwight D. Eisenhower is an aircraft carrier currently in service with the United States Navy. Commissioned in 1977, the ship is the second of the ten Nimitz-class supercarriers currently in service, and is the first ship named after the thirty-fourth President of the United States, Dwight D.... |
CVN-69 | 101,600 tons | Nimitz | Nuclear-powered supercarrier | 18 October 1977 | |
| USS Carl Vinson USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) The USS Carl Vinson is the third United States Navy Nimitz class supercarrier and is named after Carl Vinson, a Congressman from Georgia. Carl Vinson's callsign is "Gold Eagle". It played host to the first NCAA basketball game on an aircraft carrier on 11/11/11 between the University of North... |
CVN-70 | 101,300 tons | Nimitz | Nuclear-powered supercarrier | 13 March 1982 | |
| USS Theodore Roosevelt USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) USS Theodore Roosevelt is the fourth Nimitz-class supercarrier. Her radio call sign is Rough Rider, the name of President Theodore Roosevelt's volunteer cavalry unit during the Spanish-American War... |
CVN-71 | 104,600 tons | Nimitz | Nuclear-powered supercarrier | 25 October 1986 | |
| USS Abraham Lincoln USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) USS Abraham Lincoln , is the fifth Nimitz-class supercarrier in the United States Navy. She is the second Navy ship named after former president Abraham Lincoln. Her home port is Everett, Washington.-Construction:... |
CVN-72 | 100,000 tons | Nimitz | Nuclear-powered supercarrier | 11 November 1989 | |
| USS George Washington USS George Washington (CVN-73) USS George Washington is an American nuclear-powered supercarrier, the sixth ship in the Nimitz class and the fourth United States Navy ship to be named after George Washington, the first President of the United States... |
CVN-73 | 104,200 tons | Nimitz | Nuclear-powered supercarrier | 4 July 1992 | |
| USS John C. Stennis USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74) USS John C. Stennis is the seventh Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier in the United States Navy, named for Senator John C. Stennis of Mississippi. She was commissioned on 9 December 1995... |
CVN-74 | 103,300 tons | Nimitz | Nuclear-powered supercarrier | 9 December 1995 | |
| USS Harry S. Truman USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) USS Harry S. Truman is the eighth Nimitz-class supercarrier of the United States Navy, named after the 33rd President of the United States, Harry S. Truman. HSTs callsign is Lone Warrior and is currently homeported at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia.Harry S... |
CVN-75 | 103,900 tons | Nimitz | Nuclear-powered supercarrier | 25 July 1998 | |
| USS Ronald Reagan USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) USS Ronald Reagan is a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier in the service of the United States Navy. The ninth ship of her class, she is named in honor of former President Ronald Reagan, President of the United States from 1981 to 1989... |
CVN-76 | 101,400 tons | Nimitz | Nuclear-powered supercarrier | 12 July 2003 | |
| USS George H. W. Bush | CVN-77 | 102,000 tons | Nimitz | Nuclear-powered supercarrier | 10 January 2009 |
Carriers in reserve
| Country | Name | Hull number Hull number Hull number is a serial identification number given to a boat or ship. A lower number implies an older vessel. The precise usage varies by country and type.... |
Tonnage Tonnage Tonnage is a measure of the size or cargo carrying capacity of a ship. The term derives from the taxation paid on tuns or casks of wine, and was later used in reference to the weight of a ship's cargo; however, in modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically refers to a calculation of the volume... |
Class | Type | Commission date | Decommission date | In reserve until |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USS Kitty Hawk USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) The supercarrier USS Kitty Hawk , formerly CVA-63, was the second naval ship named after Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the site of the Wright brothers' first powered airplane flight... |
CV-63 | 81,985 tons | Kitty Hawk Kitty Hawk class aircraft carrier The Kitty Hawk-class supercarriers of the United States Navy were an incremental improvement on the Forrestal-class vessels. Four were built, all in the 1960s, , , and... |
Conventionally-powered supercarrier | 21 April 1961 | 31 January 2009 | 2015 |
Carriers under construction or being rebuilt
| Country | Name | Hull number Hull number Hull number is a serial identification number given to a boat or ship. A lower number implies an older vessel. The precise usage varies by country and type.... |
Tonnage Tonnage Tonnage is a measure of the size or cargo carrying capacity of a ship. The term derives from the taxation paid on tuns or casks of wine, and was later used in reference to the weight of a ship's cargo; however, in modern maritime usage, "tonnage" specifically refers to a calculation of the volume... |
Class | Type | Commission date | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shi Lang Varyag -People:*Varangians, ancestors of the Rus' sometimes called "Vikings" in English publications*Variags of Khand, a people of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium- Ships :... |
- | 60,000 tons | Varyag Soviet aircraft carrier Varyag Varyag was to be an Admiral Kuznetsov class multirole aircraft carrier of the Soviet Union. She was known as Riga when her keel was laid down at Shipyard 444 in Nikolayev December 6, 1985. Design of the carrier was undertaken by the Nevskoye Planning and Design Bureau... |
Conventionally-powered STOBAR STOBAR STOBAR is a system used for the launch and recovery of aircraft from the deck of an aircraft carrier, combining elements of both STOVL and CATOBAR .Aircraft launch under their own power using a ski-jump to assist take-off STOBAR (Short Take Off But Arrested Recovery) is a system used for the... carrier |
2015 (expected) | Undergoing trials | |
| INS Vikramaditya INS Vikramaditya INS Vikramaditya is the new name for the former Soviet aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov, which has been procured by India, and is estimated to enter service in the Indian Navy after 2012.... |
- | 44,570 tons | Admiral Gorshkov Soviet aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov Admiral Gorshkov was a modified Kiev class aircraft carrier of the Russian Navy, originally named Baku. Sometimes Gorshkov is considered a separate class due to its improvements including a phased array radar, extensive electronic warfare installations, and an enlarged command and control suite... |
Conventionally-powered STOBAR carrier | 2012 (planned) | Undergoing trials | |
| INS Vikrant | - | 40,000 tons | Vikrant | Conventionally-powered STOBAR carrier | 2014 (expected) | Under construction | |
| INS Vishal | - | 65,000 tons | Vikrant | Conventionally-powered carrier | 2017 (expected) | Under construction | |
| HMS Queen Elizabeth | R08 | 65,600 tons | Queen Elizabeth | Conventionally-powered supercarrier Supercarrier Supercarrier is an unofficial descriptive term for the largest type of aircraft carrier, usually displacing over 70,000 long tons.Supercarrier is an unofficial descriptive term for the largest type of aircraft carrier, usually displacing over 70,000 long tons.Supercarrier is an unofficial... |
2020 (expected) | Under construction | |
| HMS Prince of Wales | R09 | 65,600 tons | Queen Elizabeth | Conventionally-powered supercarrier | 2023 (expected) | Under construction | |
| USS Gerald R. Ford | CVN-78 | 100,000 tons | Ford | Nuclear-powered supercarrier | 2015 (expected) | Under construction | |
| USS John F. Kennedy | CVN-79 | 100,000 tons | Ford | Nuclear-powered supercarrier | 2018 (expected) | Ordered | |
| CVN-80 (unnamed) | CVN-80 | 100,000 tons | Ford | Nuclear-powered supercarrier | 2021 (expected) | Ordered |
See also
- List of aircraft carriers (all time)
- List of aircraft carriers by country
- List of aircraft carriers by configuration
- Timeline for aircraft carrier serviceTimeline for aircraft carrier serviceAircraft carriers have their origins during the days of World War I. The earliest experiments constisted of fitting temporary "flying off" platforms to the gun turrets of the warships of several nations, notably the United States and the United Kingdom...
- List of sunken aircraft carriers