Do the U.S. Navy's Aircraft Carriers Still Rule the Seas?

USS Gerald R. Ford steams in the Atlantic Ocean in 2019. The newest U.S. aircraft carrier cost a hefty $13 billion to develop

- By Kyle Mizokami

ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO, THE U.S. Navy commissioned one of the most unusual-and controversial-ships ever to enter the fleet. The USS Jupiter, a veteran coal transport, emerged from the shipyards at Portsmouth, Virginia, and was transformed into the new USS Langley, the Navy's first true aircraft carrier.

Today, the carrier is still the centerpiece of the battle fleet, and the service's carriers still have the same mission: to project air power from the sea. And while bigger and more capable than ever, carriers are also more expensive and vulnerable than ever.

New threats from Russia and China could spell the end of carriers, or force them to innovate into a new craft that will continue to dominate the maritime domain.

TODAY'S CARRIERS

The U.S. Navy operates a fleet of 11 aircraft carriers, 10 Nimitz-class carriers, and a new Ford-class carrier. All are nuclear powered and typically embark a carrier air wing of dozens of aircraft, including the likes of F/A/-18E/F Super Hornets, F-35C Joint Strike Fighters, and Seahawk helicopters.

Ten are based in the United States, split between the coasts. One carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, is homeported at Yokosuka, Japan. At least three carriers are at sea at all times, with another three returning from a deployment or preparing for one. The remaining carriers are typically undergoing lengthy overhaul and modernization processes that leave them undeployable for two to four years.