Carriers, ships & the fleet
Navy Ships & Fleet
Plain-English explainers on the ships of the U.S. Navy — how many there are, what they do and how the fleet is changing.
U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Tajh Payne
No guides here yet. Try the search, or browse all guides.
Buying guides
Gear worth a look
Navy Ships & Fleet: common questions
How many aircraft carriers does the U.S. Navy have?
Eleven nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are in commission: ten Nimitz-class ships and USS Gerald R. Ford. Federal law requires the Navy to keep at least eleven.
Where do these numbers come from?
We use the Navy’s own fact files and the Naval Vessel Register, plus reporting from specialist outlets such as USNI News. Fleet numbers change, so every guide shows when it was last checked.
Is NavyMentor an official Navy source?
No. NavyMentor is an independent publication. For official information, use Navy.mil and the Naval Vessel Register.