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Aircraft carrier

Aircraft carriers are large warships designed to launch and recover aircrafts, acting like sea-going airbases. This allows the navy to quickly deploy aircrafts without having to relay on local airbases.
In modern naval warfare an aircraft carrier acts as a capital ship of the fleet. This role has been previously played by a battleship. Battleships in the past were able to fire a large amount of high caliber shells and score a small percent of hits at a range of aproximatively 45 km. Today's aircraft carriers are capable to launch aircrafts that carry high precision smart weapons at a range measured in hundreds of kilometers. This way an aircraft carrier fullfills the mission of a battleship more accurately. Aircraft carriers are considered vulnerable to be attacked by other ships so they usually travel as part of a battle group or a carrier battle group.


Aircraft carrier classes

U.S. Navy China France United Kingdom
Pre World War II era Acquired carriers Active carriers Active carriers
Langley Lexington Ranger Yorktown Wasp Admiral Kuznetsov Charles de Gaulle R91 Invincible
World War II era
Essex Independence Sable Wolverine
Cold War era
Enterprise Forrestal John F. Kennedy Kitty Hawk Midway Nimitz Saipan United States
Post Cold War era
Gerald R. Ford


See also

List of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy


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