Top to bottom: USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) alongside Nimitz class carriers USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) & USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76). Pinterest
David Axe, National Interest: The U.S. Navy's Dream: 12 Aircraft Carriers (But It Can't Happen Until 2060)
A new report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) throws cold water on the prospects for 12 carriers. According to the CRS, it might take the Navy until the 2060s to stabilize the carrier fleet at a dozen vessels. Even that might be optimistic.
The U.S. Navy is struggling to grow its fleet of aircraft carriers.
In December 2016, then-Navy secretary Ray Mabus announced a new force-structure goal for the U.S. fleet. Under Mabus's plan, the sailing branch would expand from around 280 front-line warships to 355 in order to better compete with the growing Chinese navy.
The larger fleet would include 12 large aircraft carriers, up from 11 in the fleet in 2019. China commissioned its first carrier in 2012 and commission its second flattop in 2019. A third Chinese carrier is under construction in Shanghai.
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WNU Editor: It is all a question of money and resources, something that the U.S. Navy is not going to get. My suggestion. Build smaller aircraft carriers.
