Although the US Navy has 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in active service, only around half are deployed at any given time—with the rest in port or undergoing maintenance.

The United States Navy operates the largest fleet of nuclear-powered supercarriers in the world, though China is trying to catch up.

How Many Aircraft Carriers Does the US Have?

The Navy maintains 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, including 10 of the Nimitz-class and one of the Gerald R. Ford-class. With 11 carriers in active service, the US Navy has more than the navies of China, the UK, India, France, Italy, and Spain—combined!

In the coming decades, the older Nimitz-class carriers will be replaced by the newer Ford class on a one-for-one basis. The next such replacement is slated for spring 2027, when the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) will be retired from service as the USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79) is commissioned.

The US Code, specifically 10 USC § 5062, mandates that the US Navy maintain at least 11 operational aircraft carriers in its fleet. Yet the status and actual “availability” of the carriers are not always as cut-and-dry as they seem. Rarely are more than five or six deployed at a time, with the rest undergoing short-term or long-term maintenance in port.

Here is the current status of the US Navy’s aircraft carriers:

USS Nimitz (CVN-68)

• Commissioned: May 3, 1975
• Current Status: In Port (Norfolk, Virginia)

The United States Navy’s oldest active nuclear-powered supercarrier arrived at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, in mid-July, completing a homeport shift from Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton, Washington. The USS Nimitz (CVN-68), which also became the longest-serving aircraft carrier in US Navy history in May, had spent the Fourth of July holiday weekend in New York City, leading the International Naval Review 250.

CVN-68 departed from Naval Base Kitsap in March and sailed around South America, transiting the Strait of Magellan in April, as the warship—as well as all other current United States Navy aircraft carriers—is too large to transit the Panama Canal. The lead vessel of the US Navy’s Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarriers took part in a goodwill/farewell tour as part of the United States Navy’s Southern Seas 2026 deployment, which included multiple port visits along the way. The warship took part in joint exercises with the maritime forces of US partners throughout Latin America. It hosted multiple foreign dignitaries and government officials, including the presidents of Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay.

The journey is expected to be the final one for the carrier that first entered service in May 1976. Current plans call for the carrier to be decommissioned next March, after which she will head to Huntington Ingalls Industries Newport News Shipbuilding facility in Newport News, Virginia, and begin a recycling process that is expected to take several years. It will begin with the defueling of the ship’s two nuclear reactors.

Background: Named after Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, the United States Navy’s last five-star admiral, the keel of the USS Nimitz (CVN-68) was laid on June 22, 1968. The largest warship at the time of her commissioning on May 3, 1975, she has served in the Navy for more than 50 years.

As a floating airbase, USS Nimitz is typically embarked with approximately 60 aircraft, including a variety of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft with up to 90 of various types. The aircraft now include F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, F/A-18 Hornets, E-2 Hawkeyes, EA-6B Prowlers, and MH-60 Seahawk helicopters. The carriers could also deploy the S-3B Viking, before it was phased out and replaced by the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69)

• Commissioned: October 18, 1977
• Current Status: In Port (Norfolk, Virginia)

USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) continues to prepare for her next deployment. The second-oldest Nimitz-class supercarrier completed her sea trials in April, for an expected deployment in late 2026 or early 2027.

However, the US Navy continues to face a high operational tempo as several other aircraft carriers are either undergoing long-term maintenance or complex overhauls, which could necessitate that pre-deployment training and certifications for the “Ike” are compressed. That could require that crews push through accelerated “workup” cycles and execute condensed major evaluation exercises, notably the COMPTUEX.

Moreover, even as CVN-68 is now the longest-serving carrier, the record could be surpassed by the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, which was commissioned on October 18, 1977. As the future USS Enterprise (CVN-80), the third Gerald R. Ford-class supercarrier, is running late, current plans call for CVN-69 to remain in service until late 2029 or early 2030, and perhaps even longer. The exact retirement will be subject to Congressional funding, as well as the overall condition of the vessel. US law requires that at least 11 nuclear-powered supercarriers are in service, and that could keep the Ike sailing longer than was ever expected.

Background: The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) is the second-oldest nuclear-powered flattop in service in the world today. However, like the USS Nimitz, her days are also numbered; she is currently scheduled to be replaced around 2029, when the new Gerald R. Ford-class supercarrier USS Enterprise (CVN-80) enters service. The current timeline is already later than the originally planned 2028 retirement date, due to delays in the Ford-class program.

Named in honor of the 34th president of the United States and General of the Army, Congress authorized construction of the carrier in 1970, which it commissioned seven years later. 

Over its lengthy service history, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower has been deployed to a litany of combat operations. The ship’s first deployment was during the ill-fated Operation Eagle Claw during the 1980 Iran hostage crisis. A decade later, one of the carrier’s most notable deployments took place during Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990. CVN-69 made history when she became the second nuclear-powered carrier ever to pass through the Suez Canal.

The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower hosts Carrier Air Wing Three, sometimes known as the “Battle Axe.” Its air wing has a total of 90 aircraft, including F/A-18 Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, E-2 Hawkeyes, C-2 Greyhounds, and MH-60 Seahawk helicopters.

USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70)

• Commissioned: March 13, 1982
• Current Status: In Port (San Diego, California)

The third Nimitz-class aircraft carrier returned from a nine-month deployment last August and likely won’t head out again until the end of 2026 or early 2027. 

However, last month, the San Diego-based USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) completed its Planned Incremental Availability (PIA) at Naval Air Station North Island. The extended maintenance period, which includes deep repairs and modernizations to ensure the warship will meet its intended 50-year service life, began last November.

The PIA involved a team of civilians, government contractors, and sailors from the flattop.

“This availability was vital to enhancing and upgrading Carl Vinson to maintain operational readiness,” said Capt. Joshua Wenker, commanding officer of the supercarrier. “Through the combined efforts of our Sailors, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard teammates, supporting commands from across the country, and a dedicated civilian workforce, America’s Favorite Carrier has successfully completed this maintenance phase, becoming an even more capable and resilient combat-ready force, prepared to execute any mission around the globe.”

The PIA focused on all areas of the ship.

“Our Sailors’ efforts were vital in preparing Carl Vinson to return to sea,” added Cmdr. Paul Novess, CVN-70’s maintenance officer. “It was my honor to bring Sailors from all rates into our 13 production teams to safely execute more than 359,000 man hours of maintenance.”

“America’s Favorite Carrier”—a nickname the carrier earned after it conducted the burial at sea for terrorist Osama bin Laden in 2011, as well as for its long track record of high-profile deployments—was commissioned into the US Navy in March 1982. The moniker further honors its namesake, the long-serving Georgia Congressman Carl Vinson, who is widely known as the “Father of the Two-Ocean Navy” for his instrumental legislation that expanded US naval strength before World War II.

Background: The third Nimitz-class nuclear-powered supercarrier, USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), is named for the late Carl Vinson (D-GA), who represented the Peach State in the House of Representatives for a remarkable 51 years—and earned the nicknames “Swamp Fox” and “the Admiral” for his support of naval affairs. Although he never served in the Navy, Vinson served as chairman of the House Naval Affairs Committee in 1931 and played a pivotal role in guiding the US Navy through World War II and the early Cold War. He was a strong advocate of the Two-Ocean Navy Act, which dramatically increased the naval budget by 70 percent.

The USS Carl Vinson was launched in 1980 and officially entered service in 1983. During more than four decades in service, the carrier has earned multiple Battle Effectiveness Awards (Battle “E”) for her role in naval operations in 1990, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2004, 2011, 2015, and 2018. USS Carl Vinson has been awarded additional honors, including the Navy Unit Commendation, the Meritorious Unit Commendation, and the Sea Service Deployment Ribbon. Following the successful Navy SEAL raid that led to the killing of Osama bin Laden, the terrorist leader’s body was buried at sea in 2011 from the deck of the warship.

During her most recent deployment, CVN-70 took part in Exercise Pacific Steller 2025 with the Maritime Nationale (French Navy) and the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) in the Philippine Sea, and in the subsequent Exercise Freedom Shield 25, carried out joint aerial drills with the United States Air Force and the Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF).

In March, USS Carl Vinson was ordered to the Middle East and arrived in April, when it carried out strikes on the Houthi militants in Yemen as part of Operation Rough Rider. During the deployment, the carrier and its strike group sailed more than 275,000 nautical miles, and its air wing conducted in excess of 10,000 sorties.

The Carl Vinson is supported by Carrier Air Wing Two, consisting of nine air squadrons, or around 90 aircraft. CVW-2 flies F/A-18 Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, E-2 Hawkeyes, and MH-60 Seahawk helicopters—as well as the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft and the F-35C Lightning II, the carrier version of the F-35.

USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)

• Commissioned: October 25, 1986
• Current Status: Deployed (Eastern Pacific)

CVN-71, the flagship of Carrier Strike Group 9, is now leading the 2026 Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercises, which began on June 24 and will run through July 31. Currently, more than 30 nations, with approximately 40 surface ships, five submarines, and 140 aircraft, are expected to take part in what is now the world’s largest international maritime warfare exercise.

For the USS Theodore Roosevelt, this summer’s RIMPAC kicked off on June 27, when the flattop hosted more than 45 international partners from eight countries during an international helicopter warfighter exchange at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.

In addition to military pilots from the United States, the exchange saw rotary wing aviators from South Korea, Italy, Peru, Chile, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and Mexico take part, where they discussed different procedures and a multitude of aviation challenges as a way to foster a strengthened relationship.

“The event was designed to build trust, improve communication and support cooperation among the different countries,” the Department of Defense announced.

CVN-71 departed its homeport of San Diego on June 15, 2026, and arrived in Hawaii on June 23, in advance of RIMPAC maritime exercises.

Background: The fourth Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, CVN-71 is named for Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt, the 26th president. 

USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) was the first US Navy aircraft carrier to be assembled in large sections, or modules. Much like building a model, innovative construction techniques have been used on every aircraft carrier since. The use of modules also sped her construction; she was launched in October 1984 and commissioned two years later, in October 1986. The carrier began her maiden deployment in late December 1988 with Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8) embarked.

CVN-71 is now one of the most decorated warships of the post-Cold War era. Her awards include a Joint Meritorious Unit Award, three Navy Unit Commendations, five Battle Efficiency Awards (Battle “E”), two National Defense Service Medals, two Security Excellence Awards, and a Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, among others. The warship was also awarded a NATO Medal, as well as Kuwait Liberation Medals from both Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

USS Theodore Roosevelt is home to Carrier Air Wing Eleven. Like its sister air wings, CVW-11 has a strength of roughly 90 aircraft, including F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers, E-2C Hawkeyes, C-2A Greyhounds and MH-60R/S Seahawk helicopters.

USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72)

• Commissioned: November 11, 1989
• Current Status: Deployed (Arabian Sea); participating in Iran operations

The United States Navy’s fifth Nimitz-class supercarrier remains deployed to the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility, where CVN-72 has been supporting the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.

The USS Abraham Lincoln began her current deployment on November 21, 2025, and as of Monday, has been at sea for 234 days. What is notable is that the carrier has spent most of the past eight months at sea without making any port calls. The flagship of Carrier Strike Group 3 hasn’t been in a port since December 12, 2025, when it made a one-day visit to Naval Base Guam.

Such port calls usually allow the crew to disembark and enjoy some “liberty”; however, the stop in Guam was so brief that it is unlikely much of the crew was granted an opportunity to step on solid ground. Until mid-January, CVN-72 was operating in the Indo-Pacific when she was ordered to the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility.

Given the shortage of US Navy carriers, there is growing speculation that the USS Abraham Lincoln could remain in the Middle East if a peace deal fails to be reached with Iran. Although it would have months to go to even start to close in on the record deployment of the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), for the sailors of CVN-72, simply visiting any port might be welcome at this point.

Background: The second US Navy vessel named after the 16th president—after the Cold War-era George Washington-class ballistic missile submarine—CVN-72 was commissioned in November 1989. Over the past three and a half decades in service, USS Abraham Lincoln has carried out multiple humanitarian missions in the Persian Gulf and Pacific region. It has taken part in multiple combat operations.

USS Abraham Lincoln arrived in San Diego in December 2024, ending her previous deployment and participating in numerous exercises, including Northern Edge 2025. CVN-72 was initially deployed in August 2024 to the Indo-Pacific region, but was ordered to the Red Sea in August to relieve USS Theodore Roosevelt, as part of the service’s ongoing carrier rotation in the Middle East.

In late 2024, while operating as part of CENTCOM’s 5th Fleet, USS Abraham Lincoln conducted air strikes on the Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen. That included the first-ever combat sortie of a Lockheed Martin F-35C Lightning II, the carrier-based variant of the Joint Strike Fighter. In November, F-35C aircraft, assigned to Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314 (VMFA-314), “conducted multiple strikes on Houthi weapons storage facilities within Houthi-controlled territories in Yemen,” U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, US Fifth Fleet, explained.

The USS Abraham Lincoln is host to Carrier Air Wing Nine. CVW-9 is divided into eight squadrons; like the Carl Vinson, it operates roughly 90 F-35C Lightning II, F/A-18 Super Hornet, EA-18G Growler, E-2 Hawkeye, V-22 Osprey, and MH-60 Seahawk aircraft.

USS George Washington (CVN-73)

• Commissioned: July 4, 1992
• Current Status: Deployed (Philippine Sea)

The US Navy’s only forward-deployed aircraft carrier, the USS George Washington (CVN-73), departed from her homeport of Yokosuka, Japan, at the end of May. The George Washington Carrier Strike Group (GWACSG) is now operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. The flagship supercarrier conducted flight operations in the Philippine Sea in mid-July.

Last month, CVN-73 also took part in the Valiant Shield 2026 while underway in the same waters.

According to the US Navy, “Exercises like Valiant Shield allow US Pacific Command the opportunity to integrate forces from all branches of service and with our allies to conduct precise, lethal, and overwhelming multi-domain effects that demonstrate the strength and versatility of the Joint Force and our commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

This is the second full patrol of the USS George Washington since the carrier returned to Yokosuka in 2024 after completing her midlife refueling and complex overhaul, the massive, multi-year mid-life maintenance and modernization process for the US Navy’s Nimitz-class nuclear-powered flattops.

USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74)

• Commissioned: December 9, 1995
• Current Status: Undergoing RCOH (Newport News, Virginia)

CVN-74 is likely to spend much, if not all, of 2026 docked in port at Newport News, Virginia. USS John C. Stennis began her midlife Refueling and Complex Overhaul (RCOH) in 2021 and was originally on track to see the work completed by August 2025. However, in August 2024, it was announced that the warship wouldn’t return to service on schedule and that the carrier’s RCOH maintenance period would take longer than expected—about five and a half years in total, an extension of about 14 months from its planned schedule.

Work was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and unexpected damage, resulting in delays. The current timeline calls for the carrier to return to service in October 2026.

The upgrades may be worth the wait. As with all ships coming out of RCOH, the Stennis will be better than new once it emerges. In addition to a repainted hull and upgrades to the propeller shaft and other components, conditions on the ship will be improved for the crew, and she will be ready to operate with the fifth-generation Lockheed Martin F-35 Lighting II.

Background: The seventh Nimitz-class supercarrier was named for longtime Democratic Sen. John C. Stennis of Mississippi. The lawmaker, who served as the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee from 1969 until 1981, was seen as an odd choice for such an honor—yet it still gained the approval of then-President Ronald Reagan in 1988.

In contrast to some of the US Navy’s other aircraft carriers, the Stennis has had a relatively quiet service life. Notable exceptions came in 2007, when the ship served a tour in the Persian Gulf, and in 2012, when it helped to rescue the crew of an Iranian-flagged vessel hijacked by pirates in the Gulf of Oman.

For most of the 21st century, the Stennis played host to Carrier Air Wing Nine (CVW-9). However, CVW-9 was ultimately transferred to the USS Abraham Lincoln in May 2020, ahead of the Stennis’ RCOH period.

USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75)

• Commissioned: July 25, 1998
• Current Status: In Port (Norfolk, Virginia); preparing for RCOH

The eighth Nimitz-class supercarrier is preparing for its scheduled extended mid-life refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH), a massive multi-year maintenance process that will take place at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia.

It is now clear that the US Navy has learned hard lessons from the RCOH of USS George Washington, which lasted nearly six years. That took a serious toll on the crew, with nine sailors committing suicide. Instead of relying on the majority of sailors taking part in the refit, the US Navy will turn to commercial contractors to perform more of the duties, allowing sailors to use the time the ship is out of service to instead focus on training and operational readiness.

“This shift is about putting our Sailors’ time and talents where they matter most,” Vice Adm. Scott Gray, who heads Navy quality of service CFT, said in a US Navy media release. “By contracting out routine tasks like transportation and preservation, we free our crew from traditional shipyard duties, empowering them to focus on their in-rate training and core warfighting capabilities.”

USS Harry S. Truman completed her last scheduled deployment on June 1, 2025, after spending eight months at sea operating in the US 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operations, including combat ops in the Red Sea against the Iranian-backed Houthi militants.

Background: The USS Harry S. Truman was named for the 33rd president of the United States—and the only president from Missouri—after the strenuous efforts of Ike Skelton, a Missourian member of the House of Representatives from 1977 to 2011.

CVN-75’s most recent deployment was not without incident. In February, the 100,000-ton warship collided with a 53,000-ton Panamanian-flagged cargo ship while operating in the Mediterranean Sea near Port Said, Egypt. The impact with the merchant vessel Besiktas-M damaged a sponson on the starboard side near one of the aircraft elevators, and it tore through the exterior bulkheads of two storage rooms as well as a maintenance space. The damaged area was covered by a banner when she was pierside during President Donald Trump’s speech in Norfolk, Virginia, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the Continental Navy.

The Navy confirmed the damage won’t be addressed until CVN-75 begins her RCOH next year, after the Stennis’ RCOH concludes. The process is expected to sideline the carrier for three to four years.

Besides the damage taken during the collision, CVN-75 also returned from her extended deployment with three fewer fighters from her air wing.

One of the carrier’s F/A-18 Super Hornets was shot down in a friendly fire incident in December 2024, mistakenly identified as a hostile missile and fired upon by the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG-64), one of the warships in the Truman carrier strike group (CSG). Fortunately, the pilots were able to eject safely and were quickly rescued.

In April and May, two other Super Hornets were lost while the carrier was operating in the Red Sea. The first of those two aircraft fell off the supercarrier while being towed to the hangar, and reportedly occurred as USS Harry S. Truman endeavored to avoid a Houthi attack. Another F/A-18 crashed into the Red Sea just weeks later after a malfunction of its arrestment system, which is needed to slow the fighter as it lands on the flight deck. The pilot also ejected and was rescued.

The Harry S. Truman hosts Carrier Air Wing One (CVW-1), consisting of roughly 90 aircraft—including F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets, EA-18G Growler electronic warfare jets, E-2 Hawkeye airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft, C-2 Greyhound reconnaissance aircraft, and MH-60 Seahawk helicopters.

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76)

• Commissioned: July 12, 2003
• Current Status: In Port (Bremerton, Washington); undergoing scheduled maintenance

USS Ronald Reagan is completing a 17-month scheduled maintenance period that began in April 2025, and she is now expected to emerge from dr