"Aircraft carriers are the largest and arguably most important military naval vessels in the world. Effectively a floating air base, aircraft carriers play an indispensable role in power projection and strategic deterrence for many of the world's major military powers. In the U.S. Navy, the newest Ford-class carriers are propelled by nuclear reactors, are over 1,000 feet long, 250 feet wide, and weigh in at 90,000 tons."
"Although aircraft carriers were first developed during the First World War, they did not play a central combat role until World War II, when the Japanese used them to carry out the attack on Pearl Harbor. Today, aircraft carriers are instrumental in conducting combat operations from points across the globe, and their very presence in a given region can act as a deterrent to foreign aggression."
Aircraft carriers function as floating air bases that enable long-range power projection, strategic deterrence, and sustained air operations from the sea. Ford-class carriers in the U.S. Navy use nuclear propulsion, measure over 1,000 feet long and 250 feet wide, displace about 90,000 tons, carry over 70 aircraft, and support crews exceeding 4,500 sailors. Carriers evolved from early twentieth-century developments and became central in World War II, notably at Pearl Harbor. Carriers are technologically complex, costly to build and maintain, and relatively rare: 52 carriers operate under 15 national flags, where they serve both combat and diplomatic roles.
Read at 24/7 Wall St.
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