Thursday, August 25, 2016

A Podcast On The Future Of The Aircraft Carrier

The aircraft carriers USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), USS Enterprise (CVN 65), USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), and USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) are in port at Naval Station Norfolk, Va. US Navy Photo

Reuters: Podcast: The age of the aircraft carrier may be over

The United States has more aircraft carriers than any other country - depending on how you define "aircraft carrier," it's 10 times as many.

Russia, a major naval power with large submarine corps and many other surface ships, has one carrier. It's from the Soviet era, diesel powered and rarely at sea for more than six months at a time before heading back for a refit that typically takes longer than the deployment.

China's first aircraft carrier recently became operational. It's a Soviet model that's been refurbished. A second carrier is being refurbished now. The other nations that can sent flattops to sea are India, Italy and France. The United Kingdom currently can't launch fighters from its lone carrier because they retired their Harrier jump jets in 2010 to save money.

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