Aircraft carriers by country: 2026 count

How many aircraft carriers does the US have?

Eleven, all nuclear powered supercarriers: the Gerald R. Ford and ten Nimitz class ships. The second Ford class ship, John F. Kennedy, passed the Navy's preliminary acceptance on 29 September 2026 and is due to be commissioned in 2027. The Navy and Marine Corps also run nine big deck amphibious assault ships that carry F-35Bs and would count as carriers in most other navies.

Each carrier embarks an air wing built around F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, F-35Cs and E-2D early warning aircraft. The Navy flies about 500 Super Hornets and some 80 E-2Ds.

Which countries have aircraft carriers?

China has three: Liaoning, Shandong and Fujian, commissioned in November 2025 as China's first carrier with electromagnetic catapults. India operates INS Vikrant, built at home, and INS Vikramaditya, in refit since late 2024, and has ordered 26 Rafale M jets for Vikrant. Britain has two Queen Elizabeth class carriers; HMS Queen Elizabeth went back to sea in September 2026 after a long repair.

Italy counts two: Cavour, which flies F-35Bs, and the newer Trieste, an assault ship still being cleared for the jet. France has the nuclear powered Charles de Gaulle. Spain's Juan Carlos I flies AV-8B Harriers, which it is retiring with no replacement. Russia's only carrier, the Admiral Kuznetsov, is in a long refit and its decommissioning has been discussed. Indonesia took the former Italian Giuseppe Garibaldi in September 2026 for disaster relief work, with no fixed wing jets.

Who is joining the carrier club?

Japan is converting its two Izumo class ships to fly F-35Bs: Izumo completes in its 2027 fiscal year and Kaga in 2028. Turkey is building its first carrier, due in the fleet between 2030 and 2032. China is assessed to be aiming for six more carriers by 2035. Brazil scuttled its last carrier, the São Paulo, in 2023, and Thailand's Chakri Naruebet now operates helicopters only.

How do carriers count in our ranking?

Carriers are the most heavily weighted ships in our sea power pillar, which is 13% of the index: each one counts twelve times a corvette. The count treats every carrier hull alike, so Russia's Kuznetsov and Indonesia's Garibaldi earn the same carrier credit as the Ford.

The difference shows up elsewhere. Every navy's sea score is scaled by our judgement of how modern its fleet is, and each country's total by a readiness judgement. A navy whose only carrier sits in the yard, or carries nothing but helicopters, loses ground on both.

Why do so few countries run aircraft carriers?

Because a carrier is a whole system, not a ship. It needs an air wing, trained deck crews, escorts, tankers and years of practice before it works in combat. Russia shows the cost of getting that wrong: the Kuznetsov has spent more time in the yard than at sea. India learnt the other lesson, building Vikrant at home and buying Rafale M jets to fly from it.

Big deck amphibious ships and converted helicopter carriers are the cheaper route. Spain, Italy and soon Japan use them to fly F-35Bs or Harriers. They cannot launch heavy aircraft or fixed wing early warning planes. Only the United States, France and now China run catapult carriers that can.