aircraft carriers?

Question

How many nations possess aircraft carriers?

Answer 1

It depends on your definition of aircraft carrier. Currently, only 4 nations has true conventional aircraft carriers (i.e. - ones that operate CTOL (conventional take-off and landing) aircrafts).

United States Navy has 2 non-nuclear powered aircraft carriers and 10 nuclear ones with one more getting ready to be commissioned. US Navy also has 12 Amphibious assault ships that can operate USMC Harrier jets and helicopter.

France has one nuclear powered aircraft carrier and one helicopter carrier.

Russian navy has one conventional carrier and Brazilian navy has one carrier (Old French Navy carrier).

India, Italy, Spain, Thailand and United Kingdom has carriers that can only operate VSTOL (Vertical Short Take Off and Landing) aircraft like the Harrier jets. India, Italy, Spain and Thailand has one carrier each and United Kingdom has three.

However, Indian Navy and Royal Navy are planning and/or building conventional aircraft carriers.

Answer 2

The United States has 10 active aircraft carriers, the most recent Being the Ronald Reagan. They also have smaller carriers designed as landing craft and helicoptor carriers to support amphibious landings. The british have two aircraft carriers designed to deploy the Harrier jump-jets, although these are both small ships.

The French have two aircraft carriers, one, I believe, was actually purchased from the US after it's decommisioning with our Navy.

The Indian Navy has two small aircraft carriers.

The Russian Navy has two carriers, Admiral Kuznetsov-class, although they could more accurately be described as guided missle battleships that can carry aircraft. These can carry the Yak-38 VSTOL naval fighter, as well as a naval variant of the Su-27 flanker.

Building and maintaining an aircraft carrier, and all of it's support, to include the airwing deployed with it, is an extremely expensive venture. There are very few nations that have the kind of material wealth and expertise that it requires. The USS Ronald Reagan cost somewhere in the neighborhood of 100+ Billion dollars (US), not to mention what it costs to train the crew, supplies, and the cost of the aircraft that is sails with.

Answer 3

Eminence of aircraft carriers as floating air bases has been proven since World War II.Nimitz Class, with a full load displacement of 97,000t, is the world's largest aircraft carrier and The Admiral Kuznetsov is the only operational aircraft carrier in the Russian Navy.

Answer 4

Since an aircraft carrier is literally a floating city, all sorts of job disciplines are need to provide for service when they are at sea. They are usually isolated out at sea and need to be able to run independently. It is also not just the carriers; there are a variety of support vessel within a carrier group as well. A carrier is a lot more than just pilots, flight deck crew and operations personnel.

Answer 5

Not many. USA has 12. UK has 2 with 2 more on the way and a few other nations have 1

Answer 6

USA-UK-USSR-ITALY-FRANCE-INDIA-SPAIN-BRAZIL. China is currently building a carrier from the incompltete hull of a Varyag class carrier it bought from the ukraine the ship had no weapons or engines.

Answer 7

France
UK
Republic of china
Indian Navy
US Navy
and a couple of others but there only Carrie helicopters.

Answer 8

The U.S., Russia, France and the U.K.
There might be one or two more but those
are usually old ships from either of the 4.

Answer 9

also Italy