United States Navy ships The names of commissioned ships of the United States Navy all start with USS , meaning ' United States Ship ' . Non - commissioned , civilian - manned vessels of the U . S . Navy have names that begin with USNS , standing for ' United States Naval Ship ' . A letter - based hull classification symbol is used to designate a vessel ' s type . The names of ships are selected by the Secretary of the Navy . The names are that of states , cities , towns , important persons , important locations , famous battles , fish , and ideals . Usually , different types of ships have names originated from different types of sources . Modern aircraft carrier s and submarine s use nuclear reactors for power . See United States Naval reactor for information on classification schemes and the history of nuclear - powered vessels . Modern cruisers , destroyers and frigates are called Surface combatant s and act mainly as escorts for aircraft carriers , amphibious assault ships , auxiliaries and civilian craft , but the largest ones have gained a land attack role through the use of cruise missiles and a population defense role through Missile defense . See List of ships of the United States Navy for a more complete listing of ships past and present . Aircraft carriers . Due to their ability to put most nations within striking distance of U . S . air power , aircraft carrier s are the cornerstones of the United States ' forward deployment and deterrence strategy . Multiple carriers are deployed around the world to provide military presence , respond quickly to crises , and participate in joint exercises with allied forces ; this has led the Navy to refer to their " Nimitz " - class carriers as " 4 . 5 acres of sovereign and mobile American territory " . Former President Bill Clinton summed up the importance of the aircraft carrier by stating that " when word of crisis breaks out in Washington , it ' s no accident the first question that comes to everyone ' s lips is : where is the nearest carrier ? " The power and operational flexibility of a carrier lie in the aircraft of its carrier air wing . Made up of both fixed - wing and rotary - wing aircraft , a carrier air wing is able to perform over 150 strike missions at once , hitting over 700 targets a day . Carrier air wings also protect friendly forces , conduct electronic warfare , assist in special operations , and carry out search and rescue missions . The carriers themselves , in addition to enabling airborne operations , serve as command platforms for large battle groups or multinational task forces . U . S . Navy aircraft carriers can also host aircraft from other nations ' navies ; the French Navy ' s Rafale has operated , during naval exercises , from U . S . Navy flight decks . Following below is a list of all carriers ( and their homeports ) on active duty or under construction . For a list of all carriers see List of aircraft carriers of the United States Navy and List of escort aircraft carriers of the United States Navy . " Enterprise " class ( Six originally planned , only one ever constructed ) Ford Class ( Two under construction , one more planned ) Amphibious assault ships . Amphibious assault ships carry Marines and are the platforms for Marine aircraft . They project power as aircraft carriers do , allowing the military to strike targets from a distance . Amphibious assault ships superficially resemble aircraft carriers except without an angled flight deck . Amphibious Transport Docks . An amphibious transport dock , also called a landing platform / dock ( LPD ) , is an amphibious warfare ship , a warship that embarks , transports , and lands elements of a landing force for expeditionary warfare missions . Several navies currently operate this kind of ship . The ships are generally designed to transport troops into a war zone by sea , primarily using landing craft , although invariably they also have the capability to operate transport helicopters . Dock Landing Ships . Dock landing ships are similar to amphibious transport dock ships , but lack hangar facilities to store and service embarked aircraft . Submarines . There are two major types of submarines , ballistic and attack . Ballistic submarines have the single strategic mission of nuclear deterrence by being hidden launching - platforms for nuclear ICBM s . Attack submarines have tactical missions , including controlling naval and shipping activity , serving as cruise missile - launching platforms , and intelligence - gathering . Cruisers . These current guided - missile cruiser s are very versatile and powerful , with capabilities for air warfare ( AAW ) , surface warfare ( SSW ) , and anti - submarine warfare ( ASW ) . Destroyers . The destroyer evolved from the need of navies to counter a new ship which made a devastating debut in the 1891 Chilean Civil War and in the First Sino - Japanese War of 1894 . This was the swift , small torpedo boat that could dash in close to the larger ships , loose their torpedoes and dash away . The world ' s navies recognized the need for a counter weapon , and so the torpedo boat destroyer — later just " destroyer " — was born . Modern destroyers have evolved greatly from this initial role ; some are arguably the primary surface combatants of their fleets . Littoral combat ship . A littoral combat ship ( LCS ) is a type of relatively small surface vessel intended for operations in the littoral zone ( close to shore ) . It is " envisioned to be a networked , agile , stealthy surface combatant capable of defeating anti - access and asymmetric threats in the littorals . " Frigates . Frigates ( according to the modern classification of U . S . navy warships ) are smaller ships than destroyers . They are designed primarily to protect other ships ( such as merchant convoys ) , and perform some Anti - Submarine Warfare duties . They are of more limited scope than destroyers , but are also more cost - efficient . Historically significant vessels . The U . S . Navy has operated a number of vessels important to both United States and world naval history :