United States Navy

The **United States Navy** (**USN**) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of its active battle fleet alone exceeding the next 13 navies combined, including 11 allies or partner nations of the United States as of 2015. It has the highest combined battle fleet tonnage (4,635,628 tonnes as of 2019) and the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, two new carriers under construction, and five other carriers planned. With 336,978 personnel on active duty and 101,583 in the Ready Reserve, the United States Navy is the third largest of the United States military service branches in terms of personnel. It has 290 deployable combat vessels and more than 2,623 operational aircraft as of June 2019.

The United States Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was effectively disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. After suffering significant loss of goods and personnel at the hands of the Barbary pirates from Algiers, the United States Congress passed the Naval Act of 1794 for the construction of six heavy frigates, the first ships of the Navy. The United States Navy played a major role in the American Civil War by blockading the Confederacy and seizing control of its rivers. It played the central role in the World War II defeat of Imperial Japan. The United States Navy emerged from World War II as the most powerful navy in the world. The modern United States Navy maintains a sizable global presence, deploying in strength in such areas as the Western Pacific, the Mediterranean, and the Indian Ocean. It is a blue-water navy with the ability to project force onto the littoral regions of the world, engage in forward deployments during peacetime and rapidly respond to regional crises, making it a frequent actor in American foreign and military policy.

The United States Navy is part of the Department of the Navy, alongside the United States Marine Corps, which is its coequal sister service. The Department of the Navy is headed by the civilian secretary of the Navy. The Department of the Navy is itself a military department of the Department of Defense, which is headed by the secretary of defense. The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the most senior Navy officer serving in the Department of the Navy.

## Equipment

As of 2018, the navy operates over 460 ships, including vessels operated by the Military Sealift Command (MSC) crewed by a combination of civilian contractors and a small number of uniformed Naval personnel, 3,650+ aircraft, 50,000 non-combat vehicles and owns 75,200 buildings on 3,300,000 acres (13,000 km2).

### Ships

The names of commissioned ships of the U.S. Navy are prefixed with the letters "USS", designating "United States Ship". Non-commissioned, civilian-manned vessels of the navy have names that begin with "USNS", standing for "United States Naval Ship". The names of ships are officially selected by the secretary of the navy, often to honor important people or places. Additionally, each ship is given a letter-based hull classification symbol (for example, CVN or DDG) to indicate the vessel's type and number. All ships in the navy inventory are placed in the Naval Vessel Register, which is part of "the Navy List" (required by article 29 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea).[*dubious – discuss*] The register tracks data such as the current status of a ship, the date of its commissioning, and the date of its decommissioning. Vessels that are removed from the register prior to disposal are said to be *stricken* from the register. The navy also maintains a reserve fleet of inactive vessels that are maintained for reactivation in times of need.

The U.S. Navy was one of the first to install nuclear reactors aboard naval vessels;[*citation needed*] today, nuclear energy powers all active U.S. aircraft carriers and submarines. In the case of the *Nimitz*-class carrier, two naval reactors give the ship almost unlimited range and provide enough electrical energy to power a city of 100,000 people.[*citation needed*] The U.S. Navy previously operated nuclear-powered cruisers, but all have been decommissioned.

In the early 2010, the U.S. Navy had identified a need for 313 combat ships, but could only afford 232 to 243 ships. In March 2014, the Navy started counting self-deployable support ships such as minesweepers, surveillance craft, and tugs in the "battle fleet" to reach a count of 272 as of October 2016, and it includes ships that have been put in "shrink wrap". The number of ships generally ranged between 270 and 300 throughout the late 2010s. As of February 2022, the Navy has 296 battle force ships, however analyses state the Navy needs a fleet of more than 500 to meet its commitments.

#### Aircraft carriers

An aircraft carrier is typically deployed along with a host of additional vessels, forming a carrier strike group. The supporting ships, which usually include three or four Aegis-equipped cruisers and destroyers, a frigate, and two attack submarines, are tasked with protecting the carrier from air, missile, sea, and undersea threats as well as providing additional strike capabilities themselves. Ready logistics support for the group is provided by a combined ammunition, oiler, and supply ship. Modern carriers are named after American admirals and politicians, usually presidents.

The Navy has a statutory requirement for a minimum of 11 aircraft carriers. Currently there are 10 that are deployable and one, USS *Gerald R. Ford*, that is currently undergoing extensive systems and technologies testing until around 2021. All US aircraft carriers are nuclear-powered; they and submarines are the only nuclear-powered Navy vessels.

#### United States-class

Originally envisioned as a flat-topped bomber carrier. It developed into what would later become in OTL, a quarter-size larger Forrestal-class carrier and Kitty Hawk-class conventional carriers. Five ships were expected to be built. Two of them were suggested as nuclear-powered.

* CVA-58, USS United States. Commissioned 1955, decommissioned 1993.
* CVA-59, USS Forrestal. Commissioned 1956, decommissioned 1994.
* CVA-60, USS Saratoga. Last conventional carrier in the USN. Commissioned 1957, decommissioned 1993.

##### Ranger-subclass

A variant of the United States-class but nuclear-powered. USS Ranger is equivalent to the USS Enterprise of OTL.

* CVAN-61, USS Ranger. Commissioned 1959, decommissioned 1998.
* CVAN-62, USS Independence. Commissioned 1961, decommissioned 2009.

#### Kitty Hawk-class

In this timeline, the Kitty Hawk-class is all nuclear-powered. The USS Enterprise is Kitty Hawk-class. Built to supplant the aging United States-class.

* CVAN-63, USS Kitty Hawk. Commissioned 1961, decommissioned 2017.
* CVAN-64, USS Constellation. Commissioned 1965, decommissioned 1996.
* CVAN-65, USS Enterprise. Commissioned 1968, decommissioned 2007.
* CVAN-66, USS Yorktown. Commissioned 1975, still active.
* CVAN-67, USS Intrepid. Commissioned 1977, still active.
* CVAN-68, USS Chester Nimitz. Commissioned 1982, still active.

#### Raymond Spruance-subclass

An equivalent to this universe's Nimitz-class carriers.

* CVAN-69, USS Raymond Spruance. Commissioned 1986, still active.
* CVAN-70, USS Lexington. Commissioned 1989, still active.
* CVAN-71, USS Crazy Horse. Commissioned 1992, still active.
* CVAN-72, USS Richard Nixon. Commissioned 1995, still active.

#### Arizona-class

An equivalent to this universe's Ford-class carriers. Part of the 1990s CVX Project following a seven oceans plus one policy. Built to eventually replace all Kitty Hawk and Raymond Spruance-class carriers.

* ACV-1 , USS Arizona. Commissioned in 2001, still active.