The United States Navy has approximately 470 ships in both active service and the reserve fleet; of these approximately 50 ships are proposed or scheduled for retirement by 2028, while approximately 90 new ships are in either the planning and ordering stages or under construction, according to the Naval Vessel Register and published reports. This list includes ships that are owned and leased by the US Navy; ships that are formally commissioned, by way of ceremony, and non-commissioned. Ships denoted with the prefix "USS" are commissioned ships. Prior to commissioning, ships may be described as a pre-commissioning unit or PCU, but are officially referred to by name with no prefix. [1] US Navy support ships are often non-commissioned ships organized and operated by Military Sealift Command. Among these support ships, those denoted "USNS" are owned by the US Navy. [1] Those denoted by "MV" or "SS" are chartered.
Current ships include commissioned warships that are in active service, as well as ships that are part of Military Sealift Command, the support component and the Ready Reserve Force, that while non-commissioned, are still part of the effective force of the US Navy. Future ships listed are those that are in the planning stages, or are currently under construction, from having the keel laid to fitting out and final sea trials.
There exist a number of former US Navy ships which are museum ships (not listed here), some of which may be US government-owned. One of these, USS Constitution, a three-masted tall ship, is one of the original six frigates of the United States Navy. She is the oldest naval vessel afloat, and still retains her commission (and hence is listed here), as a special commemoration for that ship alone.
Note
Ready Reserve Force ships are maintained by the United States Maritime Administration and are part of the United States Navy ship inventory. If activated, these ships would be operated by Military Sealift Command.
Ship name | Hull number | Class | Type | Berth [449] | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anzio | CG-68 | Ticonderoga | Cruiser | Philadelphia, PA | Decommissioned on 22 September 2022, and placed in reserve [450] [8] |
Bunker Hill | CG-52 | Ticonderoga | Cruiser | Bremerton, WA | Decommissioned on 22 September 2023, awaiting disposition [451] [57] [8] [17] |
Coronado | LCS-4 | Independence | Littoral combat ship | Bremerton, WA | Decommissioned on 14 September 2022, and placed in reserve [452] |
Detroit | LCS-7 | Freedom | Littoral combat ship | Philadelphia, PA | Decommissioned 29 September 2023, on hold for potential foreign military sale [453] [454] [17] |
Fort McHenry | LSD-43 | Whidbey Island | Dock landing ship | Philadelphia, PA | Decommissioned on 27 March 2021, and placed in reserve [455] |
Grapple | T-ARS-53 | Safeguard | Salvage ship | Philadelphia, PA | [456] |
Hué City | CG-66 | Ticonderoga | Cruiser | Philadelphia, PA | Decommissioned on 23 September 2022, and placed in reserve [457] [8] |
Invincible | T-AGM-24 | Stalwart | Instrumentation ship | Inactived in 2021 [458] | |
Lake Champlain | CG-57 | Ticonderoga | Cruiser | Bremerton, WA | Decommissioned on 1 September 2023, and placed in reserve [459] [8] |
Little Rock | LCS-9 | Freedom | Littoral combat ship | Philadelphia, PA | Decommissioned 29 September 2023, on hold for potential foreign military sale [460] [461] |
McKee | AS-41 | Emory S. Land | Submarine tender | Portsmouth, VA | Stricken 2006, awaiting disposal at NISMF, Portsmouth, Virginia |
Milwaukee | LCS-5 | Freedom | Littoral combat ship | Decommissioned on 8 September 2023, and awaiting transfer to reserve fleet [462] [8] | |
Mobile Bay | CG-53 | Ticonderoga | Cruiser | San Diego, CA | Decommissioned on 10 August 2023, and placed in reserve [463] [8] |
Monterey | CG-61 | Ticonderoga | Cruiser | Philadelphia, PA | Decommissioned on 16 September 2022, and placed in reserve [464] [8] |
Peleliu | LHA-5 | Tarawa | Amphibious assault ship | Pearl Harbor, HI | [465] |
Port Royal | CG-73 | Ticonderoga | Cruiser | Pearl Harbor, HI | Decommissioned on 29 September 2022, and placed in reserve [466] [8] |
Resolute | AFDM-10 | AFDM-3 | Dry dock | Bremerton, WA | Inactive, [467] currently leased to Todd Pacific [468] |
Safeguard | T-ARS-50 | Safeguard | Salvage ship | Pearl Harbor, HI | [469] |
San Jacinto | CG-56 | Ticonderoga | Cruiser | Philadelphia, PA | Decommissioned on 15 September 2023, and placed in reserve [470] [8] |
Sioux City | LCS-11 | Freedom | Littoral combat ship | Decommissioned on 14 August 2023, and placed in reserve [471] | |
Tarawa | LHA-1 | Tarawa | Amphibious assault ship | Pearl Harbor, HI | [472] |
Vella Gulf | CG-72 | Ticonderoga | Cruiser | Philadelphia, PA | Decommissioned on 4 August 2022, and placed in reserve [473] [8] |
Walter S. Diehl | T-AO-193 | Henry J. Kaiser | Replenishment oiler | Out of service, in reserve since 1 October 2022 [474] | |
Whidbey Island | LSD-41 | Whidbey Island | Dock landing ship | [475] Decommissioned on 22 July 2022 [476] | |
Note: Ships listed here may be referred to as "pre-commissioning unit" or "PCU" in various sources including US Navy webpages. [477] While 'PCU' might be used informally as a prefix in some sources, it is not an official ship prefix. [1] Ships listed here may be delivered to United States Navy but are not actively commissioned
The following ships have been ordered but have not yet had their keel laid down, and therefore have not reached 'under construction' status.
Commissioned (USS) – 238
Non-commissioned (USNS) – 90
Support (MV, RV – or no prefix) – 66
Ready Reserve Force ships (MV, SS, GTS) – 54
Reserve Fleet ships (USS, USNS) – 24
Under construction – 51
On order – 40
Expected to retire – 52
Totals
Commissioned: | 238 |
Non-commissioned: | 90 |
Support: | 66 |
Ready Reserve Force ships: | 54 |
Reserve fleet: | 24 |
Grand total: | 472 |
Commissioned
Non-commissioned
Support
Ready Reserve Force ships
Reserve fleet
Under construction
On order
The fast combat support ship is a type of replenishment auxiliary ship. Different from traditional logistic ships, the fast combat support ship is designed with high speed to keep up with the carrier battle group/carrier strike group, while the multi-product station is capable of supplying all types of necessities for the fleet.
The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) use a hull classification symbol to identify their ships by type and by individual ship within a type. The system is analogous to the pennant number system that the Royal Navy and other European and Commonwealth navies use.
The San Antonio class is a class of amphibious transport docks, also called a "landing platform, dock" (LPD), used by the United States Navy. These warships replace the Austin-class LPDs, as well as the Newport-class tank landing ships, the Anchorage-class dock landing ships, and the Charleston-class amphibious cargo ships that have already been retired.
The Military Sealift Command (MSC) is an organization that controls the replenishment and military transport ships of the United States Navy. Military Sealift Command has the responsibility for providing sealift and ocean transportation for all US military services as well as for other government agencies. It first came into existence on 9 July 1949 when the Military Sea Transportation Service (MSTS) became solely responsible for the Department of Defense's ocean transport needs. The MSTS was renamed the Military Sealift Command in 1970.
The Rim of the Pacific Exercise (RIMPAC) is the world's largest international maritime warfare exercise. RIMPAC is held biennially during June and July of even-numbered years from Honolulu, Hawaii, with the exception of 2020 where it was held in August. It is hosted and administered by the United States Navy's Indo-Pacific Command, headquartered at Pearl Harbor, in conjunction with the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, and Hawaii National Guard forces under the control of the Governor of Hawaii.
USNS Yukon (T-AO-202) is a Henry J. Kaiser-class underway replenishment oiler operated by the Military Sealift Command to support ships of the United States Navy.
The names of commissioned ships of the United States Navy all start with USS, for United States Ship. Non-commissioned, primarily civilian-crewed vessels of the U.S. Navy under the Military Sealift Command 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 those 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.
A joint support ship (JSS) is a multi-role naval vessel capable of launching and supporting joint amphibious and airlift operations. It can also provide command and control, sealift and seabasing, underway replenishment, disaster relief and logistics capabilities for combined land and sea operations.
The America class is a ship class of landing helicopter assault (LHA) type amphibious assault ships for the United States Navy (USN). The class is designed to put ashore a Marine Expeditionary Unit using helicopters and MV-22B Osprey V/STOL transport aircraft, supported by AV-8B Harrier II or F-35 Lightning II V/STOL aircraft and various attack helicopters. The first of these warships was commissioned by the U.S. Navy in 2014 to replace USS Peleliu of the Tarawa class; as many as eleven will be built. The design of the America class is based on that of USS Makin Island, the last ship of the Wasp class, but the "Flight 0" ships of the America class will not have well decks, and have smaller on-board hospitals to provide more space for aviation uses.
United States ship naming conventions for the U.S. Navy were established by congressional action at least as early as 1862. Title 13, section 1531, of the U.S. Code, enacted in that year, reads, in part,
The vessels of the Navy shall be named by the Secretary of the Navy under direction of the President according to the following rule: Sailing-vessels of the first class shall be named after the States of the Union, those of the second class after the rivers, those of the third class after the principal cities and towns and those of the fourth class as the President may direct.
The Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport (EPF) is a United States Navy–led shipbuilding program to provide a high-speed, shallow draft vessel intended for rapid intra-theater transport of medium-sized cargo payloads. The EPFs can reach speeds of 35–45 knots, and allow the rapid transit and deployment of conventional or special forces, equipment and supplies.
An Expeditionary Transfer Dock (ESD), formerly the Mobile Landing Platform (MLP), is designed to be a semi-submersible, flexible, modular platform providing the US Navy with the capability to perform large-scale logistics movements such as the transfer of vehicles and equipment from sea to shore. These ships significantly reduce the dependency on foreign ports and provide support in the absence of port availability. The class also houses a sub-class variant called the Expeditionary Mobile Base (ESB), formerly the Afloat Forward Staging Base (AFSB).
USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB-3), is the first purpose-built expeditionary mobile base vessel for the United States Navy, and the second ship to be named in honor of Chesty Puller. The lead ship in her class of expeditionary mobile bases, she is also a sub-variant of the Montford Point-class expeditionary transfer docks. Lewis B. Puller replaced USS Ponce with the U.S. Fifth Fleet in the Persian Gulf in late 2017.
USS Hershel "Woody" Williams (ESB-4) is a Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary mobile base (ESB), currently in service with the United States Navy. The ship is also a sub-variant of the Montford Point-class expeditionary transfer dock (ESD). The ESDs are operated by the Navy's Military Sealift Command with predominantly civilian crews, while the ESBs, owing to the nature of their operations, have been commissioned and commanded directly by the U.S. Navy. The ship was named in honor of Hershel W. "Woody" Williams in an announcement by then-Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, on 14 January 2016. Williams was a Marine who was awarded the Medal of Honor in the Battle of Iwo Jima, during World War II.
The John Lewis class is a class of fleet replenishment oilers which began construction in September 2018. The class will comprise twenty oilers which will be operated by Military Sealift Command to provide underway replenishment of fuel and limited amounts of dry cargo to United States Navy carrier strike groups, amphibious ready groups, and other surface forces, to allow them to operate worldwide.
USS Miguel Keith (ESB-5) is a Lewis B. Puller-class expeditionary mobile base, one of three such ships in service with the United States Navy (USN) as of late 2021.
USNS Lansing (T-EPF-16) will be the sixteenth Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport, operated by the United States Navy's Military Sealift Command. On 22 July 2024, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro announced that she would be named after Lansing, Michigan. This is the second US Navy ship named Lansing, with the first being USS Lansing (DE-388), although that ship was named after Aviation Machinist Mate First Class William Henry Lansing.
The prefix "USS," meaning "United States Ship," is used in official documents to identify a commissioned ship of the Navy. It applies to a ship while she is in commission. Before commissioning, or after decommissioning, she is referred to by name, with no prefix.