Navy pushes for new class of aircraft carriers

The U.S. Navy is betting $42 billion on a new class of aircraft carriers, the world's biggest and costliest warships ever, even as the Pentagon budget shrinks and China and Iran arm themselves with weapons to disable or destroy the beheÖmoths.

The Navy says the new carriers rising 20 stories above the water, 1,092 feet long, moving at 30 knots with almost 5,000 Americans on board — can project U.S. power around the globe.

"A carrier is 4 1/2 acres of sovereign U.S. territory," said Capt. Bruce Hay, a Navy pilot who helps set requirements for the new carrier. "An aircraft carrier is a piece of America, and we're going to do what it takes to keep them relevant because a carrier is presence and American resolve all at one time."

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