American aircraft carriers will peak in 2024

The United States possesses more, bigger and more heavily-armed warships than any other country. By some measures, the U.S. Navy maintains a 13-navy standard. In other words, it can deploy as much combat power as the next 13 largest fleets combined.

And in one very important respect, the American fleet is actually at a temporary low point — and will only grow more powerful in the coming decade. Today the U.S. Navy has 19 aircraft carriers capable of operating fixed-wing jets, down from a couple dozen in the 1990s.

But based on projections in the sailing branch's annual shipbuilding report, the American flattop fleet will grow to a whopping 23 ships by 2024 … before modestly declining in following years.

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