10 Largest Navy Warships in the World

Everyone wants to build everything bigger and stronger to become the most powerful. A long time ago, if a country rules the sea, then it was considered that it rules the world. Having a large Navy is a symbol of power and wealth. With the power of nuclear weapon and modern technology, navy is considered as a powerful army for any country. Most of the powerful ships in the following list belong to the United States Navy. The following list excludes ships which are decommissioned or destroyed in war. Here we represent you the list of the 10 largest navy warships in the world. The following list is ranked according to their length because size does matter in war.

10. America Class – 257 meters (844 feet)

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The America Classes are warfare ships, served in the US Navy. It is supported by various fighter planes and multipurpose helicopters. Currently, the US built one ship in $3.4 billion and planned to build 10 other ships. It is powered by two gas turbine engine and its maximum speed is 37 km/h. It is equipped with latest electronic and processing systems.

9. Charles de Gaulle – 261.5 meters (858 feet)

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Charles de Gaulle is the largest Western European warship, owned by the French Navy. It is the first nuclear powered French warship, named after a French general Charles de Gaulle. It was commissioned on 18th May 2001 at the estimated cost of $4 billion. This French carrier can operate around 40 aircraft and sail for more than 22 years. It has the capacity of 500 tons of ammunition and can move at a speed of 50 km/h. It was used in many operations including a war in Afghanistan in 2001.

8. Modified Clemenceau Class – 265 meters (869 feet)

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The Clemenceau Class are two aircraft carrier which served in the French Navy from 1961 to 2000. They decommissioned a ship and sold the other one to the Brazilian Navy in 2000 for $12 million. They changed its name to Sao Paulo and passed through extensive upgrades. It is powered by six indret boilers and four steam turbines which produced 126,000 HP. It can sail for over 7500 miles and has the maximum speed of 59 km/h.

7. Kiev Class – 283 meters (928 feet)

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The Kiev Class is a heavy aircraft carrying cruiser that serves the Russian Navy from 1975 to 1993. It is powered by four shaft geared steam turbines which produced 140,000 HP. It can carry 32 aircraft and move at the speed of 59 m/h. The Russian Navy has four Kiev class carriers, out of which one was scrapped and two were sold to China in 1996 and the last one was sold to the Indian Navy.

6. Modified Kiev Class – 283.5 meters (930 feet)

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In 1996 Russian Navy sold their Kiev class to the Indian Navy and they altered its name to INS Vikramaditya. It was purchased by India for $2.35 billion, equipped with Russian technology and aircraft. It is powered by eight turbo boilers, four steam turbines which generate 180,000 HP. It can sail for more than 7000 miles with food for 45 days before refueling it. All the trials were successfully completed in 2013 and on 14th June 2014, Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi introduced it into the Indian Navy.

5. Queen Elizabeth Class – 284 meters (931 feet)

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The Queen Elizabeth Class are two carrier ships which are currently under construction for the British Navy. The first ship will be launched in July 2014 and the second one will be launched after 2020. Both the ships have an estimated construction cost of over $10.5 billion. Each ship can carry 40 aircraft and powered by a Rolls Royce marine engine. It is equipped with latest technology and processing systems.

4. Modified Admiral Kuznetsov Class – 304.5 meters (999 feet)

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Modified Admiral Kuznetsov Class or Liaoning is the first aircraft carrier of China. It was originally named the Riga and renamed to Varyag in 1990. China purchased it from Ukraine in 1998 for $25 million. After being rebuilt and long sea trials, it was commissioned on 25th September 2012. It has a steam turbine engine, producing 200,000 HP and this carrier can carry up to 54 aircraft.

3. Admiral Kuznetsov Class – 305 meters (1001 feet)

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The Admiral Kuznetsov Class was built for the Soviet Navy and serves for the Russian Navy. It was launched in 1985 and became fully functional in 1995 and expected to remain in service until 2025. It carried up to 40 aircraft and has the maximum speed of 54 km/h. It is powered by eight gas fired boilers and four steam turbines and each producing 50,000 HP. It has the maximum range of 8500 miles at a constant speed of 33 km/h.

2. Nimitz Class – 333 meters (1092 feet)

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The Nimitz Class super carriers are ten nuclear powered carriers, served in the United States Navy. The first ship was entered in 1975 and the last one in 2009. The main ship of this class is Nimitz, named after a World War II United States commander. It is powered by two pressurized water reactors which produced maximum power of around 260,000 HP. Nimitz carries the world’s highest, around 90 aircraft at a time.

1. Gerald R. Ford Class – 337 meters (1106 feet)

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Gerald R. Ford Class is one of the ten super carriers that will be commissioned by the Unites States Navy in 2016. The first ship’s name will be the Gerald R. Ford, followed by the John Kennedy and Enterprise. Other seven names have to be announced later. It is installed with two nuclear reactors for power and carries over 75 aircraft. The estimated cost for only two ships is more than $11 billion plus $5 billion in research and development. Moreover, it has a disadvantage of the limited electrical power generation.

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