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The Navy Wants to Shrink Its Aircraft Carrier Fleet

The U.S. military once wanted 12 carriers as part of a larger naval buildup. Its latest budget proposal would shrink that number to 10.

Video player cover image — The $13 Billion USS Gerald Ford Plagued by Problems

By

Justin Bachman and

March 21, 2019, 7:00 AM UTCCorrectedMarch 22, 2019, 2:47 PM UTC

Visiting the USS Gerald R. Ford two years ago, U.S. President Donald Trump extolled the importance of an enlarged naval force featuring a dozen aircraft carriers—including the Ford, the most expensive ship ever built.

Having 12 of these behemoths—sometimes accompanied by a half-dozen other ships—would send an international signal of U.S. resolve and restore the fleet to its post-Cold War size during the 1990s.