The United States leads the world with the most powerful military across all service branches – Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. Although the U.S. military is not the largest, it still takes the number one spot in a review of 145 nations, according to Global Firepower. Due to a variety of factors, which include elite forces in each branch, military expenditures, and a large array of combat units, the U.S. is most likely to remain at the top of its game.
The American Navy is also regarded as the most powerful naval fleet across the globe and maintains its dominance by constantly introducing new ships or submarines into the fleet and decommissioning older ones that are not up to par with its technological requirements. In recent years the United States has introduced a handful of new vessels, each further adding to its naval superiority. (It may come as a surprise to learn that this country has the most military submarines.)
Some of the recent additions are the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, Virginia-class attack submarines, and Independence-class littoral combat ships. The U.S. Navy also expects to continue adding to these classes in the coming years. As it stands now, most of the U.S. naval fleet consists of destroyers, accounting for roughly 30% of all of its vessels. The newest destroyer is the Zumwalt-class, which is said to be the most technologically advanced surface combatant in the world and is currently comprised of three ships in service – the USS Zumwalt, the USS Michael Monsoor, and the USS Lyndon B. Johnson.
Submarines are also a major component of the fleet, and these account for another quarter of the force. The rest of the fleet is filled with littoral combat ships, cruisers, amphibious assault ships, and aircraft carriers. The Navy announced it will be decommissioning some of its Nimitz-class aircraft carriers in the next few years, and will replace them with the new Ford-class aircraft carriers. The USS John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier is expected to replace the USS Nimitz in 2025, and the USS Enterprise is expected to replace the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower in 2028. (These are the 19 ships and submarines of the U.S. Navy fleet.)
To determine the U.S. Navy’s newest ships, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the military data site World Directory of Modern Military Warships’ directory of all active ships in the U.S. and cross-referenced it with data from the Naval Vessel Register. We compiled data on all ships and submarines — 32 in total — that have been commissioned in the service of the U.S. Navy for five years or less and ranked them by age. It should be noted that this list is current as of October 15, 2023.
Here is a look at the newest ships in the U.S. Navy:
32. USS Tulsa
Source: usnavy / Flickr
- Commission date: 2/16/2019
- Unit type: Littoral combat ship
- Class: Independence-class
31. USS Charleston
- Commission date: 3/2/2019
- Unit type: Littoral combat ship
- Class: Independence-class
30. USS Paul Ignatius
Source: usnavy / Flickr
- Commission date: 7/27/2019
- Unit type: Destroyer
- Class: Arleigh Burke-class
29. USS Billings
Source: usnavy / Flickr
- Commission date: 8/3/2019
- Unit type: Littoral combat ship
- Class: Freedom-class
28. USS Cincinnati
Source: usnavy / Flickr
- Commission date: 10/5/2019
- Unit type: Littoral combat ship
- Class: Independence-class
27. USS Independence
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Commission date: 10/26/2019
- Unit type: Littoral combat ship
- Class: Freedom-class
26. USS Hershel “Woody” Williams
Source: usnavy / Flickr
- Commission date: 3/7/2020
- Unit type: Expeditionary mobile base
- Class: Lewis B. Puller-class
25. USS Delaware
Source: usnavy / Flickr
- Commission date: 4/4/2020
- Unit type: Attack submarine
- Class: Virginia-class
24. USS Vermont
Source: usnavy / Flickr
- Commission date: 4/18/2020
- Unit type: Attack submarine
- Class: Virginia-class
23. USS Kansas City
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Commission date: 6/20/2020
- Unit type: Littoral combat ship
- Class: Independence-class
22. USS Tripoli
Source: viper-zero / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
- Commission date: 7/15/2020
- Unit type: Amphibious assault ship
- Class: America-class
21. USS St. Louis
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Commission date: 8/8/2020
- Unit type: Littoral combat ship
- Class: Freedom-class
20. USS Delbert D. Black
Source: usnavy / Flickr
- Commission date: 9/26/2020
- Unit type: Destroyer
- Class: Arleigh Burke-class
19. USS Oakland
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Commission date: 4/17/2021
- Unit type: Littoral combat ship
- Class: Independence-class
18. USS Miguel Keith
Source: usnavy / Flickr
- Commission date: 5/8/2021
- Unit type: Expeditionary mobile base
- Class: Lewis B. Puller-class
17. USS Mobile
Source: hyku / Flickr
- Commission date: 5/22/2021
- Unit type: Littoral combat ship
- Class: Independence-class
16. USS Daniel Inouye
Source: usnavy / Flickr
- Commission date: 12/8/2021
- Unit type: Destroyer
- Class: Arleigh Burke-class
15. USS Savannah
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Commission date: 2/5/2022
- Unit type: Littoral combat ship
- Class: Independence-class
14. USS Frank E. Peterson Jr.
- Commission date: 5/14/2022
- Unit type: Destroyer
- Class: Arleigh Burke-class
13. USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul
Source: usnavy / Flickr
- Commission date: 5/21/2022
- Unit type: Littoral combat ship
- Class: Freedom-class
12. USS Oregon
Source: usnavy / Flickr
- Commission date: 5/28/2022
- Unit type: Attack submarine
- Class: Virginia-class
11. USS Montana
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Commission date: 6/25/2022
- Unit type: Attack submarine
- Class: Virginia-class
10. USS Fort Lauderdale
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Commission date: 7/30/2022
- Unit type: Amphibious transport dock
- Class: San Antonio-class
9. USS Santa Barbara
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Commission date: 4/1/2023
- Unit type: Littoral combat ship
- Class: Independence-class
8. USS Cooperstown
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Commission date: 5/6/2023
- Unit type: Littoral combat ship
- Class: Freedom-class
7. USS Lenah H Sutcliffe Higbee
Source: usnavy / Flickr
- Commission date: 5/13/2023
- Unit type: Guided-missile destroyer
- Class: Arleigh Burke-class
6. USS Carl M. Levin
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Commission date: 6/24/2023
- Unit type: Destroyer
- Class: Arleigh Burke-class
5. USS Canberra
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Commission date: 7/22/2023
- Unit type: Littoral combat ship
- Class: Independence-class
4. USS Marinette
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Commission date: 9/16/2023
- Unit type: Littoral combat ship
- Class: Freedom-class
3. USS Augusta
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
- Commission date: 9/30/2023
- Unit type: Littoral combat ship
- Class: Independence-class
2. USS Jack H. Lucas
Source: usnavy / Flickr
- Commission date: 10/7/2023
- Unit type: Destroyer
- Class: Arleigh Burke-class
1. USS Hyman G. Rickover
Source: ooocha / Flickr
- Commission date: 10/14/2023
- Unit type: Attack submarine
- Class: Virginia-class
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