The United States is widely renowned for having the most powerful naval fleet in the world, although it is not the largest by any measure. The U.S. Navy maintains this dominance of the seas 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
A few of the main additions that have been made recently 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. (This country has the most military submarines.)
As it stands now, the majority of the U.S. naval fleet consists of destroyers which account for roughly 30% of all of its vessels. 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 out with littoral combat ships, cruisers, amphibious assault ships, and aircraft carriers.
To determine America’s newest warships, 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.
The Navy has announced that in the coming years it will be decommissioning some of its Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, and these will be replaced 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.)
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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