Military

The US Navy's Newest Ships

usnavy / Flickr

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

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

usnavy / Flickr
  • Commission date: 7/27/2019
  • Unit type: Destroyer
  • Class: Arleigh Burke-class

29. USS Billings

usnavy / Flickr
  • Commission date: 8/3/2019
  • Unit type: Littoral combat ship
  • Class: Freedom-class

28. USS Cincinnati

usnavy / Flickr
  • Commission date: 10/5/2019
  • Unit type: Littoral combat ship
  • Class: Independence-class

27. USS Independence

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Commission date: 10/26/2019
  • Unit type: Littoral combat ship
  • Class: Freedom-class

26. USS Hershel “Woody” Williams

usnavy / Flickr
  • Commission date: 3/7/2020
  • Unit type: Expeditionary mobile base
  • Class: Lewis B. Puller-class

25. USS Delaware

usnavy / Flickr
  • Commission date: 4/4/2020
  • Unit type: Attack submarine
  • Class: Virginia-class

24. USS Vermont

usnavy / Flickr
  • Commission date: 4/18/2020
  • Unit type: Attack submarine
  • Class: Virginia-class

23. USS Kansas City

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Commission date: 6/20/2020
  • Unit type: Littoral combat ship
  • Class: Independence-class

22. USS Tripoli

viper-zero / iStock Editorial via Getty Images
  • Commission date: 7/15/2020
  • Unit type: Amphibious assault ship
  • Class: America-class

21. USS St. Louis

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Commission date: 8/8/2020
  • Unit type: Littoral combat ship
  • Class: Freedom-class

20. USS Delbert D. Black

usnavy / Flickr
  • Commission date: 9/26/2020
  • Unit type: Destroyer
  • Class: Arleigh Burke-class

19. USS Oakland

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Commission date: 4/17/2021
  • Unit type: Littoral combat ship
  • Class: Independence-class

18. USS Miguel Keith

usnavy / Flickr
  • Commission date: 5/8/2021
  • Unit type: Expeditionary mobile base
  • Class: Lewis B. Puller-class

17. USS Mobile

hyku / Flickr
  • Commission date: 5/22/2021
  • Unit type: Littoral combat ship
  • Class: Independence-class

16. USS Daniel Inouye

usnavy / Flickr
  • Commission date: 12/8/2021
  • Unit type: Destroyer
  • Class: Arleigh Burke-class

15. USS Savannah

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

usnavy / Flickr
  • Commission date: 5/21/2022
  • Unit type: Littoral combat ship
  • Class: Freedom-class

12. USS Oregon

usnavy / Flickr
  • Commission date: 5/28/2022
  • Unit type: Attack submarine
  • Class: Virginia-class

11. USS Montana

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Commission date: 6/25/2022
  • Unit type: Attack submarine
  • Class: Virginia-class

10. USS Fort Lauderdale

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Commission date: 7/30/2022
  • Unit type: Amphibious transport dock
  • Class: San Antonio-class

9. USS Santa Barbara

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Commission date: 4/1/2023
  • Unit type: Littoral combat ship
  • Class: Independence-class

8. USS Cooperstown

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Commission date: 5/6/2023
  • Unit type: Littoral combat ship
  • Class: Freedom-class

7. USS Lenah H Sutcliffe Higbee

usnavy / Flickr
  • Commission date: 5/13/2023
  • Unit type: Guided-missile destroyer
  • Class: Arleigh Burke-class

6. USS Carl M. Levin

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Commission date: 6/24/2023
  • Unit type: Destroyer
  • Class: Arleigh Burke-class

5. USS Canberra

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Commission date: 7/22/2023
  • Unit type: Littoral combat ship
  • Class: Independence-class

4. USS Marinette

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Commission date: 9/16/2023
  • Unit type: Littoral combat ship
  • Class: Freedom-class

3. USS Augusta

Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
  • Commission date: 9/30/2023
  • Unit type: Littoral combat ship
  • Class: Independence-class

2. USS Jack H. Lucas

usnavy / Flickr
  • Commission date: 10/7/2023
  • Unit type: Destroyer
  • Class: Arleigh Burke-class

1. USS Hyman G. Rickover

ooocha / Flickr
  • Commission date: 10/14/2023
  • Unit type: Attack submarine
  • Class: Virginia-class

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