Special Report

The Newest Ship in the US Navy

hyku / Flickr

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

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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