When the tension between USA and Venezuela began to reach its zenith, Washington sent a gigantic ship – the USS Gerald R. Ford – to the area of \u200b\u200bthe country ruled by Nicolás Maduro. It's hard to imagine better power projection. Such an aircraft carrier can carry 75-90 aircraft. For comparison, the entire fleet of Polish F-16s currently consists of 47 machines.
Modern aircraft carriers therefore allow for effective military operations far from the borders of the country that sends them – and this is the dream of every geopolitical power.
The rest of the article is below the video
Currently, American aircraft carriers dominate the seas and oceans – out of 24 aircraft carriers in the world, 11 of them are US-flagged ships. Additionally, the Americans are building several more. This is, of course, a symbol of the power of the United States – the “mobile air force” can, thanks to such ships, conduct operations in virtually any geographic latitude.
The race has started
For decades, the United States was the only significant “aircraft carrier” power in the world. However, China began to follow on their heels. The first ship of this type was not spectacular – Liaoning entered service in 2012, but was actually just a converted Soviet Navy ship.
Currently, however, the Middle Kingdom already has three aircraft carriers in service – two of which have already been manufactured entirely in China. Another ship is in production, but China's ambitions do not end there. There was information that the country wants to have as many as six such ships in the next decade – and this would be a powerful force, posing great competition to the USA.
Recently, French President Emmanuel Macron talked about plans to build a new aircraft carrier. However, the ship would not enter service until 2038. It would be sooner, because the first Turkish aircraft carrier is to be launched in 2030, which – as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently announced – will be longer than planned, as it will be approximately 300 m long.
Sailors aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford
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In Europe, the most important player when it comes to aircraft carriers is Great Britain. This country has two modern ships of this type – one entered service in 2014, the other – in 2019. The great advantage of these ships are the machines that take off from them – these are the fifth generation F-35B Lightning fighters, currently the most modern on the market.
F-35 aircraft on board the British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales
But there are other European countries – Italy, for example. This country has one “full” aircraft carrier and another lighter ship from which helicopters can mainly take off. Spain also has one aircraft carrier.
The big absentee in the aircraft carrier race is Russia. The only such ship has been under renovation since 2017 – and its exact status is not fully known. The country does not have the funds to work on further projects because it is absorbed in the land war in Ukraine.
Why does Poland not have aircraft carriers?
The reasons are quite obvious – the Baltic Sea is too small for aircraft carriers, and Poland has no plans to become a global power yet.
Another, also not very surprising, reason is costs. Building an aircraft carrier costs astronomical amounts of money. For example, the ship that France wants to build is expected to cost approximately $12 billion. And this is approximately PLN 43 billion, while Poland's total annual defense expenditure is just over PLN 200 billion.
Aircraft carriers Gerald R. Ford and Dwight D. Eisenhower with their battle groups
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Abaca / East News
Moreover, aircraft carriers do not sail alone. They usually sail as part of strike groups, usually consisting of several ships. The remaining ships are usually intended to protect the aircraft carrier. Even submarines sometimes sail in groups. Meanwhile, our Navy is still underinvested, so it is difficult to imagine forming such a group – even if we managed to build an aircraft carrier.
Author: Mateusz Madejski, journalist of Business Insider Polska
