Updated March 31, 2022
Defense Primer: Naval Forces
“Naval Forces” Refers to Both the Navy
The Navy’s aircraft carriers embark multimission carrier air
and Marine Corps
wings (CVWs) consisting of 60+ aircraft—mostly fixed-
Although the term naval forces is often used to refer
wing aircraft, plus a few helicopters. Each CVW typically
specifically to Navy forces, it more properly refers to both
includes 40 or more strike fighters that are capable of air-to-
Navy and Marine Corps forces, because both the Navy and
ground (strike) and air-to-air (fighter) combat operations.
Marine Corps are naval services. For further discussion, see
CRS In Focus IF10484, Defense Primer: Department of the
Size of the Navy
Navy, by Ronald O'Rourke. For a discussion of the Marine
The total number of ships in the Navy is a one-dimensional
Corps that focuses on its organization as a ground-combat
metric that leaves out many other important factors bearing
force, see CRS In Focus IF10571, Defense Primer:
on the Navy’s size and capabilities. Even so, observers
Organization of U.S. Ground Forces, by Barbara Salazar
often cite the total number of ships in the U.S. Navy as a
Torreon and Andrew Feickert.
convenient way of summarizing the Navy’s size and
capabilities.
U.S. Strategy and Naval Forces
U.S. naval forces give the United States the ability to
The quoted number of ships in the Navy reflects the battle
convert the world’s oceans—a global commons that covers
force ships counting method, which is a set of rules for
more than two-thirds of the planet’s surface—into a
which ships count (or do not count) toward the quoted
medium of maneuver and operations for projecting U.S.
number of ships. The battle force ships counting method
power ashore and otherwise defending U.S. interests around
was established in the early 1980s and has been modified
the world. The ability to use the world’s oceans in this
by legislation in recent years. Essentially, it includes ships
manner—and to deny other countries the use of the world’s
that are readily deployable overseas, and which contribute
oceans for taking actions against U.S. interests—constitutes
to the Navy’s overseas combat capability. The Naval
an immense asymmetric advantage for the United States.
History and Heritage Command maintains a database on
numbers of ships in the Navy from 1886 to the present. (It
As discussed elsewhere (see CRS In Focus IF10485,
is available here: https://www.history.navy.mil/research/
Defense Primer: Geography, Strategy, and U.S. Force
histories/ship-histories/us-ship-force-levels.html.) Since this
Design, by Ronald O'Rourke), the size and composition of
database extends back to 1886, it uses a different counting
U.S. naval forces reflect the position of the United States as
method that is more suitable for working with older
a Western Hemisphere power with a goal of preventing the
historical data. This alternate counting method, however,
emergence of regional hegemons in Eurasia. As a result, the
produces, for the 1980s onwards, figures for the total size of
U.S. Navy includes significant numbers of aircraft carriers,
the Navy that are different than the figures produced by the
nuclear-powered attack submarines, large surface
battle force ships counting method. For this reason, using
combatants, large amphibious ships, and underway
figures from the NHHC database to quote the size of the
replenishment ships.
Navy in recent years can cause confusion.
Navy Ship Types
Navy Force-Level Goal
The Navy’s ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) are
The Navy determines its force-level goal—the size and
dedicated to performing a singular mission of strategic
composition of the fleet it would like to reach and maintain
nuclear deterrence. The Navy’s other ships, which are
in coming years—through a Force Structure Analysis
sometimes referred to as the Navy’s general-purpose ships,
(FSA). FSAs are conducted every few years. For each type
are generally multimission ships capable of performing a
of ship, the FSA calculates the number required for
variety of missions other than strategic nuclear deterrence.
warfighting, and the number required for maintaining day-
The principal types of general-purpose ships in the Navy
to-day forward-deployed presence overseas. The Navy’s
include attack submarines (SSNs); aircraft carriers
current force-level goal, released in December 2016, is to
(CVNs); large surface combatants, meaning cruisers
reach and maintain a fleet of 355 battle force ships of
(CGs) and destroyers (DDGs); small surface combatants,
certain types and numbers.
meaning frigates (FFGs), Littoral Combat Ships (LCSs),
mine warfare (MIW) ships, and patrol craft (PCs);
The Navy and DOD since 2019 have been working to
amphibious ships, whose primary function is to transport
develop a new Navy force-level goal that is expected to
Marines and their equipment and supplies to distant
introduce at least some elements of a new fleet architecture
operating areas and support Marine ship-to-shore
featuring a smaller proportion of larger ships (such as large-
movements and Marine operations ashore; combat logistics
deck aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, large amphibious
force (CLF) ships, which perform underway replenishment
ships, and large resupply ships); a larger proportion of
(UNREP) operations, meaning the at-sea resupply of
smaller ships (such as frigates, corvettes, smaller
combat ships; and other support ships of various types.
amphibious ships, smaller resupply ships, and perhaps
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Defense Primer: Naval Forces
smaller aircraft carriers); and a new third tier of large
forward-deployed to distant operating areas, particularly the
unmanned surface and underwater vessels. On June 17,
Western Pacific, the Indian Ocean/Persian Gulf region, and
2021, the Biden Administration released a document that
the waters around Europe. At any given moment, roughly
calls for achieving a Navy with a more distributed fleet
30% or more of the Navy, including two or three CSGs and
architecture, including 321 to 372 manned ships and 77 to
two or three ARGs, might be forward-deployed. Having
140 large unmanned surface and underwater vessels.
enough ships to maintain these forward deployments is a
major influence on calculations that determine the Navy’s
Current Size of the Navy
force-level goal.
The size of the Navy in recent years has generally ranged
between 270 and 300 battle force ships. As of March 29,
The forward-deployed presence of Navy ships is intended
2022, the figure was 295.
to support a number of ongoing or potential missions,
including deterrence of potential aggressors; reassurance of
Nuclear-Powered Ships
allies and partners; engagement operations with foreign
The Navy’s submarines and aircraft carriers are all nuclear
naval and other military forces (which can strengthen
powered, meaning that they use on-board nuclear reactors
political bonds and improve interoperability between the
to generate power for propulsion and for running shipboard
Navy and those other forces); intelligence, surveillance, and
equipment. Navy submarines each have one reactor; Navy
reconnaissance (ISR) operations; rapid response in
aircraft carriers each have two. All other Navy ships are
humanitarian assistance/disaster response (HA/DR)
conventionally powered, meaning that they burn petroleum-
situations; noncombatant evacuation operations (NEOs);
based fuels for propulsion and shipboard power.
counter-terrorist operations, crisis response and
containment, and timely initial actions during the early (and
Navy Nuclear Weapons
potentially critical) stages of a conflict.
The Navy maintains a neither-confirm-nor-deny (NCND)
policy regarding the presence or absence of nuclear
Forward-Homeported Ships
weapons on specific ships. In general, however, it is
Most of the Navy’s ships are homeported in the United
understood that the only Navy ships that carry nuclear
States. To help support its ability to maintain its forward-
weapons are SSBNs, which carry nuclear-armed
deployed presence, some Navy ships are homeported in
submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs). All of the
forward locations. The Navy’s largest forward-homeporting
Navy’s other nuclear weapons, which were referred to
location is Japan, where a CSG, an ARG, and some mine
collectively as nonstrategic naval nuclear weapons, were
warfare ships are homeported. Additional Navy ships are
withdrawn from the fleet as part of a unilateral initiative
forward-homeported elsewhere in the Pacific, in the Persian
announced by President George H.W. Bush at the end of
Gulf (at Bahrain), and in or near the Mediterranean (in
the Cold War in 1991.
Spain and Italy).
Navy Formations
Relevant Statutes
Naval forces are modular and scalable—Navy ships can be
combined into formations of various types and sizes that are
Title 10, U.S. Code, Subtitle C – Navy and Marine Corps
tailored for their intended missions. The two most
prominent types of naval formations are carrier strike

groups (CSGs) and amphibious ready groups (ARGs).
The composition of a CSG can vary, but typically includes
CRS Products
a CVN with its embarked CVW, perhaps three to five
CRS Report RL32665, Navy Force Structure and Shipbuilding
surface combatants (typically one cruiser, plus some
Plans: Background and Issues for Congress, by Ronald O'Rourke
destroyers), a CLF ship, and perhaps an SSN. An ARG
typically includes three amphibious ships—one LHA/LHD

type “big deck” amphibious assault ship (which resembles a
Other Resources
medium-sized aircraft carrier) and two smaller (but still
sizeable) amphibious ships known as LPDs and LSDs. An
Congressional Budget Office, The U.S. Military’s Force Structure:
ARG typically embarks a Marine Expeditionary Unit
A Primer, 2021 Update, May 2021, particularly Chapter 3 (pp.
(MEU), which includes more than 2,000 Marines and their
45-77)
equipment (including some aircraft) and supplies. A third
Department of the Navy, Highlights of the Department of the
type of naval formation is a Surface Action Group (SAG),
Navy FY 2022 Budget, accessed August 18, 2021, at
which consists of a few or several surface combatants,
https://www.secnav.navy.mil/fmc/fmb/Documents/22pres/Highl
without an aircraft carrier. Navy ships sometimes operate
ights_Book.pdf
by themselves—all SSBNs and many SSNs operate this
way, as do some surface combatants and amphibious ships

that are deployed to lower-threat areas (such as South
America or parts of Africa) for purposes of engaging with
Ronald O'Rourke, Specialist in Naval Affairs
allied or partner forces in those areas.
IF10486
Forward-Deployed Operations
The U.S. Navy is unique among the world’s navies in that,
at any given moment, a sizeable fraction of the Navy is
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Defense Primer: Naval Forces


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