Since the beginning of the history of war, ships have been a vital asset. A warship is more than a vessel; it’s a symbol of prestige and dominance. So, although in remotely subtle ways, countries have been competing on who builds the biggest and most powerful Navy ship. As such, the waters have carried giants of all kinds into war zones. Each warship is practically a mobile military camp.
Just a single warship can carry long-range ballistic missiles, military jets, cruise missiles, tanks, troops and virtually all types of armor across seas and oceans into a target destination in just a matter of days. Colossal aircraft carriers serve as seagoing airbases. They often have unlimited firepower and feature full-length flight decks along with facilities for arming, deploying, recovering and transporting aircraft.
These vessels have ruled the world of war for centuries and only continue to become more central to warfare. Countries have continued to build bigger and more powerful warships, however here are ten that remain the world’s behemoths of all times.
10. US Nimitz Class
The Nimitz Class aircraft supercarriers are hands down the world’s biggest warships, each standing more than 1000 feet tall. The Nimitz class comprises of ten nuclear-powered aircraft carriers serving the United States Navy.
Each ship in the fleet costs around US$4.5 billion, making them the most expensive warships. A single Nimitz Class aircraft carrier weighs 100,000 tons and can hold up to 90 aircraft. Fitted with anti-aircraft missiles and guns, these vessels have a powerful defense and are expected to serve for 50 years.
Their story, however, doesn’t end there. The US is already developing another class, the Gerald R. Ford Class to succeed the Nimitz. The successor class will comprise ships even bigger and more costly than the current world’s most expensive class of ships.
9. French Charles de Gaulle Class
One of the ships that have seen the most missions around the world and suffered problems with construction and maintenance. French Charles de Gaulle Class is the only nuclear-powered ship operational outside of the US Navy and is French’s very first of its kind.
It was launched in 2001 at a cost of US $4billion. Of all the warships listed here, this ranks among the top. It can carry about 40 aircraft and sail for well over 20 years before it needs refueling.
8. Russian Kirov Class
Russian Kirov Class is a nuclear-powered battlecruiser designed to carry out offensive ops. It was built in the 1980s along with three others each allegedly costing about US$2 billion. While three of the ships in this class are undergoing renovation today, there is one that is still operational and serves to defend the name.