While its importance and cost have been considered controversial, aircraft carriers have remained as the most powerful weapon of navies all around the world. Since World War II, naval forces worldwide have been adding aircraft carriers to their arsenal at a stunning pace.

The United States has the most powerful navy in the world with more aircraft carriers than all other navies combined. Established navies like Britain, France, and Russia have continually added more and more carriers to strengthen their navy. According to Rear Adm. Philippe Coindreau, Commander of the French navy task force leading the air strikes on Libya since March 22, having aircraft carriers in a navy helps project power.

The 42,000-ton French carrier Charles de Gaulle had been at the forefront of conducting daily airstrikes against the forces of Moammar Gadhafi since the United Nations sanctioned international intervention in Libya. The United States did not dispatch any of its aircraft carriers in the operation although it was involved in the initial phase. It has 11 nuclear-powered carriers in its naval arsenal, majority are Nimitz-class vessels that can dispatch up to 100,000 tons.

Aircraft carriers have been the backbone of US sea power after the Second World War, showing military dominance in various conflicts such as Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Kosovo, and Afghanistan. According to Lee Willett, Head of the Royal United Services Institute’s maritime studies program, the Libyan conflict displayed the usefulness of aircraft carriers to other navies with interests in the region. Willett said that even small navies have realized the value of having sea-based airpower.

According to Nate Hughes, Director of Military Analysis at Stratfor, aircraft carriers are quite flexible and can be used for other tasks and not just warfare. This is the reason why navies around the world are spending money to build these vessels. However, the relevance of aircraft carriers has been a subject of a long debate among military experts.

According to critics, the idea of building aircraft carriers is now antiquated. With the advances in anti-ship weapons, these vessels become nothing more than white elephants that are too costly to risk losing in a war. While they make navies invincible because of these jets and missiles, one cannot deny the reality that they have been used against inferior opponents.

According to Benjamin Friedman, a research fellow with the Washington-based CATO Institute, the development of modern navies with the ability to target aircraft carriers from great distances can make the complex business of developing aircraft carriers no longer viable in a couple of decades.

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