Navy Aircraft Carriers: Proposed Retirement of USS John F. Kennedy -- Issues and Options for Congress

The Navy's FY2007 budget proposes retiring the conventionally-powered aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy (CV-67) and reducing the size of the carrier force from 12 ships to 11. One potential issue for Congress is whether the carrier force should include 12 ships or some other number. If a carrier is to be retired in the near term so as to reduce the carrier force to 11 ships, a second potential issue is whether that carrier should be the Kennedy or another ship. Potential alternatives to the Kennedy include the conventionally-powered Kitty Hawk and the nuclear-powered carriers Enterprise and Vinson. A third potential issue for Congress concerns the relative military advantages of different homeporting arrangements for the carrier force