United States Navy
Navy · United States
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces, designated as the navy of the United States in the Constitution. It is the world's second largest navy by vessel count, with 290 combat vessels, but by far the largest by displacement, and it has the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven carriers in service as of 2024. The Navy originates from the Continental Navy of the American Revolutionary War, and the Naval Act of 1794 provided for its first ships; in World War II it was central in defeating the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Pacific War, supplanting the Royal Navy as the world's largest navy. Headed by the secretary of the Navy with the chief of naval operations as its most senior officer, it is part of the Department of the Navy alongside the coequal United States Marine Corps.