A Fighter Squadron 14 (VF-14) F-14A Tomcat aircraft is refueled by an Air Force KC-10A Extender aircraft while on patrol in the Persian Gulf region following the cease-fire that ended Operation Desert Storm. VF-14 is based aboard the aircraft carrier USS JOHN F. KENNEDY (CV-67)

Aircraft carriers are warships that act as airbases for carrier-based aircraft. In the United States Navy, these consist of ships commissioned with hull classification symbols CV (aircraft carrier), CVA (attack aircraft carrier), CVB (large aircraft carrier), CVL (light aircraft carrier), CVN (aircraft carrier (nuclear propulsion) and CVAN (attack aircraft carrier (nuclear propulsion). The first aircraft carrier commissioned into the United States Navy was USS Langley (CV-1) on 20 March 1922.