Signalman Second Class James Kennedy sends signals to ships in the Nimitz Battle Group from the signal bridge of aircraft carrier USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (CVN 73). George Washington and her embarked Carrier Air Wing One (CVW-1) are conducting sustained operations in the Persian Gulf in support of UN sanctions against Iraq under operation Southern Watch

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.