Two F-14A Tomcat aircraft from Fighter Squadron 21 and one from Fighter Squadron 154 (background) are parked on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS CONSTELLATION (CV 64) during Fleet Exercise 85. Other aircraft parked on the flight deck include A-6E Intruders, F/A-18A Hornets, and an S-3A Viking

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.