The current US fleet of Nimitz-class carriers will be followed into service (and in some cases replaced) by the ten-ship Gerald R. Ford class. It is expected that the ships will be more automated in an effort to reduce the amount of funding required to staff, maintain and operate its supercarriers. The main new features are implementation of Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System (EMALS) (which replace the old steam catapults) and unmanned aerial vehicles. With the deactivation of USS Enterprise in December 2012 (decommissioning scheduled for 2016), the U.S. fleet comprises 10 active supercarriers. On 24 July 2007, the House Armed Services Seapower subcommittee recommended seven or eight new carriers (one every four years). However, the debate has deepened over budgeting for the $12–14.5 billion (plus $12 billion for development and research) for the 100,000 ton Gerald R. Ford-class carrier (estimated service 2016) compared to the smaller $2 billion 45,000 ton America-class amphibious assault ships able to deploy squadrons of F-35B of which one is already active, another is under construction and nine more are planned.

What will some of the current US fleet of Nimitz-class carriers be replaced with?