TYPES OF WARSHIPS

A warship is a naval ship built for naval warfare. They usually belong to the Navy of a country. They are different from merchant ships as warships typically carry only weapons, ammunition and supplies for their crews, while the former is not armed and carries supplies necessary for trade and commerce.

Types of Warships in the 21st Century

Modern warships are generally divided into seven main categories, which are:

Aircraft carriers: an aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seabase, that contains full length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a naval force to project air power worldwide without depending on local bases for staging aircraft operations. 

Cruisers: Cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. As of 2021 only two countries operate vessels formerly classed as cruisers: the United States and Russia, and in both cases the vessels are primarily armed with guided missiles.

Destroyers: A destroyer is a fast, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. At the start of the 21st century, destroyers were the global standard for surface combatant ships. Most destroyers are armed with guided missile systems. 

Frigates: A frigate is a type of warship, having various sizes and roles over time. In the 17th century, a frigate was any warship built for speed,the description often used being “frigate-built”.

Corvettes: A corvette is a small warship. It is traditionally the smallest class of vessel considered to be a proper warship. The modern types of ship below a corvette are coastal patrol craft, missile boats and fast attack craft. In modern terms, a corvette is typically between 500 tons and 2,000 tons, although recent designs may approach 3,000 tons, which might instead be considered a small frigate.

Submarines: A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. Submarines are referred to as “boats” rather than “ships” irrespective of their size. Most large submarines consist of a cylindrical body with hemispherical (or conical) ends and a vertical structure, usually located between ships, which have communications and sensing devices as well as periscopes.

Amphibious assault ships: An amphibious assault ship is a type of amphibious warfare ship employed to land and support ground forces on enemy territory by an amphibious assault. Modern ships support amphibious landing craft, with most designs including a well deck. Coming full circle, some amphibious assault ships also support fixed-wing aircraft, now having a secondary role as aircraft carriers.