Published

24 mins ago

on

June 5, 2024

See this visualization first on the Voronoi app.

Who Rules the Waves? U.S. and Chinese Fleets, by Tonnage

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China’s third aircraft carrier recently began its sea trials, and there are reports that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy already has more ships than the United States, just how do these superpower rivals stack up, ton for ton?

This graphic from Chris Dickert looks at the Chinese and U.S. navies by tonnage using data from the International Institute for Security Studies.

Key Takeaways The U.S. Navy has over 3.6 million (U.S.) tons of ships in its fleet, more than seven times the size China’s combined fleets of less than half a million tons. While China boasts the largest number of ships, 875 between both the PLA Navy and the Chinese Coast Guard, against the U.S. Navy’s 364, they are generally smaller and less advanced than their U.S. counterparts. The Chinese Coast Guard has received many of the PLA Navy’s older ships, however the vast majority of their ships are patrol and coastal combatants that average 156 tons apiece and aren’t able to sail far from China’s coast. Even as the U.S. Navy edges out the PLA Navy across the board, China does hold a 2:1 edge in tonnage of landing ships and craft, reflecting the Asian superpower’s stated policy goal of reunifying Taiwan with the mainland. BranchShip TypeNumberTonnage (U.S. short ton) PLA NavyLanding Crafts781,789 PLA NavyLanding Ships5228,410 PLA NavyPrincipal Amphibious Ships1165,000 PLA NavyAircraft Carriers2137,500 PLA NavyCruisers813,000 PLA NavyDestroyer4270,480 PLA NavyFrigates4913,810 PLA NavyStrategic1230,000 PLA NavyTactical4727,219 U.S. NavyAmphibious396,050 U.S. NavyLanding Craft14111,692 U.S. NavyPrincipal Amphibious Ships31843,580 U.S. NavyAircraft Carriers111,100,000 U.S. NavyCruisers15159,390 U.S. NavyDestroyer73619,964 U.S. NavyFrigates2477,600 U.S. NavyStrategic14262,500 U.S. NavyTactical52431,124 China Coast GuardLanding Ships24,800 China Coast GuardLogistics and Support2711,085 China Coast GuardPatrol and Coastal Combatants54585,425 1,2394,090,418