America has 11 aircraft carriers. So why is the US Navy struggling to deploy more than three at once?In this bonus video explainer, The Sunday Times’s Mark Urban examines the growing strain on America’s carrier fleet. These 100,000-ton floating airfields have long been symbols of US military power, but delayed ships, lengthy repairs and overstretched crews are making it increasingly difficult to keep them at sea. If Washington cannot reliably deploy the fleet it already has, what does that mean for America’s ability to project power around the world – and are aircraft carriers becoming a symbol not of US strength, but of its limits?00:00 – America’s aircraft carrier problem00:53 – Delayed ships and ageing carriers02:24 – Trump’s proposed carrier redesign03:25 – Longer deployments, greater strain04:50 – The carrier gap in the Pacific06:09 – The $25 billion carrier group at risk07:30 – The cost to the wider fleet08:38 – Shipyard decline and military powerGet in touch: [email protected]: Yasmin Butt Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.