Classification of warships

Ship (from the Greek ‘κάραβος, κάραβι’ — ship, vessel) — a general maritime term used in parallel with the term vessel, but not its exact equivalent.

Today, in most cases, a ship is understood to be a military vessel — a vessel equipped with weapons and other technical means for performing combat tasks, with a military crew, and part of its country's naval forces.

A military vessel designed to perform combat tasks is considered a warship. The main combat purpose of a ship is to destroy or weaken the enemy's forces and resources through combat action. To this end, warships are armed with several types of shipborne weapons: missiles, artillery, mines, anti-submarine weapons, anti-aircraft weapons, and various electronic intelligence equipment. Each ship performs combat tasks both independently and in cooperation with other ships, aircraft, and marines.

The classification of ships and vessels is the division of military ships (vessels) into classes and subclasses depending on their purpose, armament, displacement, and other tactical and technical data. A class consists of ships that have the same combat purpose and main armament. A subclass includes ships of the same class that differ from each other in displacement and specialisation.

Based on the above, it follows that different countries have different principles for classifying military ships, so we have divided foreign and post-Soviet classifications into two separate publications in order to clearly see the differences.

According to foreign classification, modern warships are divided into:

• main classes of combat ships
• auxiliary ships

Main classes of combat ships

Aircraft carriers

• CV — multi-purpose aircraft carriers
• CVN — multi-purpose aircraft carriers with nuclear power plants (hereinafter referred to as NPP)

Aircraft carriers are designed to deliver air strikes against enemy ships and vessels at sea and at bases, coastal targets, to support land forces, to land marine troops, to provide air and anti-submarine defence for combat ship formations and convoys at sea and in battle, and to secure maritime communications. Aircraft carriers include ships whose main combat weapons are deck-based aircraft and helicopters.

Battleships

• BB — battleship (only in the US Navy)

Cruisers

• CG — guided missile cruiser
• CGN — URO cruiser with nuclear power plant
• R — helicopter carrier cruiser

Cruisers were designed as ships for action against enemy maritime communications. During the war, these ships had to continuously roam the seas, crossing them lengthwise and crosswise, as if ‘crossing’ the seas and oceans. It was from the word ‘cross’ in all languages that the name of the ships originated, which over time grew into a separate class of ‘cruisers’. A ship that ploughed the seas and oceans in all directions is a cruiser.

Helicopter cruisers are combat ships equipped mainly for basing helicopters and designed primarily for anti-submarine defence, as well as for landing marine units by helicopter and providing fire support for their operations. Such cruisers can also be used to base vertical or short take-off and landing aircraft, which significantly expands the range of combat tasks.

Destroyer

• DD — destroyers
• DDG — guided missile destroyers
• DDH — helicopter carrier destroyers (only in the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force)

A destroyer is a warship designed to destroy enemy submarines and surface ships (vessels), conduct anti-submarine and anti-aircraft defence of its surface ships and vessels at sea and in combat, to support amphibious landings, maritime transport, fire support for troops on the coast, mine laying, and other tasks. In terms of the number of tasks they can perform and their combat capabilities, destroyers are the most versatile warships.

Frigates (corvettes)

• FF — frigate
• FFG — guided missile frigate
• FFL — light frigate (corvette)

Frigates (corvettes) are designed to search for and destroy submarines, provide anti-submarine, anti-aircraft and anti-missile defence for ships and transports when operating as part of search and strike groups or escort forces for aircraft carrier strike groups, landing forces and convoys.

Coastal combat ships

• LCS (Littoral Combat Ship) — coastal combat ship (only in the US Navy)

Landing ships and boats

Landing ships provide for the landing of troops on unequipped shores using their landing craft, and also have the capability of airborne troop deployment using helicopters that are part of their armament. Landing ships usually have a spacious dock chamber, a take-off and landing pad, and a hangar for helicopters. A distinctive feature of universal landing ships is the presence of a continuous flight deck and an island-type superstructure. The air group of landing ships includes vertical or short take-off and landing aircraft, so that in terms of their combat capabilities, these ships are not inferior to light aircraft carriers.

There are two classes of amphibious ships: amphibious ships capable of crossing oceans and landing craft designed to deliver troops from large ships to the coast at the moment of landing.

Amphibious ships

• LCC — Expeditionary Force Command Ship
• LHA — Universal Amphibious Ship
• LHD — Universal Amphibious Ship with increased capacity for landing craft
• LPA — Landing Platform Helicopter Dock
• LSD — amphibious helicopter carrier
• LPD — amphibious transport dock
• LSL — amphibious supply ship
• LST — tank landing ship
• LSV — wheeled vehicle landing ship

Landing craft

• LCA — assault landing craft
• LCAC — landing craft air cushion
• LCP — personnel landing craft
• LCU — multipurpose landing craft
• LCM — landing craft
• LCVP — landing craft personnel and vehicles
• L-CAT — high-speed landing catamaran

Patrol ships and boats

• PCF — high-speed patrol boat
• PC — coastal patrol ship
• PG — patrol boat
• PR — river gunboat
• PHM — missile patrol craft on hydrofoils
• PTG — small missile boat
• ASPB (Alpha Boat) — patrol boat for fire support of landing forces
• PACV — hovercraft patrol craft
• PB — patrol craft

Patrol vessels are ships whose purpose may extend beyond coastal operations and which have sufficient seaworthiness and autonomy to operate independently on the open sea for no more than two days.

Logistics support vessels

• AE — floating ammunition depot
• AFS — supply transport
• AO — fleet tanker
• AOE — high-speed universal supply transport
• AKE — universal supply and ammunition transport

The enormous costs of maintaining an entire fleet of modern ships in constant combat readiness require that they be fully supplied anywhere in the world's oceans. This is achieved with the help of supply ships. Supply ships are designed to replenish supplies at sea.

Mine countermeasure ships

• AM — mine sweeper (auxiliary)
• AMb — harbour mine sweeper
• AMc — base mine sweeper
• AMCU — underwater mine detector
• MSO — ocean minesweeper
• MSC — coastal minesweeper
• MCM — mine countermeasure vessel
• MCS — mine countermeasure support vessel
• MHS — mine hunter
• CM — mine layer

The main purpose of mine countermeasure vessels is to lay minefields in order to inflict losses and restrict the actions of enemy naval forces, blocking ship bases, covering their own maritime borders, and conducting anti-mine operations at sea involving the search for and destruction of mines using remote-controlled self-propelled trawls or mine sweepers.

Submarines

Submarines are vessels capable of submerging and operating underwater. The main tactical feature of submarines is their stealth. Submarines are designed to destroy enemy ships and vessels, attack ground targets, lay minefields, conduct reconnaissance, land sabotage groups, and perform other combat and special tasks. In foreign classification, submarines are divided into combat submarines, auxiliary submarines and research submarines.

Combat submarines

• SS — strike multi-purpose submarine with DEP
• SSB — submarine with ballistic missiles on board with DEP
• SSBN — nuclear submarine with ballistic missiles on board
• SSC — coastal submarine with DEP (over 150 tonnes)
• SSG — submarine with cruise missiles with DEP
• SSGN — nuclear submarine with cruise missiles
• SSI — strike multi-purpose submarine with air-independent power plant
• SSM — ultra-small submarine (up to 150 tons)
• SSN — multi-purpose nuclear submarine

Support submarines

• SSA — support/cargo submarine with DEP
• SSP — multi-purpose submarine with air-independent propulsion (submarine transport)
• SST — training submarine with DEP
• AGSS — auxiliary submarine
• IXSS — unclassified auxiliary submarine

Research submarines

• NR (Nuclear Research) — research submarine
• DSRV — deep-sea rescue vehicle

Auxiliary vessels

Support vessels

• ACS — auxiliary floating crane
• AG — auxiliary vessel
• AGDS — deep-sea support vessel
• AFSB — auxiliary command ship
• AGOR — oceanographic research vessel
• AGM — floating telemetry station
• AGOS — oceanographic survey vessel
• AGS — hydrographic vessel
• AH — hospital ship
• AK — cargo transport
• AKS — dry cargo transport
• AKR — self-propelled equipment transport
• AOG — tanker-fuel tanker
• AOT — oil tanker
• ARC — cable repair vessel
• HSV — high-speed transport
• ARS — rescue vessel
• AS — floating submarine base
• ASR — submarine rescue vessel
• ATF — ocean-going tugboat
• ATS — universal rescue vessel
• AVB — aviation support ship
• SBX — X-band sea-based radar

Auxiliary ships and support vessels are designed to perform a variety of functions in support of combat ships and operations at sea, in a wide range of winds and waves, providing general support to combat units and coastal facilities.

Service vessels

Service vessels, including non-self-propelled vessels, are part of the naval forces. Service vessels are designed to serve both the combat forces of the fleet and naval bases. The letter ‘N’ refers to non-self-propelled variants. The letter ‘Y’ is assigned to auxiliary vessels of shipbuilding yards.

This subclass of vessels includes: floating cranes, floating docks, floating barracks, non-self-propelled lighters, barges, floating workshops, harbour tugs, as well as vessels with the letter ‘IX’ that have not been classified.