---
title: "Aircraft carrier vs nuclear submarine — size, weight and speed"
description: "Aircraft carrier is 5.4× nuclear submarine on weight. Compared on 3 measured properties, with the full range and a source for each."
url: https://atoneplace.net/vs/aircraft-carrier-vs-nuclear-submarine/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Aircraft carrier vs Nuclear submarine

**Aircraft carrier vs nuclear submarine: Aircraft carrier is larger on weight**

Aircraft carrier is 5.4× nuclear submarine on weight.

An aircraft carrier and a nuclear submarine can be compared on 3 measures. The figures below are typical adult or full-size values, with the larger of the two in bold.

## Side by side

*Larger value in bold. Ranges reflect genuine variation, not uncertainty.*

|  | Aircraft carrier | Nuclear submarine |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Weight | 101,600–106,300 t | 16,760–18,750 t |
| Length | 332.8 m | 170 m |
| Typical cost | 8,500,000,000 $ | 2,000,000,000 $ |

## What the numbers say

- Aircraft carrier is 5.4× nuclear submarine on weight.
- Aircraft carrier is 2× nuclear submarine on length.
- Aircraft carrier is 4.3× nuclear submarine on typical cost.

*Weight compared.*

- Aircraft carrier: 101,600–106,300 t
- Nuclear submarine: 16,760–18,750 t

## Aircraft carrier

A US Navy Nimitz-class supercarrier, the standard against which "the size of an aircraft carrier" is measured.

## Nuclear submarine

A US Navy Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine, which can stay submerged for months.

> This is a comparison of published measurements, nothing more. It describes how two things differ on measures that have been recorded; it does not predict how they would fare against each other in any situation.

## Common questions

### Which is bigger, aircraft carrier or nuclear submarine?

Aircraft carrier is 5.4× nuclear submarine on weight. Both figures are typical values; the full range for each is in the table above.

### How do aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines compare on length?

Aircraft carrier: 332.8 m. Nuclear submarine: 170 m. Aircraft carrier is 2× nuclear submarine on length.

### How do aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines compare on typical cost?

Aircraft carrier: 8,500,000,000 $. Nuclear submarine: 2,000,000,000 $. Aircraft carrier is 4.3× nuclear submarine on typical cost.

## Related pages

- [Aircraft carrier vs cruise ship](https://atoneplace.net/vs/aircraft-carrier-vs-cruise-ship/)
- [Aircraft carrier vs container ship](https://atoneplace.net/vs/aircraft-carrier-vs-container-ship/)
- [Aircraft carrier vs RMS Titanic](https://atoneplace.net/vs/aircraft-carrier-vs-titanic/)
- [Nuclear submarine vs RMS Titanic](https://atoneplace.net/vs/nuclear-submarine-vs-titanic/)

## Sources

- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (https://www.wikidata.org/) [CC0 1.0]