The aircraft carrier, Capt. Manvel argues, is one of the greatest inventions of the mind of man, and among the most flexible and powerful weapons used to defend the United States of America. 

Integrating the technologies of aviation, naval architecture and nuclear power, carriers exploit the vast seas to execute an offensive strategy of forward deployment: they are able to project power on the high seas and, simultaneously, in the skies above the lands of our nation's enemies. This talk will present the evolution of the aircraft carrier from its beginnings, shortly after the Wright brothers' success at Kitty Hawk, to the design of the latest supercarrier of the 21st century, the CVN-21.