Find aircraft carriers in MSFS 2020, open the Top Gun landing activity, and fix missing carriers on the World Map or in free flight.
Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 has no default, searchable aircraft carrier in normal free flight. Its official carrier appears inside the optional Top Gun: Maverick carrier-landing activity, if that content is installed. To use a carrier in unrestricted flights, you need a compatible scenery or carrier add-on and its supplied location.
Where is the official aircraft carrier in MSFS 2020?
The official MSFS 2020 carrier is loaded by the Top Gun: Maverick activity rather than placed on the World Map as an airport. It has no normal ICAO code or selectable runway.
- Open Content Manager and search for
Top GunorMaverickamong your owned and installed content. - Install the expansion if it appears under your account but is not installed.
- Return to Activities and open the Top Gun: Maverick activity group.
- Select the carrier landing challenge. The activity loads the aircraft on approach with the required carrier and mission logic; you do not need map coordinates.
The Top Gun: Maverick expansion was separate from the standard simulator and was later delisted after its licensing period ended. Existing owners may still find it in their content library, but installing the default F/A-18 alone does not add the carrier activity.
Why does no aircraft carrier appear on the World Map?
The Top Gun carrier does not appear because it is an activity-specific object, not a conventional airport or free-flight destination.
- Searching for
aircraft carrier,USSor a ship name will not reveal the activity carrier. - The default F/A-18 Super Hornet does not place a carrier in the open world.
- A ship visible in satellite imagery or scenery may be only a visual model, with no solid deck, arresting wires or usable starting position.
- Many add-on carriers are found through coordinates or a nearby airport supplied by the developer rather than through the World Map search box.
Our explanation of scripted carrier activities versus free-flight carrier add-ons covers this distinction in more detail.
How can I use an aircraft carrier in free flight?
A carrier in a normal World Map flight requires an add-on built for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020. Choose the package by what you want the deck to do, not merely by how the ship looks.
| Carrier type | Best for | Main limitation |
|---|---|---|
| Top Gun activity | An official F/A-18 landing challenge | Scripted activity rather than unrestricted free flight |
| Static scenery carrier | Approaches, screenshots and fixed-location operations | May lack working arresting wires or catapults |
| Functional or moving carrier add-on | Repeated naval operations in free flight | May require dependencies, a companion utility or specifically supported aircraft |
On PC, downloaded scenery normally goes in the simulator's Community folder. Xbox cannot load PC Community packages; it requires content distributed as Xbox-compatible in-sim Marketplace software. Our MSFS aircraft and scenery downloads are a useful place to check for PC-compatible naval content.
- Read the package instructions for coordinates, a nearby airfield or a custom departure point. Do not assume the carrier has a World Map marker.
- Confirm simulator compatibility because an MSFS 2024 package is not automatically suitable for MSFS 2020.
- Install every stated dependency, especially when the carrier uses custom movement, catapult or arresting-wire logic.
- Start near the documented position and use the stated time or operating method if the carrier moves.
Why is my installed carrier missing or unusable?
A missing or non-functional carrier usually indicates an installation, compatibility or package-design problem rather than a World Map fault.
- Nothing appears: on PC, check that the package's root folder contains files such as
manifest.jsonandlayout.json. An extra nested wrapper folder can stop MSFS from loading it. - The carrier is absent from search: this may be normal; use the coordinates or nearby airport stated in its documentation.
- The aircraft falls through the deck: the model lacks a collision surface, has failed to load correctly or is only decorative scenery.
- The hook will not catch: MSFS 2020 does not provide universal arresting-wire behaviour for every ship and aircraft combination. The package may require its own script, utility or supported tailhook configuration.
- A moving ship is missing: verify any required companion utility, route schedule and starting time.
Can every naval aircraft land on an add-on carrier?
No. A visible tailhook does not guarantee that an aircraft can interact with a particular add-on's arresting system. Some carriers recognise only supported aircraft, while others use custom logic that must be running before touchdown.
For configuration, hook use and approach technique, follow our practical F/A-18 carrier-landing procedure. If you prefer another naval type, the freeware Dassault Rafale M for MSFS 2020 is an option, but arresting-wire compatibility still depends on the carrier package being used.