RA?

it is a greatly reduced cost way to get ships that you don't have to have researched, and its instant.  note "reduced" cost, not free.

Instant mini-fleet at your choice of location (assuming you have a stabaliser there)

Does it give the same mix of ships that it did before, including the new carriers?

its still ships at 60% of full cost instant...

RA was horribly nerfed, only something to consider in a few late-game situations now. Shame because that was one of the more fun strats playing vasari. I'd use it if I already had a big eco/military advantage and wanted to protect against backdoor or disruptive attacks with an instant fleet.

I still see RA as being extremely powerful, just not RA rushing.  I have already played one game where I beat my first opponent, then swtiched over to RA based production to fight 3 opponents who were winning on the other side of the map in a 5v5.  It takes RA a little longer to pay for itself, but it is still worth it on bigger maps.

Instead of "free ships for life", RA is now "cheap ships for life".

It is also very handy, as mwilken pointed out, to instantly create a small fleet in case someone is raiding you.

Yes, it still gives the same kind of mix, including the new carriers.  The fleet supply of ships arriving is larger than it used to be, too.  It is also worth noting that level 1 RA is NOT worth it for the cost.