Smaller Ships Is The Trend For The Navy

Three PT Boats, along with a seaplane, pulled up to a tender (Photo from World War Two Zone)

Fleets Turn to Small Ships for New Conflicts -- Aviation Week

During a speech at the U.S. Naval War College in April, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates cited the value of developing a viable force of small warships that are better suited to face current threats in the littorals than vessels designed for blue-water operations.

“You don’t necessarily need a billion-dollar ship to chase down a bunch of teenaged pirates,” he told a group of Navy officers. “The size of the ship in such cases is less important than having Navy Seals on board. To carry out the missions we may face in the future—whether dealing with non-state actors at sea or near shore, or swarming speedboats—we will need numbers, speed and ability to operate in shallow waters.”

Read more ....

My Comment: In a time when military budgets are being scrutinized and cut, smaller ships will be the eventual outcome. But when you look at all of the conflicts that are breaking out in the world, it does not make sense to me to use a blue water fleet with its multi billion dollar assets in

missions that would require far less than that. Something smaller is necessary.

Maybe the PT Boats of the Second World War will come back into vogue .... hmmmm ....