Deployment Of The F-35 Will Not Solve The U.S. Navy's Carrier Shortage

F-35 test aircraft are seen at Naval Air Station Patuxent Aircraft, Md. Lockheed Martin

Solving The Navy’s Carrier Shortage -- Adm. James A. Lyons, Washington Times

F-35 fifth-generation aircraft could provide needed support.

The U.S. Navy, operating with too few carriers, now has a forward-deployment dilemma. Keeping two carriers deployed to the Middle East with only nine deployable strike carriers is not sustainable, even with their deployment time increasing by 50 percent. This is having debilitating consequences for fleet readiness. An immediate relaxation from the two-carrier commitment would provide much-needed forward deployment flexibility. This can be accomplished by utilizing operational alternatives, including modified U.S. Air Force Air Expeditionary Forces, along with U.S. Marine Corps Air Wing, to provide the required close air support mission in Afghanistan.

With the four-year overhaul of the USS Abraham Lincoln, combined with the delay of the USS Gerald Ford, the Navy will still require additional deployment flexibility. The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) F-35 fifth-generation aircraft could possibly provide such flexibility.

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My Comment: Adm. James A. Lyons argument makes sense if you choose to ignore this.