Is The Era Of The Aircraft Carrier Coming To An End?

The aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) and other American and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Forces (JMSDF) ships transit together at the end of ANNUALEX 19G, the maritime component of the U.S.-Japan exercise Keen Sword '08. The exercise was designed to increase interoperability between the United States and JMSDF and increase their ability to effectively and mutually respond to a regional crisis situation. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Kyle D. Gahlau (Released)

Twilight Of The Aircraft Carrier? -- James R. Holmes, The Diplomat

Past fears that carriers were vulnerable to new technologies weren’t proven right… nor were they proven wrong.

Over at The National Interest this week, former Naval Diplomat shipmate — U.S. Marines say there are no former Marines, just Marines; are there former shipmates? — Bryan McGrath wades into the debate over Tom Ricks’s Washington Post column urging the U.S. military to get smaller to get better.

Let me wade in as well; the water’s fine. Ricks takes aim at the U.S. Navy’s fleet of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers in particular. He cites the expense of CVNs, but Bryan zeroes in mainly on the question of flattops’ vulnerability in a threat environment populated by exotic armaments such as anti-ship cruise and ballistic missiles, stealth tactical aircraft, and so forth.

Bryan mocks Ricks’ observation that CVNs look much like their distant ancestors. But the point is that carriers have enormous radar cross-sections. They don’t have that sleek, angular, unearthly appearance that typifies stealth aircraft and ships. Radar essentially shouts and listens for the echo. A bulky hull featuring lots of flat surfaces, sharp edges, and protuberances is bound to reflect electromagnetic radiation — the shout — returning that echo to the adversary’s radar set and thence to his fire-control system and anti-ship weaponry. In that sense, the look of a ship does matter, as Ricks observes.

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WNU Editor: Another good post that examines the future of the aircraft carrier is the following .... Will Aircraft Carriers Remain Useful in Future Wars? -- DoD Buzz