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The aircraft carriers USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), USS Enterprise (CVN 65), USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), and USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) are in port at Naval Station Norfolk, Va., the world’s largest naval station. Chief Mass Communication Specialist Ryan J. Courtade, Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ernest R. Scott, and Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kevin J. Steinberg
Mike Conaway, Special to Defense News: 12th US Aircraft Carrier Necessary In Increasingly Dangerous World
The US Navy aircraft carrier is an iconic asset that demonstrates American power and resolve, ensuring peace around the world — a peace the US and other nations benefit from greatly. This peace encompasses the oceans on which nearly all US goods and commodities are transported to market. But the aircraft carrier’s survival — a critical part of our naval strategy and US security — is in danger.
Today, the aircraft carrier is the target of populist arguments that may sound reasonable at face value for those unfamiliar with our security operations, but instead obscure the facts. The purpose of these arguments is to eliminate the carrier from our fleet, by arguing the carrier is an expensive, outdated platform. However, at a time when the world is becoming more dangerous, decreasing our carriers or retiring them altogether for short-term monetary gain is unconscionable and will only limit our ability to defend ourselves. Any short-term benefits will have dramatic and costly effects on our safety now and in the future.
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WNU Editor: I fail to see how having an extra aircraft carrier will change today's geopolitical environment .... but having said that I will not be surprised if the next U.S. President (and a willing Congress) will actually sign onto such a plan.
7 comments:
Well, they will have to gut Social Security or cut Medicaid to pay for it.
Great big targets.New Generation Of Anti Ship Missile Systems, are changing the game, Navies need to go small and Submarine if they are to survive more than a month once General War Breaks Out.But for going out and beating up on small poorly defended countries they are excellent.
TWN I agree with you completely. Not only are they big targets but they are irreplaceable in war time.
Ciws and ageis is the future of the carrier.
CIWS and Aegis have limits.
True just hope they keep heavily investing in r and d for themx
It's generally faster and cheaper to build a better bullet,
Than to build a better bullet catcher.
During the Cold War, the Soviet's development of crude and inaccurate nuclear torpedo's and cruise missiles rendered Carrier Air Groups obsolete in Peer to Peer Conflicts,
But like the Battleships of the Interwar period, they are prestige anachronism's, but still useful for killing dark skinned natives armed with sharp fruit.
The proliferation of highly accurate cruise missiles and quiet diesel/aip subs, has now rendered Carrier Air Groups obsolete against second tier nations.
It takes very little in the way of damage to shut down Carrier Air Operations, and once that is done, the entire Fleet needs to withdraw from Operations, ( it's not like WWII, when a crippled Carrier could be safely escorted home by a few destroyers).
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