Are America's Allies 'Back In The Big Carrier Business'

Business Insider: US allies are 'back in the big carrier business,' but the US isn't so sure how many flattops it'll have in the future

* The US, British, and French navies all had carriers at sea in January, including the US and UK's newest flat tops.
* Those new carriers, and one France may acquire in coming years, will be in service for decades, but on the US side, changes may be coming for the role and size of that carrier force.

While the US's new aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford, was undergoing testing off the East Coast last month, the Royal Navy's new carrier, the HMS Queen Elizabeth, was landing and launching jets in UK waters for the first time in a decade and the venerable French carrier Charles de Gaulle was setting off on its first deployment since its 18-month-long midlife overhaul ended late last year.

That activity is a sign the French and the British "are now back in the big carrier business," Vice Adm. Andrew Lewis, commander of the Navy's recently reestablished 2nd Fleet, said this month in Washington, DC.

"Having that global carrier force is real beneficial. That helps our operational dilemma quite a bit," Lewis added in response to a question about his command's partnerships with European navies.

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WNU Editor: The UK's aircraft carriers lack planes and escort ships, and the French carrier Charles de Gaulle is just coming back after a long overdue overhaul.