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Showing posts with the label Ford Class Carrier

Five Reasons U.S. Aircraft Carriers Are Nearly Impossible To Sink ( Source- The National Interest / Author- Loren B. Thomson)

USS John C. Stennis ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / United States navy) Source- The National Interest Author- Loren B. Thomson Large-deck, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers are the signature expression of American military power.  No other combat system available to U.S. warfighters comes close to delivering so much offensive punch for months at a time without requiring land bases near the action.  As a result, the ten carriers in the current fleet are in continuous demand from regional commanders -- so much so that extended overseas combat tours are becoming the norm.  ( Read on )

Flattop Faceoff: China's Pride vs. America's Arrogance ( Source- The National Interest / Author- Peter Navarro)

PLAN Aircraft Liaoning ( Source-Wikimedia Commons / Author- Simon Yang) Source- The National Interest Author- Peter Navarro “Anonymous sources within the U.S. Navy’s senior command have revealed that the U.S. is not concerned over any immediate threat from the introduction of China’s latest aircraft carrier in the Pacific, the Liaoning.” China’s only aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, is a great source of national pride. It is also a grim symbol of the arrogance of an American defense establishment that largely dismisses Beijing’s under-sized training carrier as an antiquated bucket of rusty Soviet bolts.  The prevailing Pentagon opinion is not wrong, at least when viewed through the keyhole of tactics and short-term thinking. The Liaoning is indeed a refurbished Soviet carrier originally launched in 1988 that the Chinese picked up for a rusting song from Ukraine in 1998. The Liaoning is also a bit undersized. Its deck is just shy of 100 feet shorter than an Amer

America's Great Aircraft Carrier Crisis: Lots of Demand, Not Enough Ships ( Source- The National Interest / Author- Dave Majumdar)

USS Carl Vinson ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / United States Navy) Source- National Interest Author- Dave Majumdar The U.S. Navy is struggling to meet its worldwide commitments with only ten aircraft carriers in the fleet. The service has been down to ten flattops ever since USS Enterprise (CVN-65) was retired in December 2012. The Navy will only return to eleven ships once USS Gerald R. Ford is commissioned in 2016, but that vessel won’t be ready for deployment until 2021. But the law requires the Navy to operate a minimum of eleven carriers. The service is operating under a temporary exemption that allows it operate only ten vessels. But because the Navy is struggling to meet requirements with the current number of operational carriers, Congressman Mike Conaway (R-Texas) has introduced legislation to that would require the service to maintain a fleet of no less than twelve carriers. The law used to require the Navy to operate twelve flattops until the last

America's Future Aircraft Carriers Will Pack Tons of Firepower ( Source- The National Interest / Author- Zachary Keck)

USS Gerald R. Ford class Aircraft Carrier ( Source- Wikimedia Commons / Credits- US Navy) Source- The National Interest Author- Zachary Keck Despite the proliferation of precision-guided ballistic and cruise missiles, aircraft carriers are far from obsolete. That was the message Vice Admiral Mike Shoemaker, commander of Naval Air Forces, sought to deliver this week. Writing in a commentary piece on DOD Buzz, Shoemaker argued that: “Today, more than ever, U.S. national interests require the speed, endurance, flexibility and autonomous nature of the U.S. Navy’s nuclear powered aircraft carrier, which deploys, operates and is prepared to fight as part of a Carrier Strike Group (CSG).” He added: “Operationally, the combined strength of the CSG remains vastly greater than the sum of its parts. As a complex, joint force multiplier, with command and control and organic logistical capabilities, there exists no comparable way to quickly generate the effects crucial to

Are U.S. Aircraft Carriers About to Become Obsolete? ( Source- The National Security / Author- James Hasik)

USS Gerald R Ford (CVN-78) ( Image source- Wikimedia Commons / Credits- United States Navy) Source- The National Interest Author- James Hasik Ever since I was a midshipman—way back under a Navy Secretary named Lehman—pundits, analysts, and strategists have been wondering whether the US Navy’s supercarriers are too big. And so again in 2015. The new Ford-class ships are a few billion more expensive than their Nimitz predecessors, and Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John McCain is worked up about that price. The Navy and Newport News Shipbuilding argue that the cost is merited, as the newer ships promise more sorties per hour than those in the fleet today. Even so, Sam LaGrone of USNI News reports that the “Navy is Conducting an Alternative Carrier Study”. He quotes Navy Secretary Stackley, in testimony before McCain’s panel, telling of how the service wants to know Is there a sweet spot, something different other than today’s 100,000 ton carrier that woul