Manoj Ambat's Blog dealing with Defence, Foreign Affairs, Strategic Affairs and Politics

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 )

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

USS Harry S Truman ( Image credits- Wikimedia Commons / United States Navy) Source- The National Interest Author- Dave Majumdar The United States is accusing Iran of testing rockets near one of its aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf as it passed through the Straits of Hormuz. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) denounced the Iranian actions as “highly provocative.” But could Iran actually sink one of the U.S. Navy’s mighty flattops? According to CENTCOM, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) naval vessels conducted live-fire drills less than 1,500 yards away from the Nimitz-class carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75), the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Bulkeley (DDG-84) destroyer and the French frigate FS Provence on Saturday. Moreover, civilian shipping traffic was in the area. “Firing weapons so close to passing coalition ships and commercial traffic within an internationally recognized maritime traffic lane is unsafe, unprofessional and inconsistent with in

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

PLAN Carrier Liaoning ( Credits- Internet Image) Source- The National Interest Authors- Bryan McGrath & Mackezie Eaglen China’s recent release of its first strategic white paper signals its official emergence as a maritime—and therefore global—power. Little in the document should surprise those who have monitored China’s rise, though it remains to be seen whether China watchers will discern nuance and inscrutability instead of taking Beijing at its word. Simply put, China views the United States as Asia’s hegemon, and its strategy seeks to deprive the United States of this role.     In its quest to eject the United States from a position of power and influence in the region, China has embarked upon a naval building and modernization program. At first, this program seemed aimed at rendering U.S. wartime support to Taiwan moot after the 1996 Taiwan Straits crisis.  The effort included weapons and platforms designed specifically to target U.S maritime power projectio

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

INS Vikramaditya (Pic Courtesy Wikimedia)  I had been giving a compilation of my favorite weapons. Last  time I dealt with Combat Planes. This time I am choosing combat ships. Now there may be better ships currently in service, but I have chosen my favorite ones that is currently in service or which may enter services in the future. This is not a countdown but just my favorite. (Disclaimer: All details given under are available in public domain and repositories like Wikipedia. Sufficient care has been taken not reveal any classified data of any combatants in this article. Due care is taken for the same) So here is my countdown: NIMITZ CLASS AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS Nimitz (Pic courtesy Wikimedia) Nothing epitomizes the projection of power like an Aircraft Carrier. Aircraft Carriers allows rulers of a country to project their power in any part of the globe. Their are moving sovereign territory of a nation. Perhaps the most powerful class of the Aircraft Ca