Posted on 02/19/2024 5:28:27 PM PST by Paul R.
There ‘s an analysis somewhere on You Tube laying out a pretty good case for needing 15-20 Arleigh-Burke type warships, or “close” in capability, to do the defensive part of the job, in addition to the carrier and its capabilities. The area to defend is pretty substantial!
Even then, eventually if for no other reason than a tech malfunction, a cargo ship gets sunk. Defense can only minimize the risk, not eliminate it.
If you mostly watch corporate media, you won’t know what is going on.
Twitter/X has the news.
You’re right about that but somehow I missed it.
Now let’s see if the Brits have the balls to do to the Houthis what Obama’s proxy in the WH won’t do. Just take them out and be done with it.
Considering the level of sophistication of the missiles and drones used, who’s launching them and the relatively small number, I’m not impressed at all by the USN results. This is the extent of the capability that’s supposed to protect our ships when the crap hits the fan in the Taiwan Straight? We would lose many ships. In a real war, the Iranians would be extremely dangerous to our ships within their range as well.
Compare and contrast the ribbons worn. And for that matter the facial expressions. One looks determined to destroy an enemy, the other...
Many people think placing CNO Lisa Franchetti in command of 347,000 people with 69,000 of them being women is one reason why the my former Navy is embarrassing itself.
Well, they just lost a Reaper, so that is $30 million right there.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/08/politics/us-drone-shot-down-near-yemen-houthi/index.html
If the USA gets into a global war, where they need a large number of convoy ships, where are they going to get them ?
A few less terrorists to possibly come here. Fair points though.
“We are doing a lousy job of protecting shipping.”
We’ve pretty much GUTTED our Cold War Navy in preparation for war against China and Russia. (doesn’t make sense to me, but it is Neocon policy)
Thus, it’s tough to do very much these days.
Patriot missiles are not in use to protect shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. In fact, I believe we’ve gone to aircraft to down many Houthi (Iranian) drones and some cruise missiles. Anti-ship ballistic missiles, even Iranian anti-ship ballistic missiles, (the only Houthi weapon “getting through”*, I believe) are not so cheap, and we are shooting those down with Standard Missiles of a couple different types.
Given the above and the wealth disparity between the US and Iran, the cost differential of shooting down Houthi weapons is not quite so drastic as you exaggerate. However, it IS still significant, and those “in the know” know the Navy’s bean counters are not happy. That will drive other solutions.
What irks me is that this sort of scenario has been expected in a general way for some time. We should be able to literally suffocate the Houthi controlled areas of Yemen (well under 50% of the country if the recent maps I’ve seen are correct) with modest cost drones of our own. Even Iran has “drone carriers” now. (Easily whacked, because Iran has nothing even remotely approaching our Arleigh-Burke destroyers - and neither does Saudi, BTW.) Where the “F” are OUR drone carriers? To get that project rolling we could have even converted surplus cargo ships (not terribly unlike what we did with escort carriers in WW2, but these drone carriers could be larger.)
Put 1000 moderate cost drones over Sanaa, and tell Iran “you’re next”. Results will improve.
Yep. That was no $10k missile, though.
Drones have certainly changed the face of warfare. Our own military should have seen this coming and been prepared for it.
Two in a few months is barely over the expected accident / malfunction rate.
For real “fun”, watch Ward Carroll’s YT vid of US carrier plane landing and takeoff accidents. Yeesh!
That in light of the ABC report, I believe it was, saying we are flying 50 sorties a day off the Ike.
Again, none of this addresses my contention that we should be able to truly swarm the Houthis with our own modest cost drones.
That exact point is getting discussion on the “What’s Going On With Shipping” YT channel.
That said, we moved a LOT of stuff in the Gulf Wars.
The even bigger situation you speak of would be a grind it out land war with China. Highly unlikely.
I don’t think the Brits have the “force projection” at that distance to do it by themselves.
Where they got them before. In WW2 transport wasn’t just by US or allied flagged ships. These were civilian ships chartered for particular voyages. A ship sailing into dangerous waters would be required to sail in a convoy.
The principal arm in a war with Chine IS the Navy.
What’s been stressing the Navy is just this sort of thing - all sorts of force projection missions.
What you want is a bigger Navy.
As for Russia, that’s principally a US Army and Air Force job. The US Army is set up mainly to fight a continental war in Europe. With the probably opponent being Russia.
” In WW2 transport wasn’t just by US or allied flagged ships. These were civilian ships chartered for particular voyages. “
What I see for the Newf /NY - UK convoys is that the convoy ships were overwhelmingly UK or USA.
https://warsailors.com/convoys/hxconvoys6.html
Which means the lack of domestic owned/flagged ships is yet another huge strategic hole that “Outsourcing” has dug for us.
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