Posted on 07/10/2024 7:28:14 AM PDT by hardspunned
The United States Navy remains heavily invested in aircraft carriers, with the new Gerald R. Ford-class intended to replace the aging Nimitz-class. However, these new carriers are costly, over-budget, and fraught with technological issues, raising concerns about their effectiveness in modern warfare.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalinterest.org ...
**One little slip on a stairway and SNL turned an All-America football player into a clumsy dork.**
The real dork was the bland, not-so-funny, Chevy Chase. About the only time he was funny was when he portrayed Spock in the SNL ‘last Star Trek episode’ (IMO, the ONLY realistic Star Trek episode).
We have 11 carriers. 4 are currently deployed. The rest are in port for maintenance, repairs, etc. Not a very high percentage of cruising around, doing “carrier stuff”. I understand that they are complicated, and need maintenance, but less than half of them out in the world at any given time just doesn’t seem reasonable. https://apnews.com/article/aircraft-carriers-usa-navy-e7904f8dd1ba1f65a9d07a31fd9fb8eb
Rather than a huge ship like this, why not just saw off, say Massachusetts, load it up with a bunch of fake planes and float it into the North Sea.
“Go back to conventional CVs. Build two for the price of one and crew training is easier. Tell me damage control is not easier on a conventional ship as opposed to an exotic nuclear one. Go on, try to tell me that whopper.”
Having served on a nuclear carrier as part of a damage control evaluation team I find your post uninformed.
“In “modern warfare” they’d be on the bottom.”
So what. Our world would also be destroyed.
Thank you. Unfortunately most people's sense of history is now defined by TV and YouTube instead of reality.
So if they cost 12 billion each and we have given the MIC 175 billion to make weapons for Ukraine, what’s the cost issue?
I’m going to disagree a bit. The Houthis aren’t on the verge of anything. They are using what the Iranians give them. Are the Iranians on the verge of carrier-killing missiles? They’d like us to think so, but I kind of doubt it. Carriers certainly look to be vulnerable being so big and all, but we don’t know what tricks the carrier group has up its sleeves.
As for the Japanese, had they started Kamikazes in ‘43, they may well have run out of pilots and planes long before they did. The fact is, though it took loses, the USN adapted pretty quickly to Kamikaze attacks. They were a lot tougher and more determined eighty years ago than we are now.
Hi.
How many launches and recoveries? Didn’t see that stat.
5.56mm
We’re stuck with seagoing aircraft carriers until we can whip up airborne aircraft carriers.
Better hurry though.
Exactly—carriers are big bullseyes for every kind of modern weapon system.
If they are claimed “unsinkable” a nuclear power could just drop a nuke on one to test that hypothesis.
;-)
“We have 11 carriers. 4 are currently deployed. The rest are in port for maintenance, repairs, etc. I understand that they are complicated, and need maintenance, but less than half of them out in the world at any given time just doesn’t seem reasonable.”
I guess you didn’t read your link! 7/11 = 64%.
FOUR are in for maintenance.
THREE are in pre-deployment training and exercise. One deploys this month and the other two in a a few months.
Hell.. the sub itself could be an autonomous “drone”..
Oh, we couldn’t have that!!!!
Analogous turning points in naval history.....ends badly for investments in guessing wrong, or in prepping for the last war.
The navies are always fighting the last war until someone “teaches” them different.
Off the top of my head....you can fill in the battles where is was demonstrated....
Oared galleys vs full sail.
Variety of sail rigging.
Carronades vs cannons
Explosive shells vs solid shot.
Sail vs steam.
Propeller vs paddle wheel.
Wooden vs iron hull.
Steam turbine vs expansion plants.
All big gun vs blended calibers.
Battleships vs battle cruisers.
Submarines vs, well....anything for awhile.
Aircraft carriers vs well....anything for awhile.
Guns and planes vs missiles.
BUT
Subs sneak until caught, then learn new “sneaks” until caught again
Carriers hide in distance and ocean’s expanse.....BUT planes are out ranged by ship killing missiles and satellites see all....
Carriers are obsolete against swarm missile armed peer rivals like China, or swarm drone and missile armed rivals like the Houthis....
The loss of one carrier to America will rank as the worst military disaster in our history.....unrecoverable at $10 billion, 5,000 lives, and 10 years to build.
We need to build lots of small, cheap, constantly evolving AI and remotely driven drones above, on and below the waters....THAT is the future.
Plus some “jeep carriers” built on roll-on/roll-off hulls that can serve as assault ships as well....
Nothing is fair in war...
BTW....the ChiComs have an inferiority complex and copy everything we do....including our mistakes.
But, WTH do I know and I do not feel strongly about it.
:->
“How many launches and recoveries? Didn’t see that stat.”
Unless at war, this is irrelevant low number.
OTOH, the Ford had over 8000 catapult launches and arrestments pre-deployment.
Stop building these bloated behemoths. We need more and smaller ships with a bunch of cheap AI controlled drones.
“Carriers are obsolete against swarm missile armed peer rivals like China, or swarm drone and missile armed rivals like the Houthis....
What Chinese can do, I don’t know. As you say a sunk carrier would be a massive blow. Something we shook off during WWII but apparently back then, they were made of sterner stuff.
Too bad the author is “ a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst” with zero military experience.
CVNs project massive power, rapidly, and can both deter and significantly degrade an enemy.
Not all Ford class will be $13 billion, as the first in class is always the most expensive.
Ultimately, the US has a capability no other nation has (times 11), which is to put 70 fixed wing aircraft on an enemy’s front door and provide devastating fire power on them. Also, if you were ever a ground pounder in need of air support, you would be glad a carrier was nearby.
BTW, my experience? I’m both prior service and helped build carriers and submarines.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.