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You may be familiar with the debate about aircraft carriers – that they are too expensive to buy and maintain. Perhaps the aircraft carrier is obsolete, and the Navy should focus on building more frigates and destroyers. Yet another debate is brewing up involving the DDG(X) program, in which the Navy wants to build a new class of guided missile destroyers by the 2030s. And, sadly for the Navy, this new warship class is getting its share of bad press and doubtful commentary.

Victor Davis Hanson is the Martin and Illie Anderson Senior Fellow in Residence in Classics and Military History at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, a professor of Classics Emeritus at California State University, Fresno, and a nationally syndicated columnist for Tribune Media Services.He is also the Wayne & Marcia Buske Distinguished Fellow in History, Hillsdale College, where he teaches each fall semester courses in military history and classical culture.Victor discusses current political and social events and ideas, and current and past cultural trends. (7 minute video in the link below)https://youtu.be/ggAreJDoOmE

By Weijia Jiang, Eleanor Watson Updated on: August 7, 2023 / 10:02 AM / CBS News The U.S. Navy sent destroyers to the coast of Alaska last week after 11 Russian and Chinese warships were spotted patrolling nearby international waters. Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Republican from Alaska, called the size of the Chinese and Russian joint operation "unprecedented" and said the U.S. deployed four Navy destroyer ships near the Aleutian Islands in response. The destroyers were the USS John McCain, USS Benfold, USS John Finn and USS Chung-Hoon. U.S. aircraft were also in the area throughout the combined exercise, which...

The much-touted green energy economy and the net zero goals it aims to obtain are built upon a dirty little secret: slavery and child labor. A large percentage of the rare earth elements and critical minerals required for modern electronics, in general, and green energy technologies in particular, are produced and/or refined in countries where, if labor and environmental standards exist at all--and are enforced if they do—the standards are far short of what is required in developed countries. The mining, refining, manufacturing, and transportation of the huge amounts of rare earth elements and critical minerals is a dirty business....

The Destroyers know they have limited time to do their mischief before they're found out. And so they're working hard. Think of the thousands of people working like diabolical ants so we can be reborn in their diabolical image. They have a secret weapon they employ against us. By tearing up the railroad tracks, burning bridges, and putting sugar in our gas tanks, they plan to ensure there is no going back to our old ways. In a page out of history, Cortés burned his ships when he reached the New World to make a point: there was no going...

As gas prices continue to notch new record highs on a daily basis, the culprit couldn't be more clear. No, it's not Putin's fault, despite President Biden and his administration's efforts to blame Russia's invasion of Ukraine for spiking prices at the gas pump. The White House is using Putin as a scapegoat and hoping Americans go along with their narrative despite the fact that the average price for a gallon of gas in the United States increased more than $1 during the first 13 months of Biden's time in office. And while Putin's aggression has caused chaos in Europe,...

LOS ANGELES – The FBI knew about Chi Mak's retirement plans, what his dining room looked like and what he allegedly took home from work. The 66-year-old engineer for a Southern California defense contractor and his 57-year-old brother, Tai Mak, were under surveillance for months. Agents tapped the Maks' phones, planted listening devices in their cars, sifted through their trash and installed a closed-circuit camera above Chi Mak's dining-room table. Investigators suspected Chi Mak was taking restricted documents about naval technology from his job at Anaheim-based defense contractor Power Paragon and passing them to his brother, who was going to...

New standards proposed by the Minnesota Department of Education would banish lessons about World War I, World War II, the Holocaust, the Civil War, the American Revolution, communism, George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Replacing those significant history topics will be "systemic racism," how democracy has "excluded certain groups," an "awareness" of "the LGBTQ+ community" and how the disenfranchisement of freed blacks during Reconstruction connects to "persistent discrimination and inequity" today. John Hinderaker at the Powerline blog explained that under Minnesota law, the state's Department of Education establishes standards for K-12 public schools in a number of categories. "The benchmarks for...

Election witness Melissa Carone has had the courage to testify, and as a result, she is being held up to ridicule. The Michigan House Oversight Committee hearings have provided some interesting information. Contrary to what Attorney General Bill Barr has stated (“to date, we have not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election.”) and what the Associated Press has reported ("Donald Trump’s persistent, baseless claims"), there appears to be overwhelming evidence of fraud. It is repeatedly asserted, "Claims of widespread voter fraud and accusations that Democrats engaged in a coordinated scheme to...

A few days past the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Samar, researchers from Vulcan Inc.’s research vessel R/V Petrel believe they’ve found wreckage from the engagement’s famed Fletcher-class destroyer, USS Johnston (DD-557). Images of twisted metal, a destroyed deck gun, a propeller shaft and other less recognizable debris were posted to Petrel’s Facebook page Wednesday, with a video narrated by Rob Kraft, Vulcan’s director of subsea operations, and Paul Mayer a submersible pilot with the team started by the late billionaire and philanthropist Paul Allen. “This wreck is completely decimated,” Kraft says in the video. “It is just debris....

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Ahead of Trump's planned July 4 military parade, several dozen Imperial walkers began to arrive in Washington throughout the week. The AT-ATs were dropped off by U.S. Space Force Star Destroyers just outside the city and then slowly marched toward the capital (rather than being dropped right next to their target, for some reason). Military bands solemnly played the Imperial March in honor of their arrival. Trump was seen at the White House, pointing excitedly at the looming all-terrain armored transports through an Oval Office window. "Wow, look at those guys!" he said while gleefully clapping his hands. "Do...

Navy struggles to find a place for Bath-built Zumwalt stealth destroyers The Zumwalts were built for a mission that the Navy no longer views as a priority. BY NATHAN STROUT BRUNSWICK TIMES RECORD Friday, February 1, 2019 BRUNSWICK — To those who kept a close eye on the development of the Navy’s futuristic, next-generation destroyers, calling the Zumwalt-class program a disappointment could be an understatement. In the early 2000s, the Navy hoped to build 32 highly advanced stealth destroyers built solely at Bath Iron Works. BIW employees were hopeful that the new destroyers would be a source of work for...

The three new Zumwalt-class destroyers are in trouble. Originally envisioned as a fleet of more nearly three dozen destroyers, and the weapons that justified them, the Zumwalts have faced delays, cuts and staggering cost increases. As the ships teeter on the verge of white elephant status, could they become relevant again by taking on a new role, that of a stealthy ship killer? The Zumwalt-class destroyers were originally envisioned as a fleet of thirty-two destroyers designed to attack targets far inland with precision-guided howitzer shells. Designed in part to support amphibious landings by the U.S. Marine Corps, the Zumwalts were...

Obama now has two more years in which to try to destroy the U.S. economy; particularly its manufacturing and energy sectors. The extent to which he is putting in place the means to do that still remains largely unreported or under-reported in terms of the threat it represents. The vehicle for the nation’s destruction is the greatest hoax of the modern era, the claim that global warming must be avoided by reducing “greenhouse gas” emissions.

The guided-missile frigate USS Curts was decommissioned Friday in a ceremony at Naval Base San Diego. The vessel, dubbed ".38 Special" by its first crew, served in Operation Desert Storm and deployed on anti-smuggling missions. The nickname is derived from its hull number, FFG 38. In the Persian Gulf War, crew members captured an Iraqi garrison on Qaruh Island, taking 51 Iraqi prisoners. The Curts crew also destroyed mines, sank an Iraqi minelayer and supported combat helicopter operations during the Battle of Bubiyan Island. ... The Navy is gradually paring down the numbers of Oliver Perry-class frigates in favor of...

Two US Navy warships are moving towards the coast of Libya, two US officials tell CNN. The destroyers are the USS Laboon and the USS McFaul. Both ships are equipped with tomahawk missiles that could be used if a strike was ordered. Tomahawks are satellite-guided cruise missiles that can be programmed to hit specific targets.

Sometimes a weapon comes along that is too damn useful to replace. One outstanding example is the Sidewinder air-to-air missile. Another is the M-16 (5.56mm) rifle. Both have been around for over half a century, and no one can come up with a clearly superior replacement. Same thing is happening in the U.S. Navy, where attempts to replace the Arleigh Burke class destroyers have met with failure. The navy put much effort into developing a successor for the Burke. But, in the end, the navy could only justify building, at most, three of the new DDG-1000 class ships. Instead, they...

BATH, Maine – Cruising through the darkness in rough seas, the USS Ross encountered a rogue wave that smashed into the destroyer's bow, sending a shudder along the entire ship that knocked sleeping crew out of their bunks and damaged the sonar housing. As alarms sounded, sleepy sailors scrambled to shore up the leak. "We cracked the hull and kept on going like it was nothing,"...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (Legal Newsline)--California trial lawyers are expected to shell out big bucks to help their allies get elected in 2010, observers say. If the first six months of the year is any indication of things to come, the Civil Justice Association of California says plaintiffs attorneys are poised to give candidates for the state Legislature and statewide office, including attorney general, huge sums of money.

WASHINGTON, April 17, 2009 – A recent agreement among the Defense Department, the Navy and shipbuilders will enable more efficient construction of the next-generation destroyer at one shipyard instead of two, a senior Defense Department official announced here today. The “swap” agreement calls for three DDG-1000 destroyers to be built at the Bath Iron Works in Maine, John J. Young Jr., undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, told reporters at the Pentagon. Work on the DDG-1000 destroyers previously was to be split between General Dynamics’ Bath Works and Northrop Grumman’s Ingalls Shipyard in Mississippi, Young said. As part...