March 13, 2017
Aircraft Carrier: The Nation’s Trump Card Reborn
The usefulness of the aircraft carrier, long the centerpiece of American naval power in the world, was in serious question, even by me, one year ago. Chronic underfunding, poor strategic assumptions and bad acquisition decisions had left the carrier defensively unprotected and offensively underpowered as its airwing both shrank in size and striking range.
President Trump’s election and his public commitment to a 350-ship Navy as well as his explicit call for a twelfth carrier, effectively truncates these concerns, bringing the promise of additional capabilities that will ensure the safety and effectiveness of the carrier.
Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2AD) weapons highlight the need to increase the range of the carrier’s aircraft to keep the flattops relevant. In an era marked by flat defense budgets and a dwindling carrier fleet, down from 15 in 1991 to 10 today, the carrier simply didn’t have enough defense around it, with escort ships falling from eight (two cruisers, two destroyers, two frigates and two fast attack submarines) to six and even two (a cruiser and destroyer) in some cases. Also, the carrier’s offensive power, in the form of its embarked airwing, has shrunk from a Cold War compliment of 85 aircraft with an average combat range of 908 miles to a modern compliment of 62 aircraft with a range of 496 miles.
Read the full article at Breaking Defense.
More from CNAS
-
How Trump Will Change the World
Commentary
Trump has won the chance to determine U.S. national security policy and will wield the impressive power embodied in the men and women now waiting to work for him....
By Peter Feaver
-
More than the Sum of its Parts: Developing a Coordinated U.S.-Australian Response to Potential Chinese Aggression
Commentary
If China engaged in a war of aggression, the United States, Australia, and other nations would not have much time to develop a coordinated response....
By Stacie Pettyjohn
-
To Focus on China, U.S. Needs to Wean off Europe and Middle East Missions
Commentary
If the United States cannot rebalance its military focus toward the Indo-Pacific it risks expediting Chinese aggression in the region and furthering the decline of the US-led ...
By Carlton Haelig
-
The Evolution of Drones with Stacie Pettyjohn, Center for a New American Security
Podcast
Stacie Pettyjohn, Senior Fellow and Director of the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security, joins Squaring the Circle to discuss the evolution of drones. ...
By Stacie Pettyjohn
