Does America Still Need Aircraft Carriers?

Aircraft from the John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group fly in formation during a demonstration above the USS John C. Stennis underway in the Pacific Ocean, April 20, 2013. The group is returning from an eight-month deployment to areas of responsibility for the U.S. 5th and 7th fleets. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Katarzyna Kobiljak

Why America Still Needs Aircraft Carriers -- David H Buss, William F. Moran, Thomas J. Moore, Foreign Policy

The critics are wrong: Flattops are the platform of the future, not the past.

When Adm. Jonathan Greenert assumed office in September 2011 as the 30th chief of U.S. naval operations (CNO), he issued "Sailing Directions" that included three tenets to guide how the U.S. Navy would organize, train, and equip its future force: "Warfighting First," "Operate Forward," and "Be Ready." Combined, they provide the lens through which we should view important operational and budgetary decisions facing our service in both the near and long term.

Since Day One of Greenert's tenure -- faced with the prospect of diminishing defense budgets -- the U.S. Navy has been grappling with the challenge of maintaining sufficient core warfighting capacity and capability, both of which ensure the Navy remains "forward" or capable of strategically influencing global events while maintaining its readiness to respond on demand. For the aviation arm of the Navy, executing the "Operate Forward" tenet is central to who we are as a force and to supporting the defense strategic guidance outlined by the White House in 2012.

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My Comment: This post makes a "convincing" argument .... but in an era of budget cuts and unsustainable debt levels .... America's fleet of aircraft carriers are going to be cut.

Aircraft Carriers-Modern Warships (Video)

From YouTube: Published on Mar 1, 2013

This film reveals how seven ingenious technological breakthroughs enabled engineers to build the biggest aircraft carrier in the world - the USS Nimitz, weighing more than 100,000 tons. From steam catapults and mirror landing aids to advanced nuclear-powered engines, well chart the historic inventions embodied by seven landmark aircraft carriers to see how aircraft carrier design continues to push the limits of size.

An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project airpower worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations. They have evolved from wooden vessels used to deploy balloons into nuclear-powered warships that carry dozens of fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft.

Aircraft carriers are typically the capital ship of a fleet, and are extremely expensive to build and important to protect. Of the ten nations that possess an aircraft carrier, eight possess only one. Twenty aircraft carriers are currently active throughout the world with the U.S. Navy operating 10 as of February 2013 though some of these nations no longer have carrier-capable aircraft in inventory and have repurposed these ships.

U.S. Aircraft Carrier Readiness Hit Budget Cuts

U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Ryan J. Courtade/Released

Carrier Readiness Threatened By Budget Woes -- DoD Buzz

Until last week, the Navy was hard-pressed for money even to pay for the tow of the aircraft carrier Lincoln on the short haul from Norfolk to Newport News, much less begin the $2.6 billion overhaul the ship needs to rejoin the fleet.

“The funding is now in line,” for the Lincoln, but the complex overhaul involving switching out her nuclear fuel will make the ship unavailable for duty until 2015, said Lt. Dan Day, a spokesman for the Fleet Forces Command at the Norfolk, Va., Naval Station.

The Lincoln served as the prime example of the Navy’s problem in keeping the carriers at sea. The challenges the budget cuts pose in maintaining the Navy’s carrier fleet will garner attention when Navy leaders gather next week at the Sea Air Space 2013 symposium sponsored by the Navy League at National Harbor, Md.

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My Comment: To know what is the current status of all U.S. aircraft carriers .... go here.

3 Alternatives To Aircraft Carriers

The future USS America under construction. Photo: Huntington Ingalls

After The Aircraft Carrier: 3 Alternatives To The Navy’s Vulnerable Flattops -- David Axe, Danger Room

The U.S. Navy’s huge, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers — capital ships that have long dominated military planning and budgeting — are slowly becoming obsolete, weighed down by escalating costs, inefficiency and vulnerability to the latest enemy weapons.

But if the supercarrier is sinking, what could rise to take its place? Smaller, cheaper flattops; modified tanker ships; and missile-hauling submarines are three cheaper, more efficient and arguably more resilient options.

Navy Capt. Jerry Hendrix, a historian, analyst and futurist, caused a stir by making the case against the Navy’s cherished supercarrier fleet. Hendrix’s recent study ”At What Cost a Carrier?” (.pdf), published by the Washington, D.C.-based Center for a New American Security, urges the Navy to begin drawing down its 10-11 Nimitz-class flattops and follow-on Ford-class vessels.

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My Comment: An excellent analysis that the Admirals are going to ignore .... after-all .... they all want their big ships.

A Scenario That The U.S. Navy Does Not Want To See

The cover illustration on a new report questioning the Navy's carrier strategy. CNAS

Not The Navy’s Favorite Artist Rendering -- Battleland/Time

Navy gospel — as well as U.S. naval fleets and strategy — are built around $15 billion aircraft carriers, outfitted with dozens of $150 million airplanes.

Only one thing worse than someone criticizing the backbone of the Navy fleet, is having a Navy officer do it – especially a career naval flight officer who has spent much of his career on such behemoths.

Yet that is just what Captain Henry Hendrix has done in a new report – At What Cost a Carrier — for the independent Center for a New American Security, here.

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My Comment: For the past few decades U.S. Aircraft carriers have become tools that are primarily used to show the flag and/or support military operations. In a major conflict .... I would not be surprised if these ships are put in an area that is far away from any conflict zone. Point in fact .... I have always said that the Iranians will know what is the intent of the U.S. by where they are positioning their aircraft carriers. If the U.S. aircraft carriers are in the Persian Gulf .... where they are sitting ducks .... there will be no war. But if the U.S. should order their carriers are out of the Persian Gulf and into the Arabian Sea .... a safe distance away from Iranian anti-ship missiles and defenses .... that is when Iran will know that something is about to happen.

Images Show Aircraft Carrier Scale For Britain's HMS Queen Elizabeth

Artists impression of HMS QUEEN ELIZABTH at Parliament

Stunning Images Show Aircraft Carrier Scale -- Shifting Times

The team behind the Navy’s future flagships have produced a series of stunning posters to demonstrate the sheer scale of the carriers – including parking one on the Thames outside Parliament. To give the public an idea of the sense of scale of HMS Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales, they put one on the Thames next to the Palace of Westminster and another at Victory Jetty in Portsmouth.

Dwarfing the mother of all parliaments, this is how the nation’s future flagship would look if you could sail her up the Thames to the Palace of Westminster.

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WNU Editor: In comparison to US carriers, check out the graphic scale below.

U.S. Aircraft Carrier Fleet Down To 9

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

The aircraft carriers USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), USS Enterprise (CVN 65), USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), and USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) are in port at Naval Station Norfolk, Va., the world’s largest naval station. Chief Mass Communication Specialist Ryan J. Courtade, Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ernest R. Scott, and Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kevin J. Steinberg

Navy To Stretch Deployments; Aircraft Carrier Fleet Down To 9 -- Washington Times

Sailors and Marines serving on aircraft carriers can expect long deployments for the next few years because of ongoing crises in the Middle East and a shrinking number of carriers available for duty.

The venerable USS Enterprise, commissioned in 1961 as the Navy’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, was deactivated last month, and the USS Abraham Lincoln is undergoing a four-year overhaul to increase its life span.

That has reduced the U.S. fleet of carriers from 11 to nine, as the Navy struggles to maintain a two-carrier presence in the Middle East as required by the Obama administration since 2010.

“We need 11 carriers to do the job. That’s been pretty clearly written, and that’s underwritten in our defense strategic guidance,” Adm. Jonathan Greenert, chief of naval operations, said recently.

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My Comment: So much for the US Navy's past remarks of needing 11 carrier groups to maintain it's defense/strategic requirements. But if sequestration hits .... which appears to be the case .... I am skeptical that the US Navy will be even able to field 9 aircraft carrier groups. Budget cuts will be gutting every service .... and US aircraft carrier groups will be a tempting target for the accountants.

The Global Arms Race Is Now Shifting To Building Big-Ticket Naval Platforms

USS John C. Stennis is replenished at sea

U.S. 5TH FLEET AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY (Jan. 8, 2013) A helicopter assigned to the Eightballers of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 8 delivers supplies to the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) as it makes its approach alongside the Military Sealift Command fast combat support ship USNS Bridge (T-AOE 10) during a replenishment-at-sea. John C. Stennis is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations, theater security cooperation efforts and support missions for Operation Enduring Freedom. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Armando Gonzales/Released)

Big-Ticket Arms Race For Supremacy At Sea -- The National

When it comes to "big ticket" items, they don't come much bigger than an aircraft carrier.

Although still five years from entering service, the price tag for the USS Gerald R Ford, the first of three new American carriers, has already jumped 18 per cent in four years to US$12.3 billion (Dh45.18bn), according to the US defence department.

And now, despite these times of austerity, suddenly everyone wants one. China is the latest nation to join the club, but existing carrier owners India, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States all have ships on the stocks.

But it is in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific where the consequences of this new arms race will be felt. At stake is a change in the naval balance of power.

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My Comment: The days of the U.S. having a monopoly on aircraft carriers is probably coming to an end .... but it will take a sustained effort of a few decades from emerging powers like China and India to catch up .... and even then .... they may decide not to build such a fleet in view of how expensive it is to maintain a carrier group.

The U.S. Navy's Aircraft Carriers Are Here To Stay

U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier Programs Steaming Ahead -- Aviation Week

A year ago, the long-term future of aircraft carriers appeared in doubt. With the emergence of strong performances by large-deck amphibious ships for carrier-like missions and the relatively large price tag for new carrier construction, many defense analysts were predicting a cut in the future carrier fleet.

Now, though, carrier programs are securely anchored in the Pentagon budget strategy — even with the threat of sequestration — and there is no more talk of reducing the fleet.

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My Comment: I am not that optimistic on the future of America's aircraft carrier fleet. To me .... against a serious adversary .... they are just one big sitting duck. Throw in the probability of even more defense cuts (which will happen in 2013, 2014, 2015, etc....) .... the fleet is not going to reach the numbers that they are hoping for.

Aircraft Carrier Operation (video)

Aircraft Carrier operation from Pavel Mikhailenko on Vimeo.

Hat Tip: Theo Spark

Why Aircraft Carriers Are Important

U.S. Navy signal officers aboard the aircraft carrier USS George Washington guide an E-2C Hawkeye toward the flight deck during flight operations in the Pacific Ocean, Sept. 5, 2012. The aircraft is assigned to Airborne Early Warning Squadron 115. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class William Pittman

Why Aircraft Carriers Sail On -- Dr. Robert Farley, The Diplomat

Have aircraft carriers become obsolete? Since 1949, analysts have argued that some combination of strategic bombers and cheap anti-shipping weapons have rendered the aircraft carrier a relic. The latest round in the conversation over the continued viability of aircraft carriers was spurred by Robert Haddick’s Foreign Policy column suggesting that improvements in long range strategic airpower and ballistic missile technology could render the carrier irrelevant.

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My Comment: I concur with this analysis. in peace time aircraft carriers play an indispensable role in showing the flag at the world's trouble spots, crucial in vital emergency and relief operations, and being able to project power and influence with our allies and against our adversaries. But in a real major war .... one hell of a big and juicy target.

Do Aircraft Carriers Have A Future?

The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman conducts flight operations in the Atlantic Ocean, Sept. 5, 2012. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Mick DiMestico

Carrier Wars -- Mark Thompson, Time

U.S. aircraft carriers are a big roll of the dice. The U.S. Navy has begun building the Ford class of carriers, which are going to end up costing $15 billion each once they’re outfitted with the warplanes that are the reason for their existence.

They promote the U.S. presence in a most awe-inspiring way. To see a carrier looming out on the horizon is to feel insignificant. Especially if you’re an enemy warship.

But the World War II battles of carriers and battleships are, literally, history. Future foes will choose to come after these 100,000-ton behemoths with much cheaper torpedoes or missiles. The U.S. Navy bets they won’t succeed. Others aren’t so sure.

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My Comment: Aircraft carriers are a great tool to use in showing the flag .... but in a real shooting war with a real adversary and real missiles .... probably not a great tool to use.

Update: Carriers at Risk From Continuing Resolution -- Defense News

Are Aircraft Carriers Becoming Obsolete?

The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, bottom, and the guided missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill, top, conduct a replenishment at sea with the Military Sealift Command fast combat support ship USNS Bridge in the Arabian Gulf, March 6, 2012. The Carl Vinson and Carrier Air Wing 17 are deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class James R. Evans

Shipping Out: Are Aircraft Carriers Becoming Obsolete? -- Robert Haddick, Foreign Policy

For decades, aircraft carriers have been the tool-of-choice for crisis response. Policymakers in Washington and four-star commanders in the field invariably have turned to carriers when they needed to signal U.S. intentions, quickly reinforce military power, or provide decision-makers with options during a predicament. The Navy has responded to the enduring demands of these customers by making the aircraft carrier strike group the prime organizing feature of the Navy's surface and aviation forces, thereby drawing the biggest share of the service's manpower, budget, support, and training resources. And until recently, the Air Force seemed happy to cede this crisis-response role, because then it could focus on its own priorities.

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My Comment: Advances in missile technology and drones will probably change the dynamics and importance of aircraft carriers during times of conflict .... but as a projection of power in a non-war environment, nothing beats the appearance of an aircraft carrier in the horizon.

The 20 Aircraft Carriers In Service Today

Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta departs the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis in Bremerton, Wash., Aug. 22, 2012. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo

These Are The 20 Aircraft Carriers In Service Today -- Business Insider

Despite aircraft carriers immense cost, the Navy believes there is no replacing a well-armed, aircraft equipped, sovereign piece of U.S. territory, powered by dual nuclear reactors.

Former Defense Secretary William Cohen was fond of saying that without "flattops" the U.S. has "less of a voice, less of an influence."

Perhaps, but there is another school of thought that questions the wisdom of floating something that expensive within range of an attack that may send it to the bottom of the sea.

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My Comment: Only 20?

Will Construction Of The Next U.S. Aircraft Carrier May Be Delayed To Save Money?

The Next Big Carrier Question -- DoD Buzz

Virginians have been fighting for years to keep their aircraft carriers in Hampton Roads, and now they’re fighting to keep them in existence. As Peter Frost of the Daily Press reported this week, the mega-shipyard that builds the nuclear-powered giants is doing all right these days; it’s turning a profit, as compared with the loss it posted this time last year. But all that could change if the Navy, DoD, Congress and the Obama administration decide to delay construction on a planned ship, the new USS John F. Kennedy, company officials warn.



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My Comment: With impending defense cuts on the horizon, rumors of delays should not surprise anyone.



Update: News like this does not help.

Top Ten: Largest Aircraft Carriers In Service Worldwide

USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (CVN-71)

WNU Editor: The list is here.

The Rapidly Disappearing U.S. Aircraft Carrier

The nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise conducts an underway replenishment with the Military Sealift Command fast combat support ship USNS Supply in the Persian Gulf, Oct. 4, 2007, while the guided-missile destroyer USS Arleigh Burke and the guided-missile cruiser USS Vicksburg follow behind. Enterprise and embarked Carrier Air Wing One are currently underway on a scheduled six-month deployment. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class N.C. Kaylor

Down To Nine -- Information Dissemination

Interesting. OPNAV NOTICE 5400 (PDF) from August 1st is worth a few comments.

1. Purpose. To approve the change in permanent duty station (PDS) for Carrier Strike Group (CSG) NINE per reference (a).

2. Background. Per POM-12 guidance, Navy will resource and align CSG staffs equal to the number of operational CVNs. CSG-9 will change PDS from Everett, WA to San Diego, CA and will change carrier assignment from USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN-72) to USS RONALD REAGAN (CVN-76). LINCOLN will shift homeport from Everett, WA to Newport News, VA for Refueling and Complex Overhaul in August 2012. CSG-9 will be reassigned to REAGAN, homeported in San Diego, replacing CSG-7 due to CSG-7 deactivation.

The deactivation of CSG-7 brings the total number of carrier strike groups to nine, and there is no reason to believe the Navy will operate more than nine carrier strike groups for the next several years, despite the US Navy currently owning 11 carriers. This is one example of where budget cuts to the Navy are already having impacts.

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My Comment: Galrahn at Information Dissemination nails it perfectly .... this is one of my must reads for today.

U.S. Navy To Lose One Aircraft Carier

The 95,000-Ton Elephant In The Room -- DoD Buzz

Has the Obama administration put the Navy’s future aircraft carriers on Washington’s proverbial “table” as part of the high-stakes, long-term budget negotiations?

“Your guess on that is as good as mine,” said Virginia Rep. Randy Forbes, the Republican chair of the House Armed Services Committee’s readiness subcommittee. But Forbes warns that where there’s smoke, there could be fire: “We know that there have been these rumors circulating out there, which they didn’t deny, and they told us they’re going to give us confirmation on that. They’ve already stretched the carrier build time to five years, so they could stretch it to seven years, or they may be thinking of doing away with one of the carriers altogether … Nobody came back and said, ‘oh we’re not going to do that unless we do a threat assessment’ — it sounded to me like an acknowledgement that, yep, we can put that on the table.”

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More News On Rumors that The U.S. Navy Will Lose An Aircraft Carrier In Their Fleet

Budget Concerns Put Carriers In Crosshairs -- Aviation Week
Rep. Forbes: Navy may nix one aircraft carrier and delay another -- The Hill
Pentagon May Change Carrier and SSBN(X) Plans -- Aviation Week
Navy considering delay of John F. Kennedy aircraft carrier purchase -- Daily Press
Navy could face $10 billion in budget cuts -- The Hill

The Aircraft Carrier Is Back

Nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77)

Despite Criticism, Aircraft Carriers Stake New Claims At Forefront Of Naval Power -- Washington Post/AP

ABOARD THE CHARLES DE GAULLE — Despite growing controversy about the cost and relevance of aircraft carriers, navies around the world are adding new ones to their inventories at a pace unseen since World War II.

The U.S. — with more carriers than all other nations combined — and established naval powers such as Britain, France and Russia are doing it. So are Brazil, India and China — which with Russia form the BRIC grouping of emerging economic giants.

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More News On The Rise Of The Aircraft Carrier

Aircraft carriers gain clout in naval power -- FOX News/AP
World races for carrier power -- Hindustan Times/AP
World navies adding aircraft carriers to establish clout -- International Business Times
The World Is Cranking Out Aircraft Carriers At WWII Pace -- Business Insider
Post and riposte in the great carrier debate -- DoD Buzz
Carrier George H.W. Bush to deploy on 1st combat cruise -- Hampton Roads
The supercarrier is dead. Long live the supercarrier. -- Bring the heat. Bring the Stupid.

China's New "Carrier Killer" Missile Will Not Make The U.S. Navy Change The Way It Operates In The Pacific

Vulnerable?: The USS George Washington, one of the navy's crown jewels in the Pacific where the U.S. Navy has ruled the waves since the Second World War

China's New 'Carrier Killer' Missile Won't Stop Us Doing Our Job, Says U.S. Navy Commander -- The Daily Mail

A new much-feared missile that has become a symbol of China's growing military power will not change the way the U.S. Navy operates in the Pacific, a senior navy commander has warned.

The 'carrier killer' Dong Feng 21D missile has the potential to change the balance of power in Asia, where U.S. aircraft carrier battle groups have been in charge since the Second World War.

But Vice Admiral Scott van Buskirk, commander of the vast U.S. 7th Fleet, said that the Navy does not see the weapon as creating any insurmountable vulnerability for the American carriers.

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Update: US admiral: Carrier killer won't stop US Navy -- Yahoo News/AP

My Comment: Arrogance and cockiness from a U.S. Vice Admiral. It may not be a threat today .... but think about what developments the Chinese will be doing in the next few very short years. When I think about it .... my concern levels start to rise.