What you need to know: The U.S. Navy continues to rely on aircraft carriers after World War II, viewing them as essential to global power projection. However, this strategy faces significant challenges from adversaries such as China, which is developing advanced anti-aircraft and area denial (A2/AD) systems that can threaten these expensive and vulnerable floating air bases. I am.
-The next generation of Ford-class aircraft carriers, including USS Gerald R. Ford, USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), USS Enterprise (CVN-80), and USS Doris Miller (CVN-81), are expensive. , are complex and time-consuming to construct, raising concerns about their effectiveness against modern threats.
-Critics argue that resources should instead be focused on strengthening submarine capabilities, unmanned systems, hypersonic weapons, and directed energy technologies to counter A2/AD strategies and maintain naval superiority I am doing it.
Is the US Navy’s obsession with aircraft carriers a strategic vulnerability?
The U.S. Navy can't shake its love for aircraft carriers.
Since World War II, flattops have been the mainstay of the U.S. Navy’s surface fleet. The fleet, the primary projector of America’s maritime power, would not be the same without having the newest, largest, and most sophisticated surface air base.
Of course, these carrier arguments are eerily similar to those made by battleship proponents 80 years ago.
At the time, battleships were the center of power projection for the U.S. Navy, and aircraft carriers were seen as an odd auxiliary element of the fleet.
After Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor during World War II, the situation changed rapidly.
Today, the Navy (and its supporters in Congress) operate as if it were still 1999. There is no real challenge to American military supremacy. Your career can come and go anywhere on the planet as you please. All the locals can do is stand in awe of American power as the Flattops show up and begin imposing American will on the foreign shores where they are deployed.
Enemy gets votes on aircraft carriers
But America’s enemies have other plans.
Leading this attack on America’s continued global domination is none other than the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Although China is building its own rudimentary aircraft carrier force, Beijing is more interested in depriving the United States of its largest naval power projection platform: aircraft carriers. China is planning this. Thanks to its robust anti-aircraft/area denial (A2/AD) system, it can essentially sink or seriously damage an aircraft carrier at the onset of a conflict between China and the United States.
And these A2/AD systems are much cheaper and easier to replace than American aircraft carriers. This is one reason why China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea are investing huge sums of money in their A2/AD capabilities. The cost imbalance creates a strategic imbalance that could favor the militaries of China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran in a showdown between A2/AD capabilities and American flattops. expensive.
What is the significance of the Ford class aircraft carrier?
The Ford-class aircraft carrier is the next generation of aircraft carriers that the Navy is (slowly) building. It is intended to replace the existing 11 Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. So far, the Navy has deployed the first ship of the class, USS Gerald R. Ford, in 2021, and the next unit, USS John F. Kennedy (CVN-79), is expected to deploy in 2025. I am planning to do so. Then, in 2028, the USS Enterprise (CVN-80) appears. Finally, USS Doris Miller (CVN-81) is scheduled to deploy in 2032.
The USS Gerald R. Ford cost $13 billion and took more than a decade to get out of the shipyard. Even in 2022, a year after its introduction, technical issues were still occurring. Subsequent airlines in this class are expected to be even cheaper. But the fact remains that aircraft carriers are very expensive, take a very long time to manufacture, and are basically so complex and expensive that they are irreplaceable.
It is difficult to cancel these systems because funds have already been allocated to these warships. However, future systems may absolutely end. This is especially true if the U.S. military has not developed meaningful anti-A2/AD or anti-hypersonic weapons systems against these carriers.
We are building big and beautiful targets where China’s advanced rocket forces can train with live fire. If even one of these ships were to be sunk or its flight deck severely damaged, it would be a waste of strategic assets.
Ford-class aircraft carrier: decadence on display
Diverting funding and resources from future Ford-class aircraft carriers beyond 2028 will help prioritize for the U.S. Navy. First, we need more Virginia-class attack submarines. Second, we need to develop an arsenal of advanced unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as well as advanced underwater unmanned vehicles (UUVs). Third, the Navy needs to invest in its own hypersonic weapons capabilities. Fourth, we need to devote naval resources to directed energy weapons (DEW).
All other expenditures, such as trying to replace 10 Nimitz-class carriers with 10 Ford-class carriers when the carriers still have decades of useful life remaining, are examples of wasteful spending on the Navy’s part. The inability to adapt to changing times is a characteristic of a decadent country in decline.
We live in an era where interest payments on the national debt will soon exceed the nearly $1 trillion U.S. defense budget. Continuing to build legacy systems like aircraft carriers while our adversaries are developing cheaper ways to negate their effectiveness in modern warfare is not just decadent. That’s irresponsible. And that could lead to the US losing the war.
Cancel the Ford class aircraft carrier now.
Author experience and expertise: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert, a national security analyst with the National Interest, is a former Congressional staffer and geopolitical analyst who has written for The Washington Times, Asia Times, and The Pipeline. He is the author of Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His next book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine, will be released October 22nd by Encounter Books. Weichert can be followed via Twitter @a_a_o_o_o_o_.
All images are Creative Commons or Shutterstock.
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