The Navy Wants to Shrink Its Aircraft Carrier Fleet

[rangerrebew]

The Navy Wants to Shrink Its Aircraft Carrier Fleet

The U.S. military once wanted 12 carriers as part of a larger naval buildup. Its latest budget proposal would shrink that number to 10.

By Justin Bachman
and Dave Merrill
March 21, 2019, 3:00 AM EDT Corrected March 22, 2019, 10:47 AM EDT
 

Visiting the USS Gerald R. Ford two years ago, U.S. President Donald Trump extolled the importance of an enlarged naval force featuring a dozen aircraft carriers—including the Ford, the most expensive ship ever built.

Having 12 of these behemoths—sometimes accompanied by a half-dozen other ships—would send an international signal of U.S. resolve and restore the fleet to its post-Cold War size during the 1990s.

The Pentagon’s latest budget proposal, however, seems to do the opposite.

The Defense Department is seeking to—at least for now—shrink the carrier fleet, proposing that the USS Harry Truman be effectively decommissioned in 2024. This would mean that a multibillion-dollar, nuclear-powered super-carrier deployed in 2000 would be mothballed two decades before the end of its service life. 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-21/navy-bid-to-retire-truman-stirs-debate-over-aircraft-carriers

[rangerrebew]

I have seen at least two other articles which claim just the opposite.  So, is this information or disinformation?

[sneakypete]

Anybody that thinks the Navy actually WANTS fewer carriers is delusional. It would be they would have to downsize,end up with a smaller budget next year,and lose at least one Admiral slot.