May 3, 2019
The U.S. Navy Has an Aircraft Carrier Problem
Is the era of big-deck carriers over?
by Task and Purpose
A few years back, for the first time in decades, no U.S. Navy aircraft carriers were deployed anywhere in the world. The Navy says to expect that to happen more often. Some news outlets implied this was an indication of U.S. naval decline.
The U.S. fleet does have problems, but not having enough carriers to cycle through U.S. Central Command is far from the biggest one. Aircraft readiness in general and the complete abomination that is the Littoral Combat Ship/Frigate program are far more pressing problems for the Navy. In fact, this shortfall in carriers could end up being a net positive, forcing the Navy to evaluate other options to provide presence that will be better suited to the threats of the future.
For decades now, the Navy has been consumed by its need to answer the question, as President Bill Clinton succinctly put it, “Where is the nearest carrier?†It has so consumed the Navy for so long that the service has stopped wondering if it is still the right question. It is not.
https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/us-navy-has-aircraft-carrier-problem-55582
