Light Carrier Concept ‘Not Compelling,’ Navy’s Air Warfare Director Says

[rangerrebew]

Light Carrier Concept ‘Not Compelling,’ Navy’s Air Warfare Director Says
Posted on March 31, 2021 by Richard R. Burgess, Senior Editor   
 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Navy’s director of Air Warfare does not see a compelling case for the service to build and deploy light aircraft carriers to augment or replace the service’s large, nuclear-powered aircraft carriers (CVNs). 

“I believe the L-class ships [amphibious assault ships] operating with the F-35B would fit that bill,” said Rear Adm. Gregory Harris, the Navy’s director for Air Warfare, speaking this week at a Navy League Special Topic Breakfast webinar, sponsored by General Dynamics. “Others would disagree.”

Harris noted that some pundits and other observers advocate light carriers because of the high cost of building, maintaining and operating the fleet of 11 CVNs, which some see as vulnerable to high-end threats such as submarines and hypersonic weapons. The capabilities of the F-35B Lightning II strike fighter have given the light carrier proponents support for their case that such a carrier armed with an air wing of F-35Bs would be highly valuable in most likely combat scenarios.

https://seapowermagazine.org/light-carrier-concept-not-compelling-navys-air-warfare-director-says/

[rangerrebew]

It would make the navy more diverse.  If diversity is so important to the military, why don't they want diversity of equipment?