Small Aircraft Carriers: RAND Report Won’t Convince McCain

Small Aircraft Carriers: RAND Report Won’t Convince McCain
Small Aircraft Carriers: RAND Report Won’t Convince McCain

WASHINGTON: The fleet needs smaller, cheaper aircraft carriers than the badly over budget, behind schedule Gerald Ford, ex-Navy pilot John McCain has long argued. No way, “Bigger Aircraft Carriers Are Better,” declares a recent National Interest article – widely publicized by the carrier industry’s advocacy group, ACIBC – citing a study that RAND did for…

414 Ships, No LCS: MITRE’s Alternative Navy

414 Ships, No LCS: MITRE’s Alternative Navy
414 Ships, No LCS: MITRE’s Alternative Navy

WASHINGTON: The Navy needs a vastly larger fleet — 414 warships — to win a great-power war, well above today’s 274 ships or even the Navy’s unfunded plan for 355, the think-tank MITRE calculates in a congressionally-chartered study. That ideal fleet would include: 14 aircraft carriers instead of today’s 11; 160 cruisers and destroyers instead…

Big Wars, Small Ships: CSBA’s Alternative Navy Praised By Sen. McCain

Big Wars, Small Ships: CSBA’s Alternative Navy Praised By Sen. McCain
Big Wars, Small Ships: CSBA’s Alternative Navy Praised By Sen. McCain

UPDATED with McCain praise WASHINGTON: The Navy needs a bigger fleet of smaller ships than envisioned in its official Force Structure Assessment, says a congressionally-chartered study from the Center for Strategic & Budgetary Assessments. CSBA emphatically agrees with the Navy that the focus needs to shift from day-to-day counter-terrorism and presence operations to deterring (and if need be,…

McCain’s Excellent White Paper: Smaller Carriers, High-Low Weapons Mix, Frigates, Cheap Fighters

McCain’s Excellent White Paper: Smaller Carriers, High-Low Weapons Mix, Frigates, Cheap Fighters
McCain’s Excellent White Paper: Smaller Carriers, High-Low Weapons Mix, Frigates, Cheap Fighters

Sen. John McCain issued a provocative and comprehensive alternative budget for the Pentagon on Monday, Restoring American Power: Recommendations for the FY 2018-FY 2022 Defense Budget. Jerry Hendrix, a strategy and naval expert at the Center for New American Security, crunched the numbers from McCain’s White Paper and authored this analysis for our readers. Read…

Build More Ships, But Not New Designs: CNO Richardson On McCain Plan

Build More Ships, But Not New Designs: CNO Richardson On McCain Plan
Build More Ships, But Not New Designs: CNO Richardson On McCain Plan

CLARIFIED w/ CNO response WASHINGTON: The Navy wants a 355-ship fleet. Can US shipyards build it? Yes, they can, the Navy leaders are insisting. But, the Chief of Naval Operations warned this morning, to keep production swift and steady, we should be careful about replacing existing designs — including the Littoral Combat Ship — with all-new warships…