Is the Navy gaining supremacy in a post war scenario?

Absolutely true. Can't refute any of that. A balance is what we need to find. As long as the Navy gets to focus on systems and manning the equipment and we can still focus on people and equipping the man.

I'm not sure we have a proper understanding of China's naval capability though. I think the whole aircraft carrier thing is a red herring. They had a plan to build up the PLAN (ha ha) focused mostly on lighter, faster missile ships and submarines in 2005. Then, that information disappeared and now we are talking about an aircraft carrier. If they started building Corvettes in 2001, and those things are outfitted with just 8 SSN-22 Sunburns each...they don't need an aircraft carrier...and that isn't including their submarine fleet. I assume Naval Intel has a good read on the Chineese Navy, but with all the money and plans they have put into it, I find it hard to believe that they haven't accounted for the US Carrier Group as it's largest threat...and built a light and maneuverable, over the horrizon capable counter threat

COL (Join to see) I believe your comments point to a need to maintain an effective navy. I believe our military needs to accomplish two goals of many. 1) Continue to develop arms and tactics which enable us to forestall enemy action based on our perceived superiority. 2) Maintain assets capable of meeting our adversaries and winning conflicts. If our adversaries, which is potentially any nation/group/faction on earth, have a capability or are building a capability we need to not only match but overwhelm with superiority. If the Chinese are building naval assets of any quality/quantity, then we need to ensure we are able to engage. The same can be said with their meteoric rise in air power due to the theft through espionage of stealth technology.

The cold war may be over but the arms race is not. The players have only changed seats.

To quote your hero and mine General Mattis "No war is over until the enemy says it's over. We may think it over, we may declare it over, but in fact, the enemy gets a vote."

Well said, Mr. Hicks. Well said.

I believe the U.S. Navy has an excellent read on the PLAN and it's capabilities. It takes decades to get a new ship of an type through the pipeline and warships take the longest time to develope and produce. The "read" on the PLAN is FINALLY sufficiently serious and obvious enough that even Congress and landlubbers can finally see the threat that has been in the works since 1981. The U.S. has allowed the Pacific / Indian Ocean situation regardin our influence via U.S. Naval assets to deteriorate over that past 15 years to the point the Chinese PLAN, North Koreans and even some pirates make moves that would have never been a fantasy in the past.

The wars in Iran/Afghanistan have been a huge drain on resources (money) and thus the need to cut our Naval assets and defer maintenance, etc. to the point we have ships that need moderately complex repairs that can't be accomplished properly without major delays (can anyone say USS Jefferson City?). Delays like this are hugely expensive to recover from. I recall a pump in the forward pumproom on a Spruance-class destroyer I served onboard - replacing the parts would have cost us roughly $85 to 95K. However, during the Clinton administration there was an edict from the WH that stopped all but war-essential repairs. President Clinton has been praised greatly for his "miraculous" turnaround of the economy, etc.... but no one mentions the massive cost in our diminished military capabilities - especially the Navy. When the Clinton WH edict was rescinded by the new President the pump was immediately processed to be repaired. Yet by this time the cost to repair the pump and the surrounding ancillary equipment (due to leaking seawater) and structures around the pump cost the American people over $1.3 million dollars to repair. So...penny-wise and pound foolish as the English would say.

While the Navy has not suffered as badly in the past 15 years, there has been little shipbuilding and upgrading - something that will cost the U.S. dearly if we do not change this fact quickly. The Pacific situation is one that will continue to build and brew until the U.S. and it's newly re-invigorated partners in the area brings it under control.