The Navy Is Obsessed with Big Aircraft Carriers (But There Could Be Another Option)

I understand what is said here and though I agree I don't believe it will be happening anytime soon. We live in a time where congress feels we don't deserve or need anymore money for our fleets. This idea is great if we are able to keep our carriers that we currently have, maybe decom a few older ones. We could use smaller ones the support our larger ones but the large issue I see here is money. Right now we cannot get enough money to fix our current fleet I wonder how we could to afford to build, and crew these more numerous smaller carriers.

A fleet of conventional carriers is a terrible idea. The amount of logistical support required would be prohibitive. We should be considering nuclear options always, though I don't mind the thought of smaller flat-tops in theory. As it is, if we loaded a carrier with MREs or the like, we could feed ship's company and the air wing without problem for quite a while, use the nuclear plant to desalinate water, and just dump the waste overboard; they'd be self-sustaining for quite some time. Conventional carriers would rip that endurance capability away.

Some interesting concepts here. I notice that the British seem to be going more in favor of an option involving smaller carriers. Perhaps a mix of large and midsize carriers might work well. I don't know, its pretty expensive no matter what You do. Perhaps which carrier was used should perhaps depend on what mission they are in position to accomplish. In either case its pretty hard to hide a carrier other craft such as submarines it seems shouldn't be forgotten. The bottom line though it seems is can We afford more ? Certainly the fleet We already have need to be maintained but then again money is a huge issue. I don't have a solution to offer but there are certainly a lot of things to think about. I see some good points here by other RP members which I've also read with interest and so far it seems like a good discussion on some vital issues.