Aircraft carriers aren't obsolete. People like to say that they are huge targets that can be hit by missiles, thus making them obsolete. Even if that were true, it doesn't matter. If anyone attacked an aircraft carrier, the retaliation would be excessive and swift. Fire and Fury! https://t.co/EolqAOD9gx
An assessment prepared by the Office of the Secretary of Defense proposes cutting two aircraft carriers from the U.S. Navy’s roster to boost the number of smaller warships. Under the proposal, the Navy would retire two aircraft carriers and plow the savings into buying several dozen frigate-sized ships, as well as large unmanned ships. The proposal is likely to run into stiff opposition from proponents of carriers as well as the carrier lobby both inside and outside government.
The study, according to Defense News, would trim the number of nuclear-powered “supercarriers” from 11 to just nine. The number of large surface combatants, both guided missile cruisers and guided missile destroyers, would remain constant at between 80 and 90, compared to the approximately 83 ships in service right now. The number of frigate-sized small surface combatants, on the other hand, would swell from 15 to 20 to between 55 and 70.
You can read more at the link, but smaller ships including unmanned ships make more sense if the Navy is preparing for a conflict to keep sea lanes open in the South China Sea. Bulky carriers that are big targets for China’s increasing ballistic missile capabilities are more challenging to deploy in response to such a crisis.
If anyone is wondering why Korea is considering the purchase of F-35B’s to field on their helicopter carriers here is your answer, keeping up with the Abe’s:
Japan’s Maritime Self Defense Forces helicopter carrier Izumo sails out its Yokosuka Base in Kanagawa prefecture on May 1, 2017. Picture: AFPSource:AFP
In what could be a major change in Japan’s policy on aircraft carriers, the Defense Ministry is mulling a plan to buy F-35B stealth fighter jets for use on its helicopter carriers, government sources said.
The introduction of F-35Bs, which have short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) capability, will be useful in countering China’s growing maritime assertiveness. They are expected to bolster Japan’s ability to defend far-flung islands in the southwest, where only short runways exist, the sources said Sunday.
The move, however, is likely to trigger a backlash from China and Japan’s other neighbors because it could be viewed as contradicting Japan’s so-called “exclusively defense-oriented policy” under the pacifist Constitution.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government has altered the nation’s postwar security policy over the past few years, most notably through new security laws that largely expand the range of activities permissible by the Self-Defense Forces.
Under its strictly defense-oriented policy, Japan has maintained that it cannot possess “attack aircraft carriers,” saying the vessels can be deemed offensive weapons that exceed the minimum capacity Japan needs for self-defense in light of the Constitution.
The Maritime Self-Defense Force has a fleet of flat-topped destroyers known as helicopter carriers. Its largest Izumo-class carriers are 248 meters long and can carry up to 14 helicopters.
F-35Bs can operate from existing helicopter carriers once modifications are made to the bow, deck and other areas, the sources said. These modifications will allow destroyers, new or old, to function as small aircraft carriers. [Japan Times]
The long advertised joint drills involving three US aircraft carriers is currently taking place:
Three U.S. aircraft carriers steam in formation in the East Sea, leading South Korean and U.S. warships during the allies’ joint naval exercise on Nov. 12, 2017, in this photo provided by South Korea’s Navy. (Yonhap)
The Reagan, the flag ship of the 7th Fleet’s Carrier Strike Group 5, was conducting a combined exercise with two other supercarriers — the USS Nimitz and the USS Theodore Roosevelt — in the Korea Theater of Operations (KTO) and was also joined by South Korea’s naval ships.
“There’s an advantage to operate together, in that combined three carriers really create a tremendous amount of combat power very flexible and create a lot of options for our national leadership,” Rear Adm. Marc Dalton, commander of the Reagan strike unit, said in an interview at the ship’s “flag bridge,” which commands a view of the whole flight deck.
He would not reveal the exact location of the carrier.
According to an informed source, it was transiting the waters 50 nautical miles, or 92 kilometers, south of the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de-facto inter-Korean sea border, and 40 nautical miles north of Ulleung Island.
It’s unusual for the Japan-based carrier to sail so close to the NLL. It’s unprecedented for the South’s Navy to train with three U.S. flattops at the same time.
The last time three U.S. carriers were mobilized for joint drills in the Western Pacific was in 2007 near Guam.
The current training is apparently a warning message to the North’s Kim Jong-un regime and a way to put pressure on it. [Yonhap]
You can read the rest at the link, but this is a tremendous amount of fire power sitting such a short distance from North Korea. Hopefully a strong message was sent to the Kim regime.
There is going to be a lot of firepower in the Korea area of operations this week so it will be interesting to see what North Korea’s reaction to this will be:
This photo, provided by the U.S. military Oct. 13, 2017, shows the Ohio-class guided-missile submarine USS Michigan (SSGN-727) arriving at the southern port of Busan in South Korea. (Yonhap)
The United States is poised to show off its military might this week through joint drills and a defense exhibition in South Korea, deploying an aircraft carrier, nuclear-powered submarine, stealth fighters and other strategic assets.
The show of force comes amid growing tensions on the peninsula, with North Korea expected to engage in additional provocations in protest against the South Korea-U.S. military drills (…..)
The allies’ militaries are set to hold a joint exercise in the East and West Seas from Monday to Friday, during which the U.S. will deploy its nuclear-powered carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76).
It is one of America’s key power projection means of countering military threats in a volatile region.
The 333-meter-long, 100,000-ton Nimitz-class flattop is stationed in Yokosuka, Japan, as part of the Seventh Fleet in charge of the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. The Reagan has a deck the size of three football fields, with some 70 aircraft on board, ranging from fighter jets to helicopters.
During the maritime drills, the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, the airborne battle management aircraft, is expected to be deployed. It is capable of monitoring North Korea’s ground force movements and coastal artillery.
The Ohio-class guided-missile submarine USS Michigan (SSGN-727) has already arrived at the southern port of Busan as part of a regularly scheduled deployment to the Western Pacific, military officials said. [Yonhap]
This will give the US Navy something to think about:
North Korea fired several short-range antiship cruise missiles Thursday morning off its eastern coast, which flew about 200 kilometers (124 miles) after peaking at an altitude of 2 kilometers before landing in the East Sea, local military officials said.
The first missile, detected by South Korean authorities at 6:18 a.m., was followed by “several more” projectiles for “several minutes.” The type of missile was not immediately known, as is often the usual case. South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were fired from the vicinity of North Korea’s eastern coastal city of Wonsan, Kangwon Province.
The South Korean and U.S. militaries are cooperating for further analysis. It was North Korea’s fifth missile test since President Moon Jae-in took office on May 10, and its 10th this year. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link. Here is what President Moon had to say in response to the 5th North Korean missile test since he took office:
After receiving reports about the provocation from the JCS as well as national security adviser Chung Eui-yong, President Moon convened a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) at 2 p.m. at Cheong Wa Dae to discuss countermeasures.
During the meeting, Moon made it clear that his government will never compromise on issues related to national security, presidential spokesman Park Soo-hyun said.
“North Korea will only face the deepening of its isolation and economic trouble should it stick to this provocative mode,” Moon was quoted as saying.
The President also vowed to enhance the country’s ability to defend against the North’s nuclear and missile threats while maintaining the ROK-U.S. combined defense readiness, according to Park. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but degrading THAAD’s capability like President Moon is currently advocating for does not sound to me like enhancing the country’s capability to defend against missile attacks.
