"May 19, 2013: The U.S. Navy is facing a cash crisis. Its current fleet is still full of Cold War era ships that are rapidly wearing out. The replacements cost more than the navy can afford, now or in the next decade or so. Looking for ways to manage the inevitable shrinking some navy officials are saying the unthinkable; that the navy rely less on carriers, if only because it cannot afford to replace the ten it has now. The most extreme solution is to build fewer carriers and more destroyers and rely on cruise missiles fired from surface ships and submarines, instead of smart bombs dropped by carrier aircraft.
A study of combat situations over the last few decades that involved carrier aircraft showed that most of these brief campaigns could have been handled by cruise missiles launched from destroyers and submarines. This is particularly true now because new models of cruise missiles have two-way communications and the ability to look for targets as well as attack them. The missiles have a longer range (2,500 kilometers) than carrier aircraft and long range reconnaissance UAVs (like Global Hawk, which even the navy is buying), along with satellites, provide the eyes that carrier aircraft long featured as a key capability.
To deal with situations requiring longer (sustained) operations, four or five carriers could be kept in service. ".............
Eliminate the AIR FARCE...........build more carriers........AIR FARCE IS a Cold WAR...........Dina sore....Carriers carry cruise missiles, SEALS, Marines and we park them all over the world.....build many, many more.......
