COMPLETELY AGREE
no pretty soon since we do not have the navy and air force as much in Iraq and Afghanistan where jusdt going to stop buying the best fighters for the air force we are going to stop procuring the best ships for the navy and essentially we are going to screw our selfs over if anyone other than a terrorist gain a little back bone.
The leasing of the Gotland, its use and other AIP equipped SSK's have been discussed in depth on this forum, go do a search rather than just spew uninformed drivel.
you don't like him because of these reasons?
I have a feeling that Gates is going to cram the LCS down the Navy's throats even though they don't want it.
The Burke Flight I's were built to replace the Adams and Coontz class destroyers. The Burke Flight II's were built to replace Spruance class destroyers. All have been replaced, yet there are those who advocate building Burkes to replace Perry class frigates. $2 billiion destroyers to replace $200 million frigates. No wonder why we have a huge deficit...
Unfortunately you couldn't be more wrong. Its the navy that wants to build LCS. The last three CNOs have advocated building LCS. The navy also wants DDX and CGX too, not more Burkes. Its the Congress and you who wish to build more Burkes, Burkes we don't need...
OK your right about the LCS but...
The DDX program ended with only three Zumwalts ordered. I have yet to see a finished final design for the CGX yet. You might like it better than a Burke III. We are still six years away from having to order one.
The CG(X) has been canceled and replaced by the Flight III Burkes so we wont see a CG(X) ever.
Neither have I seen a finished final design for a Burke III... I wonder whether it will be as good as a Burke II or Burke I?
i am sorry but i have only herd that the Dept. of defense is giving the Congress three options 1 the Bukre III 2 the CGX and 3 and entirely new design i have not herd that the actually canceled the new cruiser and chosen the Burke Flight III
The CG(X) has in fact been canceled and the DDG-1000 buy is cut to only 3 ships, Flight III DDG-51s will replace the canceled CG(X) mostly because of cost.
okay i think that is upsetting i think the Navy need a new design for a ship
Well thats great news about not cutting a carrier because he had me worried there for a second.
Part of that backpedalling is the reality that the majority of the Navy's real inluencers, i.e., leadership, up & comers, gurus) can and often have, waited out a particular SECDEF's tenure or a particular vision. Gates knows there's no way he can stay in his current post long enough to see significant cuts to the carrier force. To be sure, he can influence the delay or even cancellation of future big deck procurements, but not to the blood-and-guts extent that his fiery speech at the Navy League would have us believe. The immediate and permanent acts he can do is to kill programs that are at their infancy like EFV.
I can't image anyone canceling the new Gerald R. Ford class carriers other than pushing the buy rate to five year intervals instead of four. I don't think Gates wants to see the carrier force go anywhere below 10-11 ships.
Yes we need 11 carriers no one in their right mind would cut them, unless they think its not fair that the US has such a huge navel advantage and we should cut our carriers to play nice for our enemies.Direct quote from the SecDef's speech; bolding is mine:
Second – aircraft carriers. Our current plan is to have eleven carrier strike groups through 2040 and it's in the budget. And to be sure, the need to project power across the oceans will never go away. But, consider the massive over-match the U.S. already enjoys. Consider, too, the growing anti-ship capabilities of adversaries. Do we really need eleven carrier strike groups for another 30 years when no other country has more than one? Any future plans must address these realities.
So even if he backpedals, he can make efforts to attrite the replacement program by cutting back the number of new decks intended to replace current carriers. That will effectively reduce the total number of CSGs.
I would read through the speech transcript online. Better minds than me have already taken apart the EFV issue thoroughly.
The only shipyard building the America and Wasp class amphibious assault ships is Ingalls in Mississippi. They have the trained workforce to do so. Please google earth or map the Mississippi coast about twenty miles from the Alabama border. You will notice this shipyard is huge in comparison to other shipyards... This shipyard makes other shipyards look small...