January 18, 2017
McCain’s Excellent White Paper: Smaller Carriers, High-Low Weapons Mix, Frigates, Cheap Fighters
The Senate Armed Services Committee new White Paper positions the committee as a leader in the Pentagon’s effort to rebuild and reform. The SASC offers a road map with key decision destinations for the new Trump Administration to follow as it pursues its goal of strengthening the nation’s military. The document is both broad and deep in its treatment of defense issues, ranging from the need for a new national grand defense strategy to recommendations on needed investments in cyber security.
Of particular interest and importance is the SASC’s advocacy for the U.S. to buy a high-low mix of weapons systems, a concept that I have advocated for years, as a means of advancing the force technologically for the high-end fight, while also buying cheaper systems in bulk to keep the force size up while addressing day-to-day threats.
In a dramatic move, McCain’s committee recommends increasing the Navy fleet by an additional 18 ships over the 41 planned in the next five years. It would add additional submarines, destroyers, a new small surface combatant and a new, smaller, conventionally fueled aircraft carrier to the buy list. The initial plus ups are achieved by swiftly expanding production on already “warm” production lines such as the Virginia-class fast attack submarines (going from two to four per year, for instance) and the Arleigh Burke class destroyers, made by two shipbuilding companies in two yards in Maine and Mississippi.
Read the full article at Breaking Defense.
More from CNAS
-
Balance of Power: Powell Probe Sparks GOP Backlash
Podcast
President Donald Trump faced rare opposition from key Republican lawmakers after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell accused the Department of Justice of launching a grand jur...
By Becca Wasser
-
The Venezuela Blockade
Commentary
Roxanna Vigil, Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellow, talks about President Donald Trump's order to blockade sanctioned oil tankers in Venezuela, and the r...
By Becca Wasser
-
The Astronomical Cost of Defeating ‘Any Foreign Aerial Attack’
Video
Building Trump’s proposed missile and air defense system would be an enormous task — and the president’s spending target is likely just a fraction of the final price. CNAS adj...
By Becca Wasser
-
Commentary
Defense / Transatlantic Security
When Defense Becomes Destruction: Austria-Hungary’s Mistake and Ukraine’s RiskThis article was originally posted on War on the Rocks. The southeastern Polish city of Przemyśl, with its elegant 19th century Habsburg-era train station, remains one of the ...
By Franz-Stefan Gady
