October 27, 2014

Rule #1 and the Cult of Invulnerability

On the morning of December 7, 1941, the USS Arizona, with 13.5 inches of armor at her waterline, 18 inches of armor on her turrets, and watertight compartments throughout her hull, was one of the most survivable ships in the world, that today continues to rest upon the bottom of Pearl Harbor with over a thousand honored dead still onboard. The USS Cole, equipped with the Aegis defense system, represented a $1.3 billion dollar investment in survivability in today’s dollars. She was designed to defend herself and other ships around her against the latest in air, surface and subsurface threats. Yet on October 12, 2000, a small motorboat filled with explosives nearly sank the ship as she refueled in Yemen.

There is no such thing as invulnerability. Many defense investments are misplaced, but near the top of the list are the billions spent chasing the illusion that ships can take a hit in a modern, hypersonic warfare environment and keep fighting. DOD must face the unpleasant reality that we will never build an indestructible ship.

Read the full article at Information Dissemination.

  • Podcast
    • February 4, 2025
    How Long Will Deterrence Hold?

    Mike hosts Michèle Flournoy, former Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Center for a New American Security (CNAS), where she currently serves as Chair of the Board o...

    By Michèle Flournoy

  • Podcast
    • January 30, 2025
    Colombia Tariffs, Banning Chinese Drones, and Stacie Pettyjohn on Drone Warfare

    Emily and Geoff play a quick round of Tariff Tarot to dissect Trump’s tariff threats on Colombia last weekend. Then they dig in to the bipartisan debate over banning various c...

    By Emily Kilcrease, Stacie Pettyjohn & Geoffrey Gertz

  • Commentary
    • Foreign Policy
    • January 24, 2025
    Don’t Talk About the War

    Confronting aggressors and getting them to the negotiation table requires both carrots and sticks—in other words, diplomacy and military power....

    By Franz-Stefan Gady

  • Commentary
    • January 22, 2025
    Sharper: Trump's First 100 Days

    Donald Trump takes office in a complex and volatile global environment. Rising tensions with China, the continued war in Ukraine, and instability in the Middle East all pose s...

    By Charles Horn

View All Reports View All Articles & Multimedia