My latest at the Diplomat evaluates a couple of arguments on the end of the aircraft carrier: I suspect that we will continue to see navies devoting resources to multi-purpose flat-deck aircraft carrying warships. Put simply, as long as states continue to see utility in such ships, they’ll continue to build them. Larger ships with […]
Tag: aircraft carriers
Everyone I know sent me a link related to this event. First things first, congratulations to the PLAN and to the people of China on turning a half-finished hulk into a major, if limited, warship. So
Yesterday I had some more thoughts at the Diplomat on the enduring attraction of the aircraft carrier: Have aircraft carriers become obsolete? Since 1949, analysts have argued that some combination
I have a new weekly gig at The Diplomat. First offering: Reports on Monday indicated that the PLAN has finally settled on a name for its aircraft carrier, heretofore known as the ex-Varyag. While speculation included names such as “Beijing,” “Mao Zedong,” and “Shi Lang,” the PLAN instead decided to adopt a relatively conventional naming strategy, dubbing […]
The Royal Navy, after deciding last year to switch from the STOVL F-35B (short take off vertical landing) to the CATOBAR (catapult assisted takeoff barrier assisted recovery) F-35C, has now switched b
I have thoughts on arms control and aircraft carriers: China, India and Japan do not appear to be on the verge of breaking the bank in an effort to match each other’s construction. Still, from a
This wouldn’t have been my first choice: John F. Kennedy will have a second aircraft carrier named after him. The Navy announcement came Sunday, on what would have been the president and World War II naval veteran’s 94th birthday. Designated CVN-79, the carrier will be the second in the Gerald R. Ford class of carriers. […]
No, India will not be purchasing one of the Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers, or at least not in the short term. The most important reason, I suspect, is that the British are
France has acknowledged that it will no longer deploy nuclear weapons on board the Charles De Gaulle, at least under normal circumstances: France no longer deploys nuclear weapons on its aircraft carr
The Brazilians may finally be getting some decent aircraft for the Sao Paulo: The Government of Brazil has requested proposals from several foreign suppliers, including the United States, to provide the next generation fighter for the Brazilian Air Force. In this “FX-2” competition, the Government of Brazil has yet to select the United States Navy-Boeing […]
Via Galrahn, it looks as if the Royal Navy is ditching plans to buy the F-35B (VSTOL variant), and instead buying the F-35C (carrier variant) and adding catapults to its new carriers. As I’ve su
A USN aircraft carrier should not, under any circumstances, be named the Barry M. Goldwater. While I’ll concede that Goldwater would probably be a better choice from the perspective of US histor