According to Popular Mechanics Magazine, aircraft carriers have long been considered a symbol of US naval power. In the current context, the question is how many aircraft carriers does the US really need?
In a recent article, Popular Mechanics Magazine said that although the US Navy currently owns a total of 11 aircraft carriers, almost all of them have never been deployed on missions at the same time. . The US Navy usually only deploys three or four aircraft carriers at a time in most cases. There was also a time when this number was up to 5 units. That’s what happened in December 2022, when the aircraft carriers: USS Nimitz, USS Ronald Reagan, USS George HWBush, USS Carl Vinson and USS Abraham Lincoln were deployed to perform missions in waters around the world. .
According to Popular Mechanics Magazine, the deployment of US military forces (from navy aircraft carriers to army combat divisions) usually follows the 1/3 rule. For example, with aircraft carriers, at any given time, only 1/3 of the ships are on duty at sea, another 1/3 are waiting to be ready to replace them, and the remaining 1/3 are “” free”.
Popular Mechanics magazine believes that the 1/3 rule allows US military units time to prepare manpower and weapons to carry out tasks. Of course, in an emergency, this principle will be adjusted so that “a unit that has already completed its mission can stay longer, while a replacement unit remains deployed, giving the commander a quick boost.” double force”. For example, most recently, the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R.Ford was initially expected to return home on October 17, 2023, but then remained to perform duties in the Mediterranean until October 17, 2023. January 1, 2024 in the context of the conflict between Israel and the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip.
“Although it is possible to adjust the 1/3 principle, this will prolong the normal 6-month deployment time for a US aircraft carrier, thereby not only wasting Wear and tear of weapons and technical equipment, but most importantly, it affects sailors and their families,” the article stated.
Two US aircraft carrier battle groups USS Gerald R.Ford and USS Dwight D.Eisenhower in the Mediterranean, November 2023. Photo: Popular Mechanics
Emphasizing that the US military has many air bases in allied countries, Popular Mechanics Magazine said that the need for aircraft carriers “is not really too big”. The magazine calculates that the US needs a total of 15 aircraft carriers to be able to deploy five at a time in most cases and eight to nine in emergencies to demonstrate “significant deterrence capacity”. trust”. There are two solutions for the US to increase the number of aircraft carriers from the current 11 to 15 according to calculations by Popular Mechanics Magazine. The first and most obvious solution is to build more aircraft carriers. The next solution is to extend the service life of aircraft carriers in service. For example, it is possible for the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz to “retire” in 2032 instead of being decommissioned in 2025 as currently planned.
Popular Mechanics magazine also notes that each aircraft carrier is only part of a carrier strike group (CSG). Each aircraft carrier could cost $11 billion and the cost of the aircraft equipped on board could cost another $5 billion. To protect an aircraft carrier usually requires at least 3 destroyers worth about 2 billion USD each. Each CSG can also be attached to a submarine, worth about 4 billion USD. Ammunition for ships and aircraft in the CSG will cost another $1 billion.
“In short, each CSG will cost about 27 billion USD. Not to mention each CSG requires about 7,000 personnel and decades after the aircraft carrier was phased out, the US Navy still has to subsidize those who have retired. retired… The number of aircraft carriers is directly related to how much money the US wants to spend and how much risk it is willing to accept,” Popular Mechanics Magazine affirmed.
Every year, at the request of the US Congress, the US Navy must submit a plan to develop its fleet of warships, including aircraft carriers, within the next 30 years. In a report published in January this year, the US Congressional Research Service (CRS) said that although there are up to 3 options for developing the warship fleet in the next 3 decades proposed by the US Navy. In the latest plan, the number of aircraft carriers this force is expected to own only fluctuates in the range of 9-12 instead of 15 as calculated by Popular Mechanics Magazine.
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