Analyst Urges U.S. Navy To Junk Ford-Class Aircraft Carriers

Diverting the funds and resources from any future Ford-class carrier after 2028 will be helpful for the US Navy to prioritize, Brandon J. Weichert wrote in an analysis for The National Interest.

Building legacy systems like the aircraft carrier when the enemies of the US have developed cheaper ways of negating the efficacy of carriers in modern combat has been deemed not just "decadent," but "irresponsible." I Photo: U.S. Navy

First, the US will need more Virginia-class attack submarines. Second, it will need to develop arsenals of sophisticated underwater unmanned vehicles (UUV) as well as advanced unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

Third, the Navy needs to invest in its own hypersonic weapons capacity. Fourth, Navy resources need to be put into directed-energy weapons (DEW).

All these other expenditures, such as trying to replace the 10 Nimitz-class carriers with 10 Ford-class carriers when the Nimitz-class still has decades of service left, is one such example of wastefulness on the part of the Navy.

It is the hallmark of a decadent country in decline that it has failed to adapt to the changing times.

"We are living in an era where interest payments on the national debt will soon outstrip the nearly $1 trillion US defense budget," Weichert argued.

To continue building legacy systems, like the aircraft carrier, when our enemies have developed cheaper ways of negating the efficacy of carriers in modern combat, is not just decadent. It’s irresponsible. And it could lead to the US losing a war.

Cancel the Ford-class aircraft carrier now.