OPINION:
Israel’s war against Hamas has shown the need for us to build up our aircraft carrier strike forces.
The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group had to be moved from covering the Pacific to covering the Middle East to provide additional firepower against a possible Iranian attack against Israel. With the USS Roosevelt carrier strike group on station in the Middle East, the Indo-Pacific region was left without a carrier strike group.
We currently have 11 carrier strike groups to cover the world, but only five or six carriers are available at one time. This is due to nuclear refueling, overhauls of five or more years, routine maintenance, modifications, crew relaxation, replenishment and transit times.
At a cost of about $15 billion per carrier and the need for a crew of 5,000 to 6,000 sailors, the U.S. Navy has a formidable task in trying to increase its carrier forces. Additionally, the U.S. shipbuilding industry has been seriously depleted.
The Ukraine-Russia war has shown the importance of utilizing drones in warfare. Maybe we should be looking at modifying our existing 11 carrier strike groups to have the capability to conduct offensive and defensive drone operations.
We could construct new drone aircraft carriers at a much lower cost than $15 billion while lowering ongoing operational costs. And a much smaller crew would be required for drone carriers.
DONALD MOSKOWITZ
Londonderry, New Hampshire
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