Blue Jay
Member
First of all, I've only registered a few hours ago and this is my second post and first thread and I am SO excited to become a part of a nice, mature group of people who know what they're talking about. I'm an amateur military enthusiast who's still in high school who wants to get into military journalism. I can hold my own when it comes to knowledge of military matters, but there's so much I don't know and I'm always willing to learn! Anyways, onto the topic:
It seems to me that the US Navy is lacking in small cheap warships to act as escorts and low-risk assets. (By "low-risk" I actually mean expendable, but I dislike that term since it implies that they have no value, which is not the case.)
Obviously the main capital ships of the USN are its aircraft carriers. These bird farms need tin cans to escort and protect them from a variety of threats. Currently, this role is filled out by the capable Arleigh-Burke class guided missile destroyer. It seems to me though, that the Arleigh-Burke class of DDGs are really big, really expensive tin cans. Steel bathtubs.
Each Arleigh-Burke class destroyer costs around 1.8 billion USD and displaces 9,600 long tons. Compare to the Royal Navy's armored cruiser HMS Essex launched in 1901 which has a displacement of 9,800 long tons. I'm quoting Wikipedia so the accuracy of these stats isn't concrete but you get my point. Steel bathtubs. These babies are jacks-of-all-trades and very good at what they do, especially air defense with the Aegis System. They're also very big for their class. They seem very well suited for the inner screen work of a battle group that's tasked with the heavy duty air defense.
However, it seems that the USN doesn't have an appropriate warship for use in the outer battle screen and pickets. In other words, the USN doesn't have a real tin can escort that can be a little less valuable and more expendable than the expensive Burkes.
The Aegis ships are awfully nice and all, but doesn't the USN need a ship that's less capable, less expensive, and more numerous that can give naval commanders a low-risk asset? Such a ship would be nice especially if it emphasized Anti-Submarine Warfare. They would be useful in littoral areas.
I am aware of the existence of the Littoral Combat Ship, but I don't think these ships are capable or meant to perform the role I'm describing right now. Tell me if I'm wrong though.
It seems to me that the US Navy is lacking in small cheap warships to act as escorts and low-risk assets. (By "low-risk" I actually mean expendable, but I dislike that term since it implies that they have no value, which is not the case.)
Obviously the main capital ships of the USN are its aircraft carriers. These bird farms need tin cans to escort and protect them from a variety of threats. Currently, this role is filled out by the capable Arleigh-Burke class guided missile destroyer. It seems to me though, that the Arleigh-Burke class of DDGs are really big, really expensive tin cans. Steel bathtubs.
Each Arleigh-Burke class destroyer costs around 1.8 billion USD and displaces 9,600 long tons. Compare to the Royal Navy's armored cruiser HMS Essex launched in 1901 which has a displacement of 9,800 long tons. I'm quoting Wikipedia so the accuracy of these stats isn't concrete but you get my point. Steel bathtubs. These babies are jacks-of-all-trades and very good at what they do, especially air defense with the Aegis System. They're also very big for their class. They seem very well suited for the inner screen work of a battle group that's tasked with the heavy duty air defense.
However, it seems that the USN doesn't have an appropriate warship for use in the outer battle screen and pickets. In other words, the USN doesn't have a real tin can escort that can be a little less valuable and more expendable than the expensive Burkes.
The Aegis ships are awfully nice and all, but doesn't the USN need a ship that's less capable, less expensive, and more numerous that can give naval commanders a low-risk asset? Such a ship would be nice especially if it emphasized Anti-Submarine Warfare. They would be useful in littoral areas.
I am aware of the existence of the Littoral Combat Ship, but I don't think these ships are capable or meant to perform the role I'm describing right now. Tell me if I'm wrong though.