Chased by China & Russia, “Doing More of the Same Is Not the Answer” for the U.S. Navy

The United States Navy has achieved unmatched supremacy on the world’s seas, but Russia and China are diligently growing their naval capabilities, trying to close the gap. Should U.S. naval enterprises fail to match their rivals’ pace, then Moscow and Beijing’s maritime advancements could challenge U.S. geostrategic interests, including its ability to ensure the uninhibited flow of trade, project power in the Middle East, Europe and Asia, and effectively carry out operations in the global war on terror.

• The U.S. Navy deploys an active fleet of 280 ships, according to Navy Spokesman Lt. Benjamin Anderson.
• The Navy fleet structure is designed around 11 aircraft carriers, with ten belonging to the Nimitz class, which first entered service in 1975. These will eventually be phased out for the new Ford class, the first of which, the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), was commissioned in July and cost $12.9 billion to build. The next Ford class carrier, the USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79), is targeted for commission in 2020, but the Navy is expected to exceed its $11.4 billion budget for the carrier similar to how the cost for the USS Ford ballooned to an estimated $2.4 million over budget.
• The USS Ford’s introduction returned the Navy’s carrier force strength to 11 vessels. Federal law requires the Navy to keep 11 carriers on active duty at all times, but the retirement of USS Enterprise in February necessitated a temporary waiver.
• Weighing more than 100,000 tons, carrying up to 90 aircraft and crewed by 5,000 personnel, U.S. aircraft carriers are the largest warships ever built. The flight decks of these nuclear-powered vessels offer what the Navy calls “4.5 acres of sovereign American territory” anywhere in the world.
• “The foundation of our Naval forces’ credibility as reliable partners and as an effective deterrent is our forward presence,” testified Sean Stackley, former Acting Secretary of the Navy, at a July hearing held by the Senate Armed Services Committee.
• The U.S. Navy has played a key role in the campaign against ISIS in the Middle East as fighter jets that bombed the group took off from carriers including the USS George H.W. Bush and USS Eisenhower carrier stationed in the Mediterranean Sea and the Persian Gulf. The U.S. has also sent warships through the South China Sea to ensure the freedom of navigation and demonstrate its naval commitments to regional allies.