Monday, June 03, 2013

Modest Proposal. Lets make a real assault carrier.


The X-47B with the right sized carrier would make a formidable assault carrier.

In essence what I'm talking about is combining a high performance UAV with the Sea Control Ship concept.

The pluses are many.  We separate manned and unmanned aircraft from the big carriers.  We get the benefit of being able to jam pack the deck and the hangar below decks with aircraft.  And last but not least.

When small wars popup that we don't want to be involved in but our allies drag us into anyway (a recurring theme throughout our history going back to WW2) we can simply send this carrier to do the work instead of an Amphibious Ready Group or a Carrier Strike Group.

The UAV is the simple part...the hard part is going to be the ship.  The most important thing about this is to NOT stray from the original concept.  The original idea was for a 14000 ton warship.  Steel is cheap but we shouldn't build a bigger ship just for giggles. This should be a one trick pony.  Anything that doesn't help it accomplish its primary mission should be banished....no space for carriage of Marines or Special Operations...no allowance for operating manned aircraft etc....

The time has come, the idea has merit and we finally have the right piece..the X-47B.