SixZero Daily Bullet: Without Dramatic Defense Reform, Maintaining Peace Through Strength Not Possible
An example of why our Navy is getting weaker and less able to project power and deter enemies is the Ford Class Carrier program
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) returning to Naval Station Norfolk after two months in the the Atlantic Ocean, Nov. 26, 2022. US Navy Photo
I strongly believe in the principle of Peace Through Strength, but I also strongly believe the current direction of our military is one of decline. Along with being infected with wokeness and DEI, a grossly inefficient and far too often incompetent procurement system ensures our military will continue to decline unless dramatic reforms are undertaken.
We are not only seeing our Navy shrink in size, but far too often the new equipment, ships and planes we are buying are so full of unreliable, immature technology that has yet to prove it value on the battlefied creates the situatoin that retiring existing equipment to make room for new actually reduces our military capability.
This is especially true when you consider the cost and the how ridiculously long it takes to develop and deliver new ships and planes.
This excerpt frem the recent report to Congress on the Ford Class Carrier program as reported in USNI news, gives a glimpse into just how ridiculous our procurement process has become.
“CVN-81 (Doris Miller) is treated in this report as a ship that was procured in FY2019, consistent with congressional action on the Navy’s FY2019 budget. (The Navy’s FY2025 budget submission, like its FY2021-FY2024 submissions, shows CVN-81 as a ship that was procured in FY2020.) The ship is scheduled for delivery to the Navy in February 2032. CVN-82, as noted above, is programmed for procurement in FY2030 under the Navy’s FY2025 budget submission.”
Withouts worrying about details, look at the time frames involved for CVN-81 from time of procurement to projected delivery, and then factor in that the Ford Class Carriers project units average cost is over $15 bllion per ship and that our last Nimitz carrier cost $8 billion. Then consider recent trials had a Nimitz class carrier outpeforming the brand new USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78). Adding insult to injury, because of what some might call crimal negligence, Ford Class Carrierrs have single points of failure that could leave them nearly defenseless and completely lacking in offensive power.
For details on the Ford’s reliabiity issues and how it compares to the Nimitz, as well as its potentially fatal design flaws, read my detailed analysis piece at this link: https://mikesdefensetalk.substack.com/p/unreliability-issues-mean-ford-class
Editor’s note: Please consider sharing this with friends and acquaintances who are interested in national security and military technology.