By Dan Middlemiss, 26 August 2024
Consider the following:
“...To further set the stage, we all recognize the death spiral that the Navy is in. As we try to make each ship more and more multi-functional, the ships become bigger and more expensive. Because they are more expensive we can’t afford as many and numbers get cut. As numbers decrease, unit costs increase and we try to compensate by making each ship even more capable and more multi-functional which further drives up the cost which further reduces the numbers which means we have to put more capability on each ship which drives up the cost which cuts numbers which …
... the reality is that our combat fleet has been steadily shrinking in numbers for the last few decades and that trend shows no signs of stopping.”
Sound familiar? The interesting fact is that this is a quote taken from a prolific US blogger who was describing the US Navy’s plan, some 7 years ago, to procure more Arleigh Burke-classdestroyers at the expense of other more urgently required ship types.[1]
Food for thought?
Note
1. ComNavOIps, “Break Up the Burkes,” Navy Matters, 2 August 2017. Accessed at: https://navy-matters.blogspot.com/2017/08/break-up-burkes.html
2 thoughts on “A Navy’s “Death Spiral””
They best keep building Arleigh Burkes as that’s all they got right now. I don’t know what minimum capabilities a platform needs but in my opinion a lot of OPVs are going to be mounting some extra hardware pretty quick if things get hot.
Hello,
I suppose this again calls into question the continued viability of expeditionary naval warfare. Big, expensive platforms are as vulnerable as anything else to the attack and harassment of determined adversaries operating in their own back yards. Despite getting crammed with increasingly more capabilities at increasing cost, they demonstrate diminishing returns.
Regards