Finding the Right Mix
The world's major maritime powers clearly have the money and commitment to maintain carefully balanced forces to project power. It seems, however, that many other, smaller navies can ill afford to continue shopping for ultra-expensive and difficult-to-maintain amphibious ships, aircraft carriers, and submarines while anti-piracy and counter-terrorism remain their stated top priorities. This force-mix debate will inevitably persist, and the arguments over which types of warships will be most useful in the future remain anyone"s guess. This annual review of the world's navies is arranged by region, with maritime nations discussed alphabetically in each subheading.
