More pundits are declaring the end of the aircraft carrier's relevance; it is fashionable to eulogize the centerpiece of our naval preeminence. These "experts" declare that advances in weapon technologies have made the big ships vulnerable, and that the capabilities of our own missiles and land-based aircraft render them unnecessary. Indeed, just two years ago in the pages of Proceedings, retired Admiral Stansfield Turner stated, "It is difficult, though, to expect any weapon system to dominate for as long as 65 years, especially when military technology has been changing markedly."
With this mindset Admiral Turner and other flattop critics would have given up on all sorts of military capabilities as counters to them were fielded. For instance, aviation would have been grounded with the advent of antiaircraft weapons. Fortunately, rather than giving up, our predecessors evolved aircraft systems to make them more survivable and effective. A more basic analogy addresses the surface warship itself. Rather than being left to rust at the pier as air power became ascendant, or as submarines proved to be formidable threats, they were improved and kept relevant.
Likewise, the carrier has been repeatedly enhanced since its introduction. That this should continue is axiomatic. After all, Admiral Turner is correct; adversary weapons are improving. Their capabilities are astonishing, and doing nothing to mitigate them would be foolhardy. But of course, as always, we're exploiting new technologies to counter these threats.
One of those technologies—in fact, one that Admiral Turner touts—is the unmanned aircraft system. Traditionally the Navy has only put new aircraft on board its ships when they promise greater capabilities. In unmanned aircraft systems, the service recognizes great potential in terms of increasing the potency and survivability of its aircraft carriers, and by extension, the potency and survivability of the service as a whole.
Indeed, a shipborne, persistent, long-ranged, stealthy, armed, unmanned aircraft will provide benefits beyond collecting imagery or uncovering targets. From a thousand miles or more, these systems will have the capacity to strike an enemy's centers of gravity. While that capability alone justifies this type of system, the attributes that allow these sorts of strikes will also permit the naval commander to target the advanced weapons that threaten his fleet.
So then, from standoff ranges that diminish the menace of sophisticated anti-ship weapons, the commander will be able to launch unmanned aircraft against targets of strategic importance. Simultaneously, he will be able to use them to reduce enemy defenses so that he can close to ranges that allow him to use his more numerous manned aircraft. Essentially, the unmanned aircraft will help guarantee the ability to employ his full array of striking power.
Providing these unmanned aircraft the ability to refuel while airborne further increases their effectiveness, the magnitude of which is only beginning to be understood. For instance, strike operations from very long ranges—deep blue-water ops—will greatly complicate the enemy's efforts to locate and target our carriers. But the enemy won't face similar challenges when planning strikes against the fixed base installations hosting the aircraft and missiles that Admiral Turner and his "the-aircraft-carrier-is-dead" friends espouse. After all, Guam is in the same place it was 10,000 years ago. So is Okinawa. And San Diego.
Too, the nonsense of replacing carrier aircraft with missiles is just that. How is a ship with missiles going to provide air support to Marines in contact? Or is the Navy going to stop supporting the Marine Corps? And how will the Navy maintain a persistent presence over enemy territory? Doing so will entail a requirement to hit the mobile missile systems that threaten entire regions. The ability to uncover and kill such weapons will be critical not only to maintaining the service's relevance, but more important, to winning wars.
The notion of using persistent, long-range, stealthy, armed, unmanned aircraft in combination with manned aircraft should be embraced to leverage the nation's enormous investment in its aircraft carriers. Doing so will enhance the effectiveness of these already capable ships, and help ensure America's global maritime primacy.