Naval Combat Aircraft: Issues and Options

Improvements in the U.S. naval forces are the centerpiece of the current Administration's conventional defense policy. The Navy will soon have 600 ships, including 15 deployable aircraft carriers. According to the Administration, a naval force of this size is needed in a major European war to s...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Pierrot, Lane
Other Authors: CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE (U S CONGRESS) WASHINGTON DC
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 1987
Subjects:
Aircraft
Marine Engineering
Logistics
Military Facilities and Supplies
*NAVAL AIRCRAFT
*NAVAL OPERATIONS
USSR
EUROPE
WARFARE
CONGRESS
FORWARD AREAS
PLANNING
INVENTORY
REPLENISHMENT
MILITARY BUDGETS
NORWEGIAN SEA
NORWAY
BUDGETS
NORTH(DIRECTION)
AIRCRAFT CARRIERS
PROCUREMENT
SHIPS
STRATEGY
PEACETIME
GROWTH(GENERAL)
COSTS
Norway
Norwegian Sea
Northern Norway
Online Access:http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA474792
http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA474792
Description
Summary:Improvements in the U.S. naval forces are the centerpiece of the current Administration's conventional defense policy. The Navy will soon have 600 ships, including 15 deployable aircraft carriers. According to the Administration, a naval force of this size is needed in a major European war to seize control of the northern Norwegian Sea, provide support to the defense of northern Norway, and also make the Soviet Union withhold forces that might otherwise be used against convoys involved in the resupply of Europe. The Navy refers to this approach as its forward offensive strategy. In addition, aircraft carriers are deployed worldwide in peacetime to carry out U.S. military objectives. While the Navy has already bought the ships to achieve a 600- ship Navy, it has not based on its own planning factors bought enough aircraft to meet the requirements of its 15 carriers. Even its current five-year plan would not alleviate the shortfalls in aircraft the difference between the Navy's stated requirements and its aircraft inventories. This suggests underutilization of expensive aircraft carriers in wartime. Moreover, that plan calls for average real growth in aircraft procurement costs of 7 percent a year from 1987 through 1992, while the latest Congressional budget plan calls for three years of real declines in overall defense spending. Thus, the Navy faces difficult choices as it attempts to procure enough aircraft within severe budgetary limits.

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