Open Thread

Thought of the day.

I have never seen evidence that a fleet of small ships can replace the current Navy force structure. When I see people advocate small fleets to fight a war, even in the littorals, I shake my head.

If I want to sink a ship in the littorals, I want a helicopter. But if I want to control the littorals, or exercise control over commercial shipping...

I want small ships.

Small ships are for Sea Control, not Power Projection. The FAC crowd believes small ships are power projection, while those who agree with me that manpower is the solution to peacetime challenges recognize how small ships contribute to sea control. Manpower capacity on small ships is a much more important design consideration than ASMs, which gives a small ship capability to sink a commercial ship, but not seize a commercial ship.

The distinction is important, because if we need to sink a ship, send an aircraft or submarine.