The aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln is heading for home port in San Diego, while the USS George H. W. Bush and USS George Washington remain on station in the North Arabian Gulf executing strikes and upholding the steel wall naval blockade. Americas aircraft carriers are more important than ever and Lincoln and her crew of 5,000 will get a warm welcome.
But, back in Washington, DC, stormy weather is brewing for the carrier fleet. And one rogue wave coming directly from the White House could imperil the Navy in a future fight against China.
First, a shout-out to Lincoln’s combat success in the Middle East, including taking out 200 Iranian drones threatening commercial shipping. And oh yes, the Iranians tried and failed to target the Lincoln. “Since weve gotten here, and during Operation Epic Fury, the Iranians were looking for opportunities to attack this ship,” Captain Daniel J. Keeler, commander of the Lincoln, told CNN in a hangar deck interview in July. “Were very well-defended,” said. Irans shots “dont get close.” In fact, an F-35C stealth fighter from Lincoln shot down one Iranian drone near the carrier back in February.
USS GEORGE WASHINGTON CAPTAIN SAYS MORALE IS HIGH FOR NEW MIDEAST MISSION
Brilliantly as theyve performed, its high time for some major upgrades to naval aviation to prepare the force to take on Chinas navy. Im not talking about chow menus or whats in stock at the ship stores. Here are four important moves.
Drones. Carrier air wings need their own drones. First to arrive will be the MQ-25 Stingray refueling and reconnaissance drone. With wings that spread to 75 feet unfolded, the Stingrays job is to deliver fuel from its orbiting post 1,000 miles away from the carrier, and to stay aloft for hours. Look for smaller wingman collaborative combat aircraft drones with extra weapons and electronic spectrum warfare effects to join the airwing in the future, too. The skys the limit for carrier-based drones on ships with adjustable catapults. Speaking of whichâ¦
New catapults. President Donald Trump understands the value of carriers, yet hes worried for years about the new catapults â where magnets instead of steam shoot planes down the deck. So a White House National Security Presidential Memorandum on Aug. 13 tasked the Navy to present options for going back to steam catapults. Big mistake. This, after the USS Gerald R. Ford has proven the new electromagnetic system with over 12,200 launches just from their most recent 326-day deployment. Combat data on the new “cats” looks good. Heres something else you need to know: the magnetic catapults recharge faster than steam. FORD ran an all-out, multi-day surge exercise earlier this year, and the airwing was able to generate 25% more sorties with the new catapults, compared to the old steam type.
“I think theres overwhelming support in Congress and in the Pentagon for moving forward with EMALS,” Senator Roger Wicker, Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said on Aug. 18. Ripping out combat-proven catapults and weapons elevators will slow shipyards and leave the U.S. Navy short of aircraft carriers to fight China. Also, theres no going back. The air
