The following article appeared in the Washington Post on November 29th.
The Future of Naval Aviation: A Need for Vision and Leadership
By Senator Jim Webb
From its humble origins with the A-1 Triad in 1911 to today’s futuristic X-47B unmanned combat air system demonstrator, the history of U.S. naval aviation reflects a century of achievement in peace and war. Just three decades after the A-1 took to the skies, aircraft carriers emerged as the backbone of the modern fleet, a role that endures in today’s all nuclear-powered carrier force.
In addition to carrier aviation, Navy and Marine helicopters, vertical takeoff-and-landing aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles have expanded sea-based aviation with their ability to deploy on surface combatant and amphibious force ships. Fewer but increasingly more capable shore-based maritime air patrol squadrons perform critical fleet- and national-intelligence support missions.
Despite the heady accomplishments of 10 decades, all enabled by a proficient industrial base, naval aviation and the Navy’s fleet writ large face an uncertain future as Congress and the Department of Defense seek ways to reduce defense spending by hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade.
The Navy’s watchword now is “all options are on the table,” including a delay in the construction of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier or the cancellation of a new carrier acquisition outright.
As a maritime nation by virtue of geography, economic necessity, and global political commitments, we would be ill-advised to make additional reductions to our already greatly diminished naval force structure. Today’s Navy of 284 deployable battle force ships—our smallest fleet since 1916—is maintaining a high operational tempo, with more than 50 percent deployed from their homeports on any given day.
Today’s warships are exceptionally more capable than their predecessors, but greater numbers offer inherent advantages in their own right. As my Naval Academy classmate and former Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jay Johnson was fond of saying, “Virtual presence is actual absence.”
The fleet’s undiminished operational commitments are cause for concern. The Navy is considering an extension of attack submarine deployments beyond their traditional six months because unified combatant commanders’ mission requirements have steadily increased. Aviation squadron and surface ship readiness continue their decline owing to under-resourced maintenance accounts. Sailors in many ratings are spending more time on sea duty. The strain on them and their families is real. During the years ahead, we must not repeat the mistakes of the 1970s by placing unacceptably high burdens on their shoulders.
My very strong view, formed over more than 40 years, is that our national security and vital interests around the world affirm the statutory requirement for 11 operational aircraft carriers and the need for a Navy of more than 300 ships. Time and again in far-distant oceans, they have demonstrated their great versatility as strategic assets with highly potent tactical applications. The Navy-Marine Corps team’s ability to sustain our distant alliances and to dissuade, deter, or defeat those who threaten us is enormously well-suited for our nation’s 21st -century strategic requirements.
As we withdraw from Iraq and Afghanistan, we should reassess how our nation will address post-9/11 realities and international terrorism in ways that do not entail a large and expensive overseas ground presence. We also must refocus our strategic priorities elsewhere, most notably in the vast reaches of the Pacific region. We should reinvigorate our alliances with Japan and Korea, develop closer ties with the nations of Southeast Asia, and serve as a force for peace and stability in the face of China’s clear intention to expand its economic strength, military power, and territory.
The Navy has many important roles to play in this regard. With its mobility, flexibility, combined-arms strength, and relatively limited dependence on overseas bases, naval forces are well-postured to support our nation’s global national defense strategy and to execute their traditional mission of sustaining unfettered sea lines of communication.
During the height of our country’s worst economic crisis in 1933, we faced a similar challenge in deciding how to allocate limited resources for the nation’s defense. Spurred by an executive order by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, legislation sponsored by Congressman Carl Vinson and Senator Park Trammell ultimately led to a major eight-year naval building program totaling more than 100 ships. Their follow-on legislation expanded naval aviation acquisition programs during the late 1930s. Obsolete ships were replaced with designs that proved their worth for decades to follow—long-term strategic investments in national security.
Historians note that that the landmark Vinson-Trammell Act helped to revive depressed U.S. industries and led to the long-term shipbuilding program that enabled the U.S. Navy to dominate the world’s oceans by 1945.
Similar vision and leadership are required today if we are to sustain that legacy for our maritime republic.