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When I first read, years ago, about how many aircraft carriers the US Navy had during WW2, I was gobsmacked. But then I read how most of them were escort carrie

When I first read, years ago, about how many aircraft carriers the US Navy had during WW2, I was gobsmacked. But then I read how most of them were escort carriers, slow converted merchant ships with just a few planes. The US military currently has a lot of exquisite platforms; what it [mostly] lacks today is mass from cheaper systems. It’d be good if we built more submarines, faster…

vmh1928 1y ago
We are dependent on a relatively small number of complex weapons systems. In a high intensity conflict with a peer like China, say, we could expect to loose a significant number of our big ticket items within a few days. It's a big mistake that we don't have a swarm of cheap systems mentality but I suppose that doesn't benefit the MIC so it's a no go. We'll pay for it some day.
- arrobbiato 1y ago
  This is the problem that the Pentagon’s Replicator Initiative is trying to solve.[1] However, the initiative (while well funded) only began less than two years ago. As MacArthur once said, every failure in war comes down to two words: “Too late.” We shall see. [1] https://www.diu.mil/replicator https://www.diu.mil/replicator
- jonstewart 1y ago
  It’s more nuanced, though. The choices made for the types of exquisite vs mass must be correct, and the mix of features of each system. With the WW2 aircraft carriers, a high number of the escort carriers were lost—they were slow and easily sunk. So it’s not clear they were a good allocation of resources. Light carriers—smaller and less well-armored than fleet carriers, but about as fast—did considerably better. The GLSDB in Ukraine looked like it would turn the tide on paper—relatively cheap precision warheads with a huge stock of ammo which could outrange artillery and hit supply lines. But they’ve been a nonentity because of Russia’s electronic warfare capabilities. It’s similar with drones—Ukraine’s FPV drones stopped being effective due to EW, but then they switched to fiber optic cable and that’s made an enormous difference. Aircraft carriers today are sitting ducks. The more we make, the more we’d lose.
PicassoCTs 1y ago
So? Modularize it all, stick it into containers that can interact with other containers- put it on cargo-boats- problem solved.

vmh1928 1y ago

We are dependent on a relatively small number of complex weapons systems. In a high intensity conflict with a peer like China, say, we could expect to loose a significant number of our big ticket items within a few days. It's a big mistake that we don't have a swarm of cheap systems mentality but I suppose that doesn't benefit the MIC so it's a no go. We'll pay for it some day.

arrobbiato 1y ago
This is the problem that the Pentagon’s Replicator Initiative is trying to solve.[1] However, the initiative (while well funded) only began less than two years ago. As MacArthur once said, every failure in war comes down to two words: “Too late.” We shall see. [1] https://www.diu.mil/replicator https://www.diu.mil/replicator
jonstewart 1y ago
It’s more nuanced, though. The choices made for the types of exquisite vs mass must be correct, and the mix of features of each system. With the WW2 aircraft carriers, a high number of the escort carriers were lost—they were slow and easily sunk. So it’s not clear they were a good allocation of resources. Light carriers—smaller and less well-armored than fleet carriers, but about as fast—did considerably better. The GLSDB in Ukraine looked like it would turn the tide on paper—relatively cheap precision warheads with a huge stock of ammo which could outrange artillery and hit supply lines. But they’ve been a nonentity because of Russia’s electronic warfare capabilities. It’s similar with drones—Ukraine’s FPV drones stopped being effective due to EW, but then they switched to fiber optic cable and that’s made an enormous difference. Aircraft carriers today are sitting ducks. The more we make, the more we’d lose.

PicassoCTs 1y ago

So? Modularize it all, stick it into containers that can interact with other containers- put it on cargo-boats- problem solved.