Thursday, February 16, 2017

CVL?

Austin Bay is reporting that the US Navy may be thinnking about building some light carriers (CVL).
The U.S. Navy may be on the verge of a light aircraft carrier renaissance. New technology spurs the revival, both new smart weapons in the arsenals of potential military adversaries and new American weapons systems, the USMC F-35B strike fighter being the most pertinent example.
The issue is complex, so the back-story here is particularly relevant. In World War II, the U.S. Navy made extensive use of small aircraft carriers, ranging from very small carriers escorting convoys (CVEs) to light aircraft carriers (CVLs) that were essentially downsized models of the iconic big carriers (CVs).
I'm certainly no expert, but it seems to me that several small carriers might be better than fewer big carriers.  We need big carriers, of course, but several light carriers might give the Navy more mission-responsiveness.

1 comment:

Counter Jockey said...

Also, and I'm sure OldNFO will elaborate, but the CVL were effective in WWII because they carried effective airplanes. I don't see the F-35 being able to be used as a stand alone fleet defense fighter.