retired admiral and an obscure but influential congressman have rekindled one of the oldest debates in the U.S. military, questioning the Navy’s reliance on a small fleet of large aircraft carriers.
In a closed-door discussion this month with the Navy’s top carrier advocates and independent analysts, U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., suggested shifting to smaller and cheaper carriers, equipped largely with unmanned aircraft. He argued the move would allow the United States to buy more ships and reduce the risk that a surprise attack would devastate the fleet.