NYT call for Navy cutbacks sparks online buzz

[unhappycamper]

NYT call for Navy cutbacks sparks online buzz
Staff report
Posted : Monday Dec 22, 2008 22:23:24 EST

A Sunday editorial in the New York Times called for drastic cutbacks in the Navy’s planned fleet, an argument that set bloggers buzzing — as did the piece’s errors of fact.

In its editorial, “How to pay for a 21st century military,” the Times recommended the Navy eliminate one carrier strike group; cancel its planned Zumwalt-class destroyers; cancel all its Virginia-class submarines; and cancel the Marine Corps’ V-22 Osprey program. Its other recommendations included eliminating the Air Force’s F-22 Raptor and ending the missile defense program, part of which includes Navy warships.

The newspaper also called for more littoral combat ships, assuming follow-on copies to the first ship, the Freedom, also will cost about $600 million. Canceling the Zumwalts and the Virginias will free up shipbuilding money for more LCSs, the Times wrote.

But the editorial mischaracterized several details about the Navy’s programs. It criticized the Zumwalt as “a stealthy blue water combat ship designed to fight the kind of mid-ocean battles no other nation is preparing to wage,” although the Zumwalt is actually designed to operate close to shore. Its radar system is designed to find targets in a cluttered littoral environment, and its Advanced Gun Systems are designed to provide fire support to Marines ashore. As designed, the ship can’t use its guns against surface targets on the ocean, and although details are hazy about the ship’s exact missile capabilities, it isn’t designed to fight other warships with surface-to-surface attacks.

The Times also reported that 10 “unneeded” Virginia-class subs have been built — actually, only five have been built; the sixth, the New Mexico, was christened Dec. 13. The newspaper said the submarine “was modeled on the Cold War-era Seawolf,” although the Virginias were designed for littoral and special operations. The editorial recommended upgrading the Navy’s existing fleet of Los Angeles-class boats to take the missions of the Virginias.


Rest of article at: http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/12/navy_timespiece_122208w/%2e



uhc comment: As I mentioned yesterday,

F-22 --> $355 million a pop
F-35 --> $239 million a pop
DDG-1000 --. $10.5 billion a pop
Littoral Combat Ship --> $600 million a pop
Virgina class subs --> $2.5 billion a pop
V-22 --> I don't have concrete numbers on this POS
Missile Defense Shield --> Another one of Ronnie Raygun's legacies