According to a report by the U.S. magazine NSJ on November 25, the Nimitz-class and Ford-class aircraft carriers of the U.S. Navy are facing a new situation: these once-symbolic giants of global power now have to struggle to maintain their presence in an era of high costs, slow maintenance, and high threats.

The article points out that the mode of global power projection through aircraft carriers that the U.S. previously relied on is being constantly pushed back to its original state by reality.

Aircraft carriers remain large, but their deployment rates are getting lower and their availability is also worsening. Although the U.S. still tries to maintain a fleet of 11 aircraft carriers, in terms of real deployment rhythms, the navy can no longer be as flexible as during the Cold War era.

U.S. Aircraft Carrier

The article states that the biggest problem currently faced by the U.S. aircraft carriers comes from the decline of their own industrial system.

Naval planners have long used a three-part approach to plan the use of aircraft carriers, i.e., one-third deployed, one-third training, and one-third maintenance. This system worked well when the shipbuilding industry was strong, but it is now facing a bottleneck.

Shipyard capacity is becoming increasingly tight year by year, and the theoretical combat capability cannot be converted into actual deployment capability.

Refueling and complex overhauls (RCOH) are originally time-consuming, requiring the hull to be opened up every 25 years for refueling and system repairs, which can delay for several years.

The overall decline of the U.S. shipbuilding industry has made this process even slower. The Truman was delayed due to a collision accident and only got a repair slot after eight months; the Washington was even more extreme, with a waiting period of 2100 days.

This absurd time cost directly weakens the combat power of the aircraft carrier, making it impossible for the navy to maintain a stable rhythm globally.

Russian Aircraft Carrier

The article believes that this aircraft carrier dilemma is not unique to the United States, but a global challenge.

The Russian Kuznetsov has become almost an international joke, from the dry dock sinking in 2018 to the fire inside the ship in 2019, this single Russian aircraft carrier is now on the verge of being scrapped.

India's aircraft carriers are also plagued with problems. In 2016, a gas leak caused two workers to die, and in 2019, a boiler room fire took the life of a naval officer. In 2021 and 2022, there were consecutive fires again.

Whether it is Russia or India, they are unable to truly operate their aircraft carrier systems stably.

In fact, the U.S. aircraft carriers are also increasingly encountering problems. Last year to this year, the U.S. aircraft carrier Truman was deployed in the Middle East, and it accidentally hit its own plane and collided with a ship, which is still not repaired. At the end of the year, the Nimitz aircraft carrier arrived in the South China Sea, and within half an hour, it had two planes falling off in succession.

The essence of an aircraft carrier is an extremely complex and expensive system, and maintaining its stable operation is already very difficult. Now, with the systemic decline of the U.S. industrial system, the world's number one aircraft carrier power is also becoming less effective. Aircraft carriers no longer simply symbolize national strength, but rather easily expose the weaknesses of many countries' industrial capabilities.

Indian Aircraft Carrier

At the same time, the vulnerability of aircraft carriers on the battlefield has also been rapidly magnified. In the past, the power of aircraft carriers represented the U.S.'s ability to enter the world's oceans without obstacles, and to carry out hegemonistic interference and aggression. But in the new era, this hegemonic bubble has been increasingly broken. "Aircraft carriers will become sea coffins," this kind of statement has once again gained market traction.

Modern anti-ship missiles have stronger penetration capabilities and expanding ranges, and the development of faster drones, ocean reconnaissance satellites, and electronic reconnaissance systems have significantly reduced the traditional advantages of aircraft carriers.

Although the mobility and multi-tasking capabilities of aircraft carriers are still highly remarkable, and there is currently no other platform or system that can directly replace them, it is becoming increasingly difficult to use aircraft carriers well, especially for an empire like the U.S. that is in decline.

Of course, although the U.S. media has said so much, the final conclusion is that the U.S. still needs to use aircraft carriers, because the U.S. has no other way to go.

In summary, such voices are increasing as China's aircraft carriers gradually catch up with those of the U.S. There are both practical factors and psychological factors, and they are unwilling to accept it, trying to undermine the aircraft carriers. However, with such a big undertaking, it is impossible to cut it down, thus showing a very contradictory mentality.

Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7576929763278635562/

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