Why do we have fewer Navy ships?

[Stinky The Clown]

Cuz we don't need them as the ships we DO have become more sophisticated and as we find better ways to do their jobs.

I was on an ocean minesweeper in the late 60s. There were (as I recall, but I could be wrong) about 24 or 28 of them, Six or seven squadrons of four each. Then there were the smaller coastal minesweepers. They were on our east and west coasts, in the Med and in Viet Nam.

Today there are none. Not one. Minesweeping was long ago transitioned from specialized ships with crews of nearly 200 to helicopters and even subs with some modest special equipment.

The same is true of many other type ships. Cruisers, destroyers and frigates all had similar but specific jobs. Now there is one ship type that does all their jobs, but does them better and more efficiently.

[ellisonz]

1. And we have way more drones!

[ffr]

2. You mean the world has changed since 1916?

[politicaljack78]

3. In Romnesia land, we will bring back the Iowa class battleships, the Essex Class carriers, bring

back the monitor, and even launch a few tiremes.

[BumRushDaShow]

4. B4

HIT!

[MADem]

5. Sit up berths! Yowsah!!!

A far, far cry from hotracking in an overheated compartment!

Automation has reduced the number of hands on board required, too.

SMARTSHIPS--it's made QOL at sea much nicer for today's crews.

I think we still have minesweepers, and they can be deployed without having to steam slowly to a destination. They haul them to where they need 'em in larger vessels, and dump 'em in the drink to do their duty, using a Brit-engineered countermeasures system:

http://www.navytimes.com/news/2012/03/dn-us-doubling-minesweepers-in-persian-gulf-031512/

The 1,379-ton minesweepers, crewed by 84 sailors, employ the SLQ-48 mine neutralization system to identify and destroy a variety of enemy mines. Support for the system, however, has waned in recent years as Navy planners looked ahead to new systems that would be operated by the Littoral Combat Ship. But the new systems remain in development, and mine force sailors have struggled to keep their SLQ-48s operationally capable.

The decline in mission effectiveness led to an urgent needs requirement last year from Central Command (CENTCOM), the combatant commander authority that oversees the Persian Gulf region, demanding a more effective mine countermeasures system. The choice was SeaFox, from Atlas Elektronik and Ultra Electronics, used by all British Royal Navy minehunters.

Britain also maintains several minehunters in the gulf region, where they regularly operate with the U.S. ships.

The U.S. Navy is buying three Seafox sets for its ships, along with upgrading six Seafox aircraft units for use with MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopters. Those new systems are not scheduled to be operational until early next year.

[winstars]

6. There is a Dreadnought gap we must close!!!!

[Warren Stupidity]

7. And like nobody else pretty much have any.

We have by far the largest blue water fleet, and the only one capable of projecting naval forces around the globe. We don't have any serious competition, and the fleet changes are eliminating older obsolete ships with newer ones.

[grasswire]

8. he outed himself as a geezer, didn't he?

Geezer is a state of mind, and Mitt is the poster geezer!

[Ya Basta]

9. I was just thinking don't we have more aircraft carriers today?

I might be incorrect, but, didn't we have 10 carriers under Reagan and now have 11?

And doesn't the rest of the world combined only have something like just 2 or 3?

[BumRushDaShow]

11. 11

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57363407/u.s-to-keep-11-aircraft-carriers/

[Ya Basta]

12. Thanks BumRushDaShow

I thought currently we have 11. I am also certain that under Reagan we had 10.

[reformist2]

10. It's because airpower has overtaken army and navy in importance.

It's pretty much exactly as Obama said. Simply counting who has more ships is silly, childish.