Publication

This report explores the evolution of the aircraft carrier, its utility, power, costs and vulnerabilities. The author suggests a different course for US naval forces, one that emphasizes far greater use of unmanned aircraft – generally described as UCAVs, for “unmanned combat aerial vehicles” – as well as submarines in combination with long-range precision strike missiles. While the carrier’s end may be in sight, its story is a long one, beginning a little more than 100 years ago, in the waters of Great Britain.