When compared with similar and more expensive U.S. warships, foreign vessels have come up remarkably short in combat capability.
A number of severe readiness challenges continue to affect the Navy, in terms of its vanishing cruiser force, crippling redesign of the Constellation-class frigate, poor readiness of the amphibious fleet and problems with the Landing Ship Medium program.
The Navy may need to produce prototypes and deploy them to combat zones like the Red Sea in order to make rapid decisions in shipbuilding acquisition.
Among the first actions it takes in the Pentagon, the incoming Trump administration should commission a top-to-bottom review and reform of the Navy bureaucracy that develops new warships.
By renewing their support for the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, more commonly known as the Jones Act, Congress can bolster our economic and national security.
What is missing in the discussion about the right size Navy needed to counter growing threats is a defined maritime strategy, a type of document not used by the service since the end of the Cold War.
