This is nice to read, but wants are not capabilities:
In an interview with RealClearDefense, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert said he is “impatient” to field systems in the near-term that can bolster U.S. anti-ship capabilities.
That the U.S. Navy might be out-sticked has been a growing fear in the surface warfare community, in which many fear the U.S. is lacking in ship-to-ship warfare. In the expansive Pacific where ships may not always be able to count on the protection of a carrier air wing, this is of particular concern.
It is disturbing that it is not anticipated that our new LCS classes of ships will not have a decent anti-ship missile--ever. What the Hell? Are they to be targets for a PLAN SINKEX?
We need a sense of urgency on this issue. In an age when our (fewer) super carriers are more vulnerable to increasingly numerous and accurate long-range anti-ship missiles, the idea that we would go back to the age when our aircraft carrier air wings were our only long-range anti-ship capability is mind boggling.
By all means, develop a better missile than Harpoon. But until then, give our Navy's surface ships back their damn Harpoons!
