INDEED: The U.S. Navy Shouldn’t Gloat over China’s Submarine Setback.
The U.S. Navy and the larger maritime sector have suffered a one hammer blow after another to their reputation for competence over the past several years. Another fell just last week, around the same time the Type 041 debacle came to light. To wit, the Henry J. Kaiser-class fleet oiler USNS Big Horn, the main supply ship for the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier task force, ran aground in the Arabian Sea. Big Horn suffered flooding in its engineering spaces as well as rudder damage and had to be towed to port in Oman for repairs. Laying it up deprives the carrier group of fuel and precious supplies without which no fleet can operate at sea for long.
Reportedly no replacement vessel with adequate cargo capacity is available. With Big Horn sidelined, it remains to be seen how Abraham Lincoln and its escorts will offset the loss of logistical support. If vessels comprising the task force have to put into port to replenish fuel and stores, that will thin out the naval presence in the Red Sea—creating a more permissive setting for Houthi attacks on shipping in that vital waterway. This on top of recent news that navy leaders are considering idling seventeen ships out of an already perilously lean logistics fleet because too few civilian mariners are available to crew them.
Peacetime strategic competition is virtual war.
The Navy is our first line of defense and has been for almost 250 years.