Their second carrier, Varyag , sits unfinished in a Ukrainian port. These brown water navies are for coastal defense and extending local influence. In the event that US interests in the area are in jeopardy, we must readily contend with these brown water threats. As the US Navy rapidly draws down to approximately 350 vessels we need to continue our emphasis on littoral warfare. With no blue water threat, we should maintain a Navy which emphasizes small surface combatants to match the projected littoral threat of the future.
Land based airpower can be anywhere in the world in a matter of hours.
The historic notion that only ships are needed to extend maritime influence has ended. These ideas are not new to warfare. Brigadier General Billy Mitchell's sinking of the Ostfriesland brought the idea to the forefront of the military and the public. At the time, parochial interests caused disputes of the results. The bottom-line had Mitchell sinking a battleship, as he claimed he could.