The US Navy in the 21st Century

The United States Navy will have to adapt in the 21st century to the threats of terrorism and rogue states along with the growing might of the People's Republic of China and possibly a resurgent Russia. To deal with this, new fleet units will have to be established.

Aircraft Carriers
The US Navy currently operates 12 supercarriers. This number will increase to 15 by 2025.

Battleships
In the event of a crisis it is possible that some of the Iowa-class Battleships will be recommisioned or that new battleships will be built. In the event of a war with China, battleships will be useful as they will be able to bombard coastal positions and outgun and sink the Chinese surface fleet, leaving the supercarriers able to deal with the Chinese Air Force, submarines and the future Chinese Aircraft Carriers.

Cruisers
The 25 Ticonderoga-class Cruisers are sufficient for todays needs but in the event of increased numbers of aircraft carriers and possiby battleships new cruisers will be needed to escort the battleships and to form new carrier battle groups (CBG) without abandoning the other cruiser responsibilities.

Destroyers
The current destroyer fleet will most probably have to increase to about 60 vessels to ensure that it can provide good offensive and escorting capabilities in the event of new CGBs.

Frigates
US Navy Frigates will most likely be replaced by thirty littoral surface combatants by 2030.

Submarines
The submarine fleet will have to be increased to 85 boats to meet the needs of an enlarged surface fleet while not dimishing its indepent capabilities.