Thanks for sending, Doug.  It really gets my synapses snapping.  Not that anyone cares what a ASW guy past his use-by date thinks...

I think it is a great discussion but I wonder if anyone is listening to these guys.  They hit most of the top issues but I think that Capt Konrad is mostly wrong except for his endorsement of nuclear power should the BB ever be built.  He is right about not being able to build one for $17MM... even if a modular design is adopted. Too many rent seekers in line.

The BB's will protect the logistics ships?  How many does he want?  One per VLCC?  Merchant ships need protection close in but not far out to sea?  Has he heard of the Russian and Chinese submarine forces?  They don't have to predict the routes of the logistics ships, they can watch them from above from the time they "single up."

Cooper has it right in my view.  CVN's and BB's are obsolete in today's world.  I don't believe that the CVN's are invulnerable even at great distances from the area of contention.  Not in an era of ICBM's, which even a two bit regime like North Korea has, and there is not defense against them as yet.

I think it is a debate that needs to  be held, but for my money the Trump class is just a vanity project that puts all our chips on red.  If there is a debate, it should include drones of every variety and systems that can defend against all types drones and hypersonic missiles.

When, if, the Democrats take over, all those cha-cha projects will be shut down and the White House ballroom will be razed.  Just for starters.

The lead in on logistics is right on.  The problem is that logistics is not sexy but it is the sine qua non of warfare in any age.  Ask Admiral Nimitz (father of underway replenishment) or General Eisenhower.  Many others going back centuries have demonstrated that, and the negative examples of Hitler and Napoleon in Russia reinforce the principle.  A recent reminder:

General Robert H. Barrow, USMC (27th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps).

One more:

"Quantity has a quality of its own."  Erroneously attributed to Joseph Stalin, but he would approve.  It worked for him.

Captain Konrad is right about one thing:  He bewails the fact that so much American know-how is operational in Korean and Chinese shipyards.

After all my time on CV's maybe I should wash my mouth out with soap.  I will go do that now.

Dan

Doug thanks for forwarding - after perusing this - I think nuc power the right decision - they will use FORD CLASS propulsion - no r&d. Pragmatically- if the administration can get it funded why not? It may be that it's not either BBGN or more or other warships. It might be a choice between BBGN or nothing. If we build it we need to make it lethal. I don't know about rail gun but lots and lots of missiles/drones/helos and UUVs would be great. Bruce

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From: douglasburnett1972@gmail.com <douglasburnett1972@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 20, 2026 3:33 PM
To: 'Lou Fifer' <louisfifer@gmail.com>; 'Bruce Engelhardt' <engelharbb@hotmail.com>; 'Dan' <gator41@allmail.net>; 'bruce valley' <brucevalley@earthlink.net>; 'Steven K. Berg' <skb1943@gmail.com>; 'Al Shively' <mooseshively@earthlink.net>; 'Brian Dennard' <bgdennard@gmail.com>; 'Marc Liebman' <marc@marcliebman.com>; 'Rich-Diana Goldsby' <regoldsby@msn.com>; 'Helobubbas' <helobubbas@helobubbas.com>
Subject: The Great Battleship Debate

 

The Great Battleship Debate: gCaptain’s Konrad Takes On AEI’s Zack Cooper

 

The Defiant Class battleship proposed by the administration is now proposed to be nuclear powered.  The cost is $17B before added nuclear power costs are considered. There are pros and cons about this new class of ship which may be multiple vessels.  The Navy has been petty reserved in its comments other than artist conceptions of what it looks like.

 

If you open the link you will see an article but more important there is a video to a hourlong debate by a proponent for the battleship and by a critic of the battleship.  I recommend that you listen to it because it brings out a lot of interesting points in terms of choke points, merchant ships, distributive fires, submarines, aircraft carriers and damage control.  I have not seen anything like this debate and it is fun to watch.  The moderator is one of the nation’s top merchant marine experts.  Enjoy.

 

Doug