Aesthetics as Strategy

Which would you bet on 2,800 small naval craft or one, pretty battleship?

Good morning,

This week is all about ships, boats, puddle-skippers, and other watercraft. President Trump has floated the idea of bringing back battleships. Battleships are heavily armed and heavily armored craft that rely on cannons rather than missiles to dominate other navies. They reigned supreme in the First World War and were still used by the U.S. Navy during the Gulf War but became far less important with the advent of aircraft carriers prior to the Second World War.

Having said that, there are some proponents that believe that the future of naval warfare does lie in larger capital ships that, in theory, can better withstand attacks. We are not those proponents. We favor smaller, minimally-crewed craft that can achieve dispersion, creating more challenging targets for adversary targeteering. Right now, it looks like the Navy is on-board with us, as they mull a large contract for 2,800 small craft. But, the President is allegedly discussing these two competing visions wi…