Donald J. Trump

global power projection capabilities.

They're building new ballistic missile submarines and fast attack submarines that aren't going to just stay in their local waters.

They are building a global navy.

And if we get in a dogfight with them in the middle of the Pacific from east of Guam to Hawaii or hopefully not towards our west coast,

We're going to need platforms like carriers to be able to fight and win that war.

We're going to need other new technologies and other new capabilities.

But the centerpiece for now is still the carrier battle group and other systems that contribute to that.

Oh, by the way, we also have expeditionary strike groups like the one down, you were mentioning down off of Venezuela, the Iwo Jima Expeditionary Strike Group, ARG.

They are down there.

They have platforms.

They have F-35s.

they are a power projection capability that we have as well.

So it's not just our carriers, it's also our arms, our expeditionary strike groups.

Those are the centerpieces of how we operate supported by our nuclear submarine force, the fast attack and SSGNs that can launch hundreds of T-LAMs and other kinds of missile systems.

It's not just one thing.

The carriers cost more.

We need to look at the cost.

We need to look at how we're acquiring things.

We've had several program failures in the last decade and a half with the littoral combat ship, the zone wall cruiser, and now the board class with severe problems.

And so it's not just the cost.