Modest Proposal. Buy the 2 Mistral Amphibs!

via Alert 5 from RT.com

The Mistral helicopters carriers which were supposed to be delivered to Russia are causing the French a headache. However, rather than handing them over, the French government may send them to the bottom of the sea, if the contract is canceled.
France was supposed to have received €1.12 billion ($1.25 billion) from Moscow for the sale of two state-of-the-art warships. However, under pressure from the US and EU the sale was postponed, perhaps indefinitely.
An article in Le Figaro on Wednesday says that Paris may have to resort to sinking the helicopter carriers if the government refuses to honor the contract and deliver them to Russia. The first vessel, the Vladivostok, should have been handed over in November, but French President Francois Hollande said it would be postponed “until further notice.”

This is an opportunity.

Have you been paying attention to USMC operating concepts that are being put forward?  40,000 ton mini-aircraft carriers don't fit it.  An 18,000 ton LHD that can carry a reinforced Company Landing Team, a reduced in size Air Combat Element and maybe a platoon of AAV's would be perfect.

One thing is certain.

We're building the wrong fleet for the type of operations that are being envisioned.  Why do you need a big deck that can carry almost a battalion of Marines if you're talking about independent ship deployments?  Why do you need the San Antonio Class LPD if you're moving toward aviation centric deployment of CLTs?

If nothing else these would prove to be perfect Afloat Forward Staging Bases...but whatever we do we need to understand that planning is going sideways with regard to procurement...they no longer match up.  Since Dunford is gone, its up to the next guy to fix it.