Five Chinese Type-071 LPDs....my personal calculations have the Chinese Navy eclipsing the US Navy by 2030!

Thanks to Filippo for the pic!

click on pic to expand..panoramic!

This blog has been so focused on Marine Corps Force Design 2030 that we've missed the real story.

The US Navy is about to be eclipsed by the Chinese Navy.

Let that sink in.

Back of the napkin figuring has me thinking that by 2030 the Chinese Navy will AT LEAST equal the US Navy in the number of surface combatants and will probably exceed them.

I'm not talking about frigates and below either.

I'm talking Burke Class and above!

Is this the real reason behind the move to join the sea battle?  If it is then Berger should have been clear instead of leaving this important part of the discussion unsaid.

If this theory (my grade school calculations) is correct then are we doing enough?  More importantly is the NAVY!

Of course this still makes one wonder why we aren't pushing Marine Air to contribute more to the sea fight if this is the case.  Half of our fighter attack squadrons can rededicate to the sea fight without loss of ground combat power and we could still maintain a credible ground combat element.

But this theory does explain why Berger's gone so hog wild.