![]() ![]() In this geo-political framework, it is clear that the economic prosperity and security of many countries are inextricably linked to the sea, to the freedom of navigation and to the safeguarding of the sea lines of communication. Without marine shipping, intercontinental trade, the bulk transport of raw materials, and the import/export of affordable food and manufactured goods would simply not be possible. Shipping is the lifeblood of the global economy. Modern oil and gas extraction techniques, growing ever more effective, together with the robust maritime transport (90% of world goods travel by sea 2) have, in fact, led the world-wide economy to be greatly influenced by the stability of the maritime environment. The maritime arena, thanks to the immense patrimony that it preserves and the enormous amount of maritime traffic that passes through it, is the foundation of global trade. Meanwhile, evidence suggests that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLA(N)), has aspirations to become a true ‘Blue Water Navy’, and is now building its third aircraft carrier, which reportedly will be the first PLA(N) carrier equipped with a catapult system and built completely by indigenous shipyards. While the United States Navy (US Navy), as the only global military power, has funded its fleet of 11 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers for fiscal year 2020, and the gas turbine engines of the United Kingdom’s (UK) second new carrier started rotating gently for the first time at the end of 2018, France and Germany 1 are evaluating the opportunity to design and build an aircraft carrier to shape the European Union’s role as a global security and peace force.Īt the same time, in the challenging region of the Pacific Ocean, the Japanese government announced in November 2018 their intent to upgrade its two Izumo-class helicopters carriers to support the F-35B Lightning II stealth strike-fighter. The political and military leaders of many seafaring nations with blue-water navies worldwide and strong maritime interests, in the effort to imagine the future of their military forces, could soon face the dilemma of whether or not to finance an aircraft carrier programme.
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