文章基本信息

标题：Norman Polmar. The Naval Institute Guide to the Ships and Aircraft of the U.S. Fleet: Eighteenth Edition. Annapolis MD: Naval Institute Press 2005, 662 pp.
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作者：Andrew Lambert
期刊名称：International Journal of Naval History
电子版ISSN：1932-6556
出版年度：2006
卷号：5
期号：1
出版社：International Journal of Naval History
摘要：It might be asked what a historian would expect to find in an up to the minute guide to the world's only superpower navy, and if this book was no more than the title implies, then the answer could be little enough. However, Ships and Aircraft does not do justice to the scope and ambition of this volume, or of its predecessors. This large-scale analysis of the US Navy is only based around the key indicators of naval policy, the procurement of capabilities, represented by hardware and human systems. Norman Polmar opens the books with the argument that informs his assessment: 'the US Navy is undergoing probably the most extensive changes since the post-World War II era.' This will be most obvious to those with earlier editions of the book. Comparison with Reagan era 13thedition of 1985 reveals just how extensive the changes have been. This process is encompassed in the current jargon of 'transformation', with Littoral Combat Ships, the loan of an advanced Swedish diesel electric submarine for realistic Anti-Submarine Warfare training, and other new weapons enabling "Sea Power 21" to maximize American advantages in high end technologies, information warfare and global reach. This Navy is changing course, from naval warfare to expeditionary strategy, but the process is far from simple