Introduction
Security is one of the primary concerns for many countries in a global context. It constitutes the mainland armies and the navy, which both play a critical role in ensuring the security of border lines and coastal strips. Whether a country like Saudi Arabia should only have the mainland army secure its internal borders or have one that operates internationally to ensure its internal and external territories has attracted different opinions. Some proponents argue that it is right to have worldwide navies that are globally positioned to be able to protect against external threats and mitigate against theft of oil tankers from global enemies (Abdullah, 2022). However, this debate holds that the Saudi Navy should limit itself and avoid venturing into international waters.
High Cost of Purchasing Navy Vessels
The high cost of purchasing navy vessels disputes the fact that Saudi Arabia should enlarge its army on a global scale. For instance, according to the United States navy budget for 2021, a sea aircraft carrier would cost approximately $1.2 billion in 2021 dollars, while the cost of the second to the tenth ships to support the aircraft carrier would be roughly $830 million per ship (U.S. Naval Institute, 2020). The total cost of purchasing both the aircraft carrier ship and the supporting ships would be an estimated $10 billion in nominal dollars, which, converted into Saudi Arabian currency, is quite a considerable amount.
The leading aircraft carrier would also require three other surface combatants. These demand a procurement cost estimated at $1.6 billion each in nominal dollars, summing the total cost of procurement to a whooping estimated $5 billion (CBO, 2020). Also, assuming that the Marinette Marine built the ships to be acquired, additional costs are associated with every thousand tons of lightship displacement (CBO, 2020). This points to the concern about whether it would be rational to spend such significant sums on new ships instead of modernizing mainland military equipment.
High Operation and Maintenance Costs of Aircraft Carriers
Furthermore, operating, maintaining, and training the cabin crew is costly. For instance, the operating costs of an FFG(x) aircraft carrier in the United States Marine forces, over a lifespan of approximately 25 years, would be estimated at $130 million annually (U.S. Naval Institute, 2020). In addition to the main ship, other vessels such as support ships, submarines, and other machinery would be necessary to safeguard the aircraft carrier and have their associated operational costs. The cost of operating such support ships in the United States is estimated at approximately $63 million in nominal dollars per ship.
Additional operational costs also help in servicing the combats systems of the ships over their lifespan. All these associated huge costs make it impractical; instead, the funds could be channeled to the mainland military only to secure its internal borders (U.S. Naval Institute, 2020). Besides, there is no rationale for increasing expenditure, yet there are no common threats. With no anticipated hostilities between Saudi Arabia and other countries, it would be an expensive venture with little to no return.
Challenges in Logistics
In addition to the above points, challenges in logistics make it even harder to implement worldwide navies; hence, it is not necessary to have worldwide navies. The ships must be effectively sustained and provided with food for cabin crews, equipment, and other requirements to make them self-sustainable, away from the mainland (Harper, 2022). Because it is pretty challenging to provide, procure, and purchase products, equipment, and supplies for the ships, so it is challenging to sustain the vessel on their own.
It is also costly to acquire additional submarines to watch over the navy vessels, such as aircraft carriers. Supporting a carrier in terms of operations, providing food for cabins, supplying personal equipment, and providing medical equipment, among other needs, is quite expensive. Total costs of supporting an example of an FFG(X) aircraft carrier, together with all the support ships over 25 years, would cost an estimated $50 billion nominal dollars (U.S. Naval Institute, 2020), which, when converted to Saudi Arabian currency, is quite expensive. For instance, the FFG(X) needs 200 personnel, among other crew members, and a dual-crew system to operate effectively (U.S. Naval Institute, 2020). This is why it would be better to focus on sustaining local ships instead of transiting on a global scale with multiple logistical issues.
Conclusion
In summary, it is evident that due to the high costs of purchasing navy vessels, the high costs of maintenance of aircraft carriers, and challenges in logistics, it is not necessary to have worldwide navies on a global scale. According to the provided statistics, it is clear that if Saudi Arabia purchased an aircraft carrier from the United States, together with supporting ships, it would cost an estimated $10 billion (U.S. Naval Institute, 2020). In addition, the cost of operating and maintaining such ships over a 25-year lifespan would be an estimated $50 billion (U.S. Naval Institute, 2020). Moreover, sustaining each vessel far from the mainland would be very challenging. Therefore, it would not be reasonable to have worldwide navies.
References
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