5 Best U.S. Military Weapons That Were Never Built
This article examines five canceled programs that could have transformed military operations: the AH-56 Cheyenne helicopter, B-70 Valkyrie bomber, A-12 Avenger strike aircraft, Future Combat Systems, and the Sea Control Ship.
In the early 1970s, Admiral Elmo Zumwalt pushed the idea of the Sea Control Ship (SCS), a small carrier that would defend sea-lanes against long-range Soviet strike aircraft and Soviet submarines. Faced with the growing expense of modern supercarriers (the first Nimitz class carrier would enter service in just a few years) and the impending retirement of the venerable Essex class carriers, Zumwalt sought a low cost option for air operations that did not demand the full capabilities of a major carrier group. Escort carriers had helped win the Battle of the Atlantic, and Sea Control Ships might make a similar contribution in a NATO-Warsaw Pact conflict.
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