The Heritage Foundation hosted an excellent panel discussion this week involving top experts on the U.S. Navy. It was focused on the utility of aircraft carriers in the present day and the evolving future.

Moderated by the Heritage Foundation’s Thomas Callender, the panel involved Bryan Clark from the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, Jerry Hendrix from the Telemus Group, and Bryan McGrath from the Hudson Institute. While I think they missed one critical issue (more on that later), each of the panelists made excellent points reflective of their specialized knowledge. They were also willing to challenge each other and conventional wisdom. I want to highlight a few takeaways which have a good basis for adoption by naval leaders.