Defense Secretary Robert Gates has suggested that big changes may be in store for the Navy's heavy and expensive arsenal of ships and subs.
While saying he "didn't have all the answers," Gates told an audience on Monday that the U.S. must ask itself whether it can afford its massive naval fleet at a time when the Army and Marine Corps need more money to take care of troops and their families.
In a speech before a Navy League conference, Gates said "you don't necessarily need a billion-dollar guided missile destroyer to chase down and deal with a bunch of teenage pirates wielding AK-47s" and rocket-propelled grenades.
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