The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World, 2000-2001: Their Ships, Aircraft, and Systems. . - Recent Books - book review

Naval War College Review, Spring, 2002

Baker, A. D., III, comp. The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World, 2000--2001: Their Ships, Aircraft, and Systems. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 2000. 1,107pp. $143.96 (U.S. Naval Institute members), $179.95 (nonmembers); CD-ROM $119.96/$149.95

A.D. Baker III has produced Combat Fleets every two years since 1978. This may be the first revision to be smaller in scope than its predecessor, by the deletion of maritime police, customs, and scientific fleets without permanently armed vessels or military structures and uniforms. That, of course, is a reflection of the diminution of orders of battle and the stretching-out of acquisitions--trends offset, as discussed by the compiler, by rising costs and corporate turmoil in the international defense industry. New, however, is a rapidly searchable CD-ROM version, with a networkable version available. This edition is current through (as addenda) the reported development of an antisubmarine version of the Russian SS-NX-27; delivery to Israel of the second IKL 800 submarine; the cancelation by the Royal Australian Navy of the proposed Anzac (Meko 200) class and the offer by the U.S. Navy of all four Kidd-class guided missile destroyers to replace them; and the charter for two years by the RAN of the high-speed catamaran transport Jervis Bay (a craft that has drawn considerable attention among U.S. Naval War College war-gainers). Index of named ships.