U.S. Reveals Maritime Superiority Plan
U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson has released A Design for Maintaining Maritime Superiority, a document that addresses how the U.S. Navy will adapt to changes in the security environment and continue to fulfill its mission.
For the first time in 25 years, the United States is facing a return to great power competition, states the report. Russia and China both have advanced their military capabilities to act as global powers. Their goals are backed by a growing arsenal of high-end warfighting capabilities, many of which are focused specifically on U.S. vulnerabilities and are increasingly designed from the ground up to leverage maritime, technological and information systems.
These nations continue to develop and field information-enabled weapons, both kinetic and non-kinetic, with increasing range, precision and destructive capacity, states the report. Both China and Russia are also engaging in coercion and competition below the traditional thresholds of high-end conflict, but nonetheless exploit the weakness of accepted norms in space, cyber and the electromagnetic spectrum. The Russian Navy is operating with a frequency and in areas not seen for almost two decades, and the Chinese PLA(N) is extending its reach around the world.
Russia and China are not the only actors seeking to gain advantages in the emerging security environment in ways that threaten U.S. and global interests. Others are now pursuing advanced technology, including military technologies that were once the exclusive province of great powers – this trend will only continue.
Coupled with a continued dedication to furthering its nuclear weapons and missile programs, North Korea’s provocative actions continue to threaten security in North Asia and beyond.
And while the recent international agreement with Iran is intended to curb its nuclear ambitions, Tehran’s advanced missiles, proxy forces and other conventional capabilities continue to pose threats to which the Navy must remain prepared to respond. Finally, international terrorist groups have proven their resilience and adaptability and now pose a long-term threat to stability and security around the world.
Budget Restraints
"We must do everything we can to seize the potential afforded by this environment," Richardson wrote. "Our competitors are moving quickly, and our adversaries are bent on leaving us swirling in their wake." He said the fiscal 2017 budget plan, to be released in February, would include more details about the new approach.
Richardson cited increases in maritime traffic, the rise of the global information system, and the "astonishing" rate of technological development as key factors changing the security environment.
Budget constraints meant the Navy would "not be able to 'buy' our way out of the challenges we face."
Richardson underscored the importance of replacing the Navy's aging nuclear-armed Ohio-class submarines, the undersea leg of the so-called strategic deterrent triad that includes intercontinental ballistic missiles and long-range bombers.
General Dynamics is developing a replacement for the submarines together with Huntington Ingalls Industries, a project that may cost nearly $100 billion.
Richardson's plan calls for the Navy to work with the Marine Corps to develop more options to address the threat of long-range precision missiles, advance the use of information warfare, and explore new types of weapons.
Richardson said the Navy would expand the use of simulators, online gaming and other tools to achieve what he called "high-velocity" learning for individuals, teams and organizations to make the service more efficient.
The Navy would also work to streamline its headquarters, improve its personnel system and strengthen leadership training, while increasing information sharing with key allies, adding more combined military operations, and expanding work with commercial industry and other non-traditional partners.
Built-In Flexibility
The term “design” in the report’s title refers to the document's built-in flexibility, recognizing the rapid rate of change occurring in both technology and the maritime domain.
“This guidance frames the problem and a way forward, while acknowledging that there is inherent and fundamental uncertainty in both the problem definition and the proposed solution,” said Richardson.
“As we move forward, we'll respect that we won't get it all right, and so we'll monitor and assess ourselves and our surroundings as we go. We'll learn and adapt, always getting better, striving to the limits of performance.”
The CNO's design reaffirms the Navy's mission, describes the strategic environment and identifies four lines of effort, each with corresponding objectives to guide the actions of the Navy and its leaders.
The four lines of effort are:
Strengthen Naval Power at and from Sea
Achieve High Velocity Learning at Every Level
Strengthen our Navy Team for the Future
Expand and Strengthen our Network of Partners
The document also details four core attributes that serve as guiding criteria for command decisions in decentralized operations: integrity, accountability, initiative, and toughness.
The document is available here.