By Franz-Stefan Gady
The document emphatically stresses the need for a fleet of at least 300 ships.
Yesterday, The U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Marine Corps released a revised maritime strategy entitled “A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower (PDF),” calling for all domain access, U.S. forward naval presence, and emphasizing cooperation between the United States and its allies in the face of various global maritime challenges (e.g., anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capabilities of peer competitors). It also emphasized the growing importance of the Asia-Pacific region.
The document emphatically stresses the need for a fleet of at least 300 ships including 11 carriers, 33 amphibious ships, and 14 ballistic missile subs for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. It is important to note that this white paper is an unclassified public strategy. There are also classified annexes, unavailable to the public, outlining operational plans, specific tactics and likely opponents in more detail.
U.S. naval forces are facing a myriad of challenges on the world’s oceans. “Today’s global security environment is characterized by the rising importance of the Indo-Asia-Pacific region, the ongoing development and fielding of anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capabilities that challenge our global maritime access, continued threats from expanding and evolving terrorist and criminal networks, the increasing frequency and intensity of maritime territorial disputes, and threats to maritime commerce, particularly the flow of energy,” the document underlines.
Read the full story at The Diplomat