Inside The New US Maritime Strategy
The US Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard have revised America's maritime strategy to add "all domain access" to its traditional sea-based defense functions, a Navy report says.
"This [all domain access] function assures appropriate freedom of action in any domain -- the sea, air, land, space, and cyber-space, as well as in the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum," says the report, titled "A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower." 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.
According to the US Navy, all domain access will complement the four traditional functions of US sea power, which include deterrence, sea control, power projection, and maritime security, by adding cross-domain capabilities such as cyberspace operations, networking, and electromagnetic warfare.
U.S. Navy ships increasingly reliance on computers and software to operate make them plum targets to cyber or electromagnetic attacks, according to a new maritime strategy released by the Navy.
If a ship's systems such as navigation, sensors, communications systems and weaponry are increasingly computer-reliant, a higher priority must be placed on the ship's cyber security systems, the strategy suggests.
"Electromagnetic Maneuver Warfare (EMW), a relatively new concept, blends fleet operations in space, cyberspace, and the electromagnetic spectrum with advanced non-kinetic capabilities to create warfighting advantages," the Navy report says.
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.
To face this perplexing 21st century threat environment, the strategy focuses on two foundational principles. First, forward naval presence is deemed essential to defend the homeland, deter conflict, respond to crises, defeat aggression, protect the maritime commons, strengthen partnerships, and provide humanitarian assistance and disaster response.
