Trump's Navy

[AdamG]

The Admiral's comments are all well and good, but the US Navy needs to be deploying LRASMs and SM-6s tomorrow in order to not be outranged and outgunned by the PLAN's surface fleet..

Beijing does not think it straight lines - they won't fight ship-vs-ship, particularly if they know they have a disadvantage. They will use apple corers to fight oranges, then move their own apples into the power vacuum that's left behind.

[Azor]

Beijing does not think it straight lines - they won't fight ship-vs-ship, particularly if they know they have a disadvantage. They will use apple corers to fight oranges, then move their own apples into the power vacuum that's left behind.

Yet if US surface ships don't have effective ASuW capabilities, they only burden the CAW and SS(G)Ns with these roles, in addition to their other missions.

If the PLAN's anti-ship missiles are countered, their surface fleet is only useful for air defense given that its anti-submarine skills are poor.

The PLA is cautious and seemingly aware of its lack of operational experience, particularly in the areas of precision-strike, combined arms and C4ISR.

Therefore, it is reasonable to expect them to rely upon their land-based cruise missiles (ballistic missiles being too risky and held in reserve) in a surprise attack to cripple US forces in the Western Pacific. If this blow fails, however, I think that the PLA would crumble and refocus on defending the mainland.

[AdamG]

If this blow fails, however, I think that the PLA would crumble and refocus on defending the mainland.

As Foamy the Squirrel said, "it wouldn't hurt you people to think like a serial killer every now and then, if only for the sake of prevention".

If your ships physically can't leave Pearl or the West Coast, if your crews can't assemble in port, if your C4 systems are hacked then you don't get those pieces to use on the game board.

Apples and oranges goes beyond the physical, know what I mean?

[Azor]

If your ships physically can't leave Pearl or the West Coast, if your crews can't assemble in port, if your C4 systems are hacked then you don't get those pieces to use on the game board.

Apples and oranges goes beyond the physical, know what I mean?

That sounds like the plot of "Ghost Fleet". Do you think that the US isn't working feverishly on those capabilities?

Regardless, the LRASM will be crucial to kinetic capabilities. The US has relied upon asymmetrical capabilities to deter and defeat its opponents since the early 1980s, particularly where electronic warfare is concerned. Snowden's revelations illustrated that the US was far from lagging in the cyber game as well...

[AdamG]

U.S. President Donald Trump says he wants to build dozens of new warships in one of the biggest peace-time expansions of the U.S. Navy. But interviews with ship-builders, unions and a review of public and internal documents show major obstacles to that plan.
The initiative could cost nearly $700 billion in government funding, take 30 years to complete and require hiring tens of thousands of skilled shipyard workers - many of whom don't exist yet because they still need to be hired and trained, according to the interviews and the documents reviewed.
Trump has vowed a huge build-up of the U.S. military to project American power in the face of an emboldened China and Russia. That includes expanding the Navy to 350 warships from 275 today. He has provided no specifics, including how soon he wants the larger fleet. (For graphics on projected strength of U.S. Navy, shipyard employment see: tmsnrt.rs/2n3vOr0)
The Navy has given Defense Secretary Jim Mattis a report that explores#how the country's industrial base could support higher ship production, Admiral Bill Moran, the vice chief of Naval Operations with oversight of the Navy’s shipbuilding outlook, told Reuters.
He declined to give further details. But those interviewed for this story say there are clearly two big issues - there are not enough skilled workers in the market, from electricians to welders, and after years of historically low production, shipyards and their suppliers, including nuclear fuel producers, will struggle to ramp up for years.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-us...-idUSKBN16O142

[AdamG]

The deployment of Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group has been extended by a month so the CSG can conduct presence operations off the coast of Korea, the commander of the strike group said late Tuesday in a message to his crew.
“Our deployment has been extended 30 days to provide a persistent presence in the waters off the Korean Peninsula,” wrote Rear Adm. Jim Kilby on the wall of the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) Facebook page.
“Our mission is to reassure allies and our partners of our steadfast commitment to the Indo-Asia-Pacific region. We will continue to be the centerpiece of visible maritime deterrence, providing our national command authority with flexible deterrent options, all domain access, and a visible forward presence.”

https://news.usni.org/2017/04/19/car...yment-extended

[AdamG]

The Navy would have to spend $102 billion annually build, operate and maintain a 355-ship fleet over the next 30 years, according to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office issued on Monday.
The report, prepared at the request of the House Armed Services subcommittee on seapower and projection forces, outlines cost scenarios in how the Navy buys and maintains the 355-ship fleet the service announced it needed in 2016 – up from its current fleet of 275 ships.
“The cost to build and operate a 355-ship fleet would average $102 billion per year (in 2017 dollars) through 2047, CBO estimates, or more than one-third greater than the amount appropriated for fiscal year 2016 for today’s 275-ship fleet… That amount would be 13 percent more than the $90 billion needed to build and operate the eet envisioned in the Navy’s 2017 shipbuilding plan,” read the report.
“Meeting the 355-ship objective would cost the Navy an average of about $26.6 billion (in 2017 dollars) annually for ship construction, which is more than 60 percent above the average amount the Congress has appropriated for that purpose over the past 30 years.”

https://news.usni.org/2017/04/25/cbo...uilding-budget

see also https://news.usni.org/2017/04/25/25316