Navy Gets the Message

Its been over 13 years since the US Navy published its "From the Sea" strategy which emphasises the new littoral or coastal warfare over the blue water fleet built to fight the Soviets. Now she has commissioned a fast littoral warship called Sea Fighter which is the fleet's newest class of vessel for the 21st Century. Here's how the navy describes it:

"Today's absence of a global naval threat to the United States has replaced the need to fight conflicts in the open ocean with the requirement to project sea-based power ashore," the Navy said of the new boat.

What's taken the Navy so long? Throughout the 1990's she continued to build giant aircraft carriers, destroyers, and submarines, all the while under a budget crunch and while her huge fleet of ASW frigates were discarded without replacement. When the 9/11 attacks occurred, the frigate became the weapon of necessity for guarding out ports and policing the sealne against Al Qeda pirates.


Murdoc also reports on Sea Fighter and Defense Tech.