U.S. dual aircraft carrier combat strike group.Figure: Retrieved from the World Wide Web
The US Naval Institute website recently pointed out that according to the plan of US Naval Operations Secretary Michael Martin Gilday, the US military is expected to have a superfleet composed of 373 manned warships and 150 unmanned large combat ships by 2045. In this regard, the Chinese media “Global Times” described that the U.S. military’s plan contains “meaning aimed at China” between the lines.
According to the U.S. Naval Institute website, the U.S. Navy’s “Plan 2045” clearly states, “After the 2040s, we envision a mixed fleet of more than 350 manned warships, 150 large unmanned surface and underwater platforms, and About 3,000 aircraft.”
The US “Naval Intelligence” website pointed out that the total number of ships in the future will exceed 500. The plan not only includes a large number of ships, but also involves a series of advanced warships. Including: 12 Columbia-class submarines, 12 aircraft carriers, 66 nuclear attack submarines, etc. It will change the status quo that the size of the US military continues to shrink, because the US Navy currently has less than 290 combat ships.
“Strategic competition with China is both a current challenge and a long-term challenge,” Gilday said. “Focusing our fleet design to 2045 will be the most important decision and investment the Navy will need to make over the next critical decade. Provide evidence.”
Gilday pointed out that the plan highlights the emphasis on unmanned combat platforms. “I hope that in the mid-to-late 2020s, large unmanned surface ships can be deployed along with the aircraft carrier strike group.” However, the report also admitted that the US Navy has not yet clarified the specific performance of these unmanned ships.
In response to the U.S. Navy’s “2045 Plan”, the Global Times quoted Chinese military experts as saying that the U.S. Navy’s “2045 Plan” revealed between the lines that it was aimed at China. Since the Trump administration era, the Pentagon has begun to advocate that “the Chinese navy has surpassed the United States in scale”, ignoring the obvious advantages of the US navy in large ships such as aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, and amphibious assault ships.
The report said that in order to regain naval superiority from China, the U.S. Navy proposed in 2020 a superfleet of 400 manned ships and 140 to 240 unmanned ships. Although the plan has not been approved by the US Congress. But now Gilday’s “2045 plan” is to further detail the previous plan in order to compete with the Chinese navy.
As for the unmanned combat ships promoted by the Pentagon, it is in response to China’s “area denial” strategy in the Western Pacific. Through the concept of distributed maritime operations, the PLA can avoid focusing on a few high-value targets such as aircraft carriers.
The U.S. military is expected to have a superfleet of 373 manned warships and 150 unmanned large combat ships by 2045.
In this regard, the Chinese media “Global Times” described the US military’s plan between the lines, revealing “the meaning of targeting China.”
The title even said that “the US Navy’s ‘2045 plan’ is aimed at China.”
The U.S. Navy unmanned ship USV Sea Hunter. Figure: Retrieved from US Navy
Chief of Naval Operations Michael Martin Gilday. Figure: Retrieved from Wikipedia (Author: US Navy)
Artist’s impression of a Columbia-class submarine. Figure: Reprinted from Wikipedia (Author: US Navy illustration/released)
