Modernize or Mothball; Ship to Shore Watercraft Must be Modernized to Remain Relevant

Abstract

The recent pivot to Asia highlights a key capability of our Joint Force that has atrophied significantly; power projection via ship to shore operations. The increased proliferation and improvement of anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) weapons challenges the foundational premise of US global power projection. The geography and infrastructure of the world dictates that ship to shore operations will be a critical component in non-permissive environment entry. Forced entry into a theater of operation is a capability the US military must modernize. Analysis of the historical usage of ship to shore operations, the difficulties for opponents to conduct a defense against these amphibious operations with anti-access/area denial weapons, and the dangers of not maintaining this capability will provide the basis for this argument. Furthermore, simply maintaining our Army watercraft and Marine amphibious craft is not sufficient for the future operating environment. New operating concepts demand improvement in the survivability, speed and range of watercraft to challenge opponents denial efforts and provide the Joint Force Commander with more options in operational planning. The nature of the battlefield in the 21st century demands new emphasis and investment in this critical capability for power projection in the littorals of the world. In conclusion, the Army's family of Maneuver Support Vessels (MSV), both Light and Heavy variants, must be prioritized and funded for rapid fielding via a commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) platform adapted to the Joint Force. A Joint Force purchase via COTS for the MSV will produce fiscal savings, increase inter-Service interoperability and supply chain management, and quickly bridge the gap between concept and capability.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 12, 2017
Accession Number
AD1047935

Entities

People

  • Ross M. Hertlein

Organizations

  • Naval War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Amphibious Operations
  • Area Denial
  • Artillery
  • Business Administration
  • Department Of Defense
  • Geography
  • Infrastructure
  • Logistics
  • Maneuvers
  • Military Operations
  • Supply Chain
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Transport Aircraft
  • Vehicles
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare
  • Watercraft

Readers

  • Joint Military Operations and Doctrine.
  • Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.
  • Strategic Security Studies