Ship types face obsolescence as potential enemies evolve

摘要

This issue of Warship Technology takes an in-depth look at two vessel types that are key to the way that the US Navy and the US Marine operate, amphibious vessels and logistic support ships. A report from the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) in the US suggests that the US lacks the right maritime logistics force to support the 2018 National Defense Strategy in general and major military operations in a war with China or Russia in particular. In Sustaining the Fight: Resilient Maritime Logistics for a New Era, which was published in April 2019, authors Timothy Walton, Ryan Boone and Harrison Schramm identify challenges to the logistics force and propose a new architecture that would allow the fleet to fight in a more effective manner while supporting joint force power projection. The CSBA concluded that the US Navy's logistics force is optimised for 'uncontested' operations, is too small, and too vulnerable. It also concludes that the strategic sealift force - the cargo ships that transport military vehicles, equipment, and supplies - can only generate two thirds of the Department of Defense's required capacity. What is more, much of the strategic sealift force is about to become obsolescent. As highlighted elsewhere in this issue there is also a debate going on in the US about funding for the Flight Ⅱ Landing Platform Dock (Flight Ⅱ LPD), a modified, less costly version of the San Antonio class, which Marine Corps leaders say is urgently needed to enable the Corps to fulfil its mission.