Attack Submarine (SSN) in the Post-Cold War Environment. Operational ArtImplications for the Operational Commander

摘要

The end of the Cold War requires a reassessment of the strategic and operationalenvironment. Some strategists argue that platforms like the attack submarine (SSN), though instrumental in an antisubmarine (ASW) role against the Soviets, are redundant and not essential in the changing world order. The utility of the SSN is readily apparent when viewed from the perspective of the combatant Commander in Chief (CINC). The CINC practices the operational art, and the SSN contributes significantly to the CINC's operational tool kit. When examined through the lens of the principles of war, the SSN's versatility and relative invulnerability bring a great deal to the CINC's table, where the true operational value of a platform is most important. Focusing on three principles of war--the offensive, security, and economy of force--reveals numerous tasks the SSN can accomplish (often simultaneously) for the operational commander in the joint littoral environment. Instead of looking backward at traditional Cold War missions, operational thinking should look forward and apply the unique capabilities of the SSN to tasking as diverse as conventional deterrence, strike warfare, surveillance, and integrated ASW against the diesel threat.