Surface Warfare - Description

Description

Modern surface warfare dates from the mid-20th century, when surface, air, and submarine warfare components were blended together as a tactical unit to achieve strategic objectives. In US Navy doctrine, the two most important strategic objectives are interdiction and sea control.

• Interdiction is the process of intercepting enemy transiting through a location, for example: German naval objectives against Britain in World War II were primarily focused on preventing ships arriving intact with their cargos.

• Sea control is the dominance of force over a given area that prevents other naval forces from operating successfully, for example: the mission of the allied navies in the Atlantic during World War II was to maintain sea control and prevent Axis naval forces from operating. The Anti-access/area denial is an opposition to enemy's sea control without itself being an attempt to gain sea control.

In the second half of the 20th century, the importance of naval surface power was reduced as air and submarine warfare platforms demonstrated their capabilities. This lesson was brought home through the surprising results of the Battle of Taranto, the Battle of Pearl Harbor, and the sinking of Prince of Wales and Repulse.

Following WW2, guided anti-ship missiles required new tactics and doctrines. Small, fast, relatively cheap missile boats became a threat for large ships, much more serious than previous torpedo boats. Proof of concept arrived on 20 Oct 1967 with the loss of a Israeli destroyer Eilat to an Egyptian four-missile craft.

In the 21st century, it has been clearly demonstrated that a modern navy must be composed of all three platforms (surface, submarine, and air) to be effective in projecting naval power and maintaining blue water sea control.