Eyeing China, Pentagon Plans 'more Lethal' Navy

"); jQuery("#212 h3").html("

Related News Programmes

"); });

2020-09-17 HKT 11:20

Share this story

facebook

  • US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper says Chinese navy lags in strength and capability. File photo: AFP

    US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper says Chinese navy lags in strength and capability. File photo: AFP

Secretary of Defence Mark Esper has announced an ambitious plan to expand the US Navy with a range of unmanned and autonomous ships, submarines and aircraft to confront the growing maritime challenge from China.

The Pentagon chief said a sweeping review of US naval power dubbed "Future Forward" had laid out a "game-changer" plan that would expand the US sea fleet to more than 355 ships, from the current 293.

The plan, which requires adding tens of billions of dollars to the US Navy's budget between now and 2045, is aimed at maintaining superiority over Chinese naval forces, seen as the primary threat to the United States.

"The future fleet will be more balanced in its ability to deliver lethal effects from the air, from the sea, and from under the sea," Esper said in a speech at the Rand Corp in California.

The expansion will add "more and smaller" surface ships; more submarines; surface and subsurface vessels that are optionally manned, unmanned and autonomous; and a broad range of unmanned carrier-based aircraft.

The plan is for a fleet of ships more able to survive a high-intensity conflict, to project US power and presence, and to deliver precision strikes at very long distances, he said.

An example, Esper added, is a new guided missile frigate programme, producing ships with "increased lethality, survivability, capability and capacity to conduct distributed warfare."

He also said trials were underway on the Sea Hunter, a 40 metres trimaran drone that can autonomously survey the seas for rival submarines for more than two months at a time.

"These efforts are the next step in realising our future fleet, one in which unmanned systems perform a variety of warfighting functions, from delivering lethal fire and laying mines, to conducting resupply or surveilling the enemy," Esper said.

"This will be a major shift in how we will conduct naval warfare in the years and decades to come."

Esper reiterated that China is the top US security threat and that the Indo-Pacific region is the "priority theater" for the US military.

"Not only is this region important because it is a hub of global trade and commerce, it is also the epicenter of great power competition with China," he said.

A Pentagon report on the People's Liberation Army released early this month said that Beijing has the world's largest naval fleet with 350 ships and submarines.

Still, Esper stressed, the Chinese navy lags in strength and capability.

"Even if we stopped building new ships, it would take the PRC years to match our capability on the high seas."

Esper said reaching the goal of 355 ships means the navy will have to grab a larger percent of the Pentagon budget, but also that the United States has to put more resources into expanding and modernizing shipyards, where China has a clear advantage. (AFP)

RECENT NEWS

Tycoon Sits China's University Exams For 27th Time

Among the millions of fresh-faced high schoolers sitting the nation's dreaded "gaokao" college entrance exam on Wednesda... Read more

China's First Home-grown Large Cruise Liner Undocks

The first large cruise liner developed by China completed its undocking in Shanghai on Tuesday, marking its complete tra... Read more

Chinese, US Diplomats Hold 'frank' Talks In Beijing

Meetings between senior mainland and US officials in China this week struck an upbeat chord, with both sides agreeing to... Read more

China's Cruise Industry Set To Make Waves Again

China's cruise industry, suspended for more than three years due to the pandemic, is expected to resume operations in th... Read more

Toll From Deadly Landslide Rises To 19

All 19 people caught in a landslide in Sichuan province on Sunday have been confirmed dead, state media reported, announ... Read more

'Nato-like Alliance Disastrous For Asia-Pacific'

Defence Minister Li Shangfu on Sunday told the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore that any moves to establ... Read more