US dual strike group aircraft carrier. Figure: Retrieved from the World Wide Web
The US Naval Institute website recently indicated that according to the plan of US Secretary of Naval Operations Michael Martin Gilday, the US Army is expected to have a giant fleet of 373 manned warships and 150 large unmanned combat ships by 2045. In this regard, the media described Chinese “Global Times” that the US military plan contains “meaning against China” between the lines.
According to the US Naval Institute website, the US Navy’s “Plan 2045” clearly states, “After the 1940s, we envision a mixed fleet of more than 350 manned warships, 150 large unmanned surface and underwater platforms, and about 3,000 aircraft.”
The US Naval Intelligence website indicated that the total number of ships in the future will exceed 500. The plan includes not only a large number of ships, but also a series of advanced warships. Including: 12 Columbia class submarines, 12 aircraft carriers, 66 nuclear attack submarines, etc. It will change the status quo as the size of the US military continues to shrink, because the US Navy currently has fewer than 290 combat ships.
“Strategic competition with China is both a current challenge and a long-term challenge,” Gilday said. “Focusing on designing our fleet through 2045 will be the most important decision and investment the Navy will need to make over the next critical decade. Provide evidence.”
Gilday noted that the plan highlights a focus on unmanned combat platforms. “I hope that in the mid to late 2020s large unmanned surface ships can be deployed alongside the carrier strike group.” However, the report also acknowledged that the US Navy has not yet clarified the specific performance of these unmanned ships. .
In response to the US Navy’s “Plan 2045”, the Global Times quoted Chinese military experts as saying that the US Navy’s “Plan 2045” revealed between the lines that it targets China. Since the Trump administration, the Pentagon has begun to advocate that “the Chinese Navy has surpassed the United States in size,” ignoring the U.S. Navy’s clear advantages in large ships such as aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines, and amphibious assault ships.
The report stated that in order to regain naval supremacy from China, the US Navy in 2020 proposed a giant fleet consisting of 400 manned ships and 140 to 240 unmanned ships. Although the plan was not approved by the US Congress. But Gilday’s “Plan 2045” is now to provide more details of the previous plan in order to compete with the Chinese navy.
As for the unmanned combat ships that the Pentagon is promoting, they are a response to China’s “area denial” strategy in the Western Pacific. With the concept of distributed naval operations, the PLA can avoid focusing on a few high-value targets such as tanker aircraft.
The US Army is expected to have a gigantic fleet of 373 manned warships and 150 large unmanned combat ships by 2045.
In this regard, the Chinese media “Global Times” described the US military’s plan between the lines, revealing the “meaning of targeting China.”
The headline even said “US Naval Plan 2045 targets China”.
The unmanned ship of the US Navy USV Sea Hunter. Figure: Retrieved from the US Navy
Chief of Naval Operations Michael Martin Gilday. Figure: Taken from Wikipedia (Author: US Navy)
Artist’s impression of a Columbia-class submarine. Figure: Retrieved from Wikipedia (Author: US Navy illustration/released)
