By Vice Adm. Mike Shoemaker, Commander, Naval Air Forces
SAN DIEGO (NNS) -- Today, more than ever, U.S. national
interests require the speed, endurance, flexibility and autonomous nature of
the U.S. Navy's nuclear powered aircraft carrier, which deploys, operates and
is prepared to fight as part of a carrier strike group (CSG).
The CSG provides our national command authority with
options, access and forward presence that allows for a rapid response to a wide
spectrum of threats or natural disasters. Even when faced with contested waters
and airspace, the composition and maneuverability of a CSG ensures
survivability of the carrier while its embarked carrier air wing uses its
integrated capabilities to project power, thus enabling the U.S. to continue
its role as a key guarantor of peace and stability around the world.
CSGs, typically comprised of a nuclear powered aircraft
carrier (CVN) and its embarked air wing, one guided-missile cruiser, a couple
of guided-missile destroyers, and a supply ship, train and deploy as a team
with well-established integrated tactics, techniques, and procedures that allow
for freedom of maneuver in the global commons. Operationally, the combined
strength of the CSG remains vastly greater than the sum of its parts. As a
complex, joint force multiplier, with command and control and organic logistical
capabilities, there exists no comparable way to quickly generate the effects
crucial to American diplomatic and economic interests that carrier aviation
offers.
Carrier strike groups provide access - access often denied
or diplomatically slow to attain through other military and civilian channels.
CSGs afford options to deny an adversary's objectives, preserve freedom of
action, and assure access for other joint and coalition forces. While political
dynamics and host nation sensitivities can restrict the use of land-based
aircraft in the initial stages of conflict, CVNs and their embarked air wings
can reach nearly any spot on the globe without having to ask permission. We
continue to live in a turbulent and unsettled world, and the strategic options
and flexibility our CSGs provide remain in high demand by our combatant
commanders around the world.
When the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant suddenly and
viciously expanded across the Middle East in the summer of 2014, and the
President needed immediate options to curb ISIL's advance, the George H.W. Bush
Carrier Strike Group was on station in the Arabian Gulf and ready within 30
hours of being tasked. The Bush CSG was the only strike option on station for
the first 10 days of the conflict and remained there for a total of 54 days as
the only viable U.S. option until the order was given to conduct air and cruise
missile strikes. Since the beginning of Operation Inherent Resolve, in fact
since well before 9/11, CSGs continue to be present in that region of the
world, with seamless transitions among those strike groups as they rotate in
and out.
The continuous forward presence carriers provide around the
world comes with a cost. After nearly 14 years of sustained combat operations,
Naval Aviation forces must reset and recapitalize in an effort to ensure
readiness in the future. The frequency and extended durations of carrier strike
group deployments has accelerated the wear on the force and has led to
increased maintenance and repair requirements, resulting in lengthened
maintenance availability periods. Deliberate planning and resourcing has Naval
Aviation on a path to recover our readiness in the coming months and years,
ensuring the carrier force is where it needs to be, when it needs to be there.
The value of stability and security operations is often
manifested in what does not occur - such as tensions that are quietly defused
and do not escalate into armed conflict. In April 2015, while on station in the
Arabian Gulf, USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) transited the Strait of Hormuz to
the Arabian Sea, joining other forces conducting maritime security operations
off the coast of Yemen to ensure vital shipping lanes remained open and safe.
Following Theodore Roosevelt's move, an Iranian convoy transiting toward Yemen
reversed course, underscoring the stabilizing effect the carrier force can have
overseas. As an agent of American diplomacy, CSGs communicate our nation's
commitment to maritime security, regional stability and the uninterrupted flow
of goods and services that is critical to continued economic prosperity for all
nations.
The value of forward presence acts not only as a deterrent,
but also enables rapid response to disasters as demonstrated by USS Ronald
Reagan (CVN 76) immediately following the earthquake and subsequent tsunami
that devastated Japan in 2011. The carrier produced and delivered potable water
for thousands of displaced families, airlifted tons of food and supplies
ashore, and conducted search and rescue operations. CVNs, working with allies
and partner nations, remain ready to save lives, provide immediate relief, and
set the conditions for effective civilian response without relying on damaged
or inaccessible ports or airfields ashore. In the next few months, Ronald
Reagan will return to Japan, replacing USS George Washington (CVN 73) as the
centerpiece of our Forward Deployed Naval Forces in northeast Asia and
delivering our most capable Nimitz-class CVN to that critical region of the
world.
The Future Of Naval Aviation
Naval Aviation continues to evolve to out-pace threats. A
truly innovative ship, the Gerald R. Ford-class CVN will be the nucleus for our
future carrier strike groups and a critical enabler of U.S. naval power for the
21st century. A major redesign of the Nimitz-class, Ford incorporates visionary
advances in technology resulting in significantly improved combat capability
and enhanced service life. Rear Adm. Mike Manazir recently released an article
describing the unmatched value of the Ford-class, explaining the carrier's
often overlooked return on investment over a lifespan of 50 years, and the
ability of the ship to remain survivable, sustainable and relevant while its
embarked air wing continues to evolve to keep pace with technological advances
and incorporate future capabilities - a characteristic of Naval Aviation that
cannot be overstated.
The Ford-class design enables the Navy to operate the
carrier with less manpower, saving more than $4 billion in total ownership
costs over the life of the ship when compared to today's Nimitz-class CVNs. CVN
78, the first in the Ford class, is on track to deliver next spring.
Historically, the first of any class of ship or aircraft costs more than
follow-on platforms, and the significant leap in combat capability, growth
capacity for new technologies and life cycle cost reductions that were built
into the Ford-class came with an associated initial cost. CVNs 79, 80 and the
rest of the Ford-class ships will continue an acquisition strategy that will
further drive down cost while delivering unmatched capability for the future.
USS Enterprise (CVN 65), the most recently inactivated U.S. CVN, served the
nation for 51 years, supporting generations of new aircraft while remaining at
the forefront of national defense and providing decades of power projection
options to our nation's leaders.
The carrier air wing, as the CVN's "weapons
system," must also continue to transform to pace the future threat
capabilities of potential adversaries. In order to project power we must first
be able to understand the operating environment through intelligence,
surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) efforts and establish local air
superiority for our forces to operate. Investments in platforms, payloads,
sensors and communications are required to assure access, project power, and
enable sea control in the future fight. Each platform assigned to the future
carrier air wing will contribute to overall mission effectiveness and lethality
by accomplishing a variety of missions.
UCLASS (Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and
Strike) will be the next step in the Navy's revolutionary integration of
unmanned air systems into the CSG and will provide the strike group commander
with persistent ISR plus time critical targeting and precision strike
capability. The real advantage this system brings to the fleet is its ability
to operate in anti-access/area-denial (A2AD) environments and provide increased
situational awareness of potential threats ahead of the CSG, essentially
serving as the commander's initial "eyes and ears" in contested air
and water space.
F-35C Lightning II will be an absolutely critical addition
to the CSG's integrated warfighting package with stealth advantages that allow
it to penetrate threat envelopes, the ability to detect and fuse information
from many sources, and link that fused picture to other CSG aircraft, ships and
decision-makers. F/A-18 Super Hornets, with the ability to carry large payloads
of advanced weapons will continue to provide lethality and flexibility, and
complement the F-35C to provide a very capable high/low mix of strike-fighters
that can deliver responsiveness and firepower across the range of military
operations.
EA-18G Growlers will dominate the electromagnetic spectrum,
providing advanced airborne electronic attack capabilities, screening CVW and
CSG assets conducting their missions, and protecting joint forces operating
ashore by disrupting enemy communications. E-2D Hawkeyes have new radars that
significantly improve their ability to search for and track targets while
providing critical CSG command and control, and coordination of a range of
missions, including integrated air and missile defense, and long range anti-air
and anti-surface warfare. MH-60R and S helicopters remain a potent combination
for defense of the CSG, with MH-60Rs acting as the primary anti-submarine
platform in close proximity to the carrier.
Finally, the critical, future logistical connector for the
CSG, CV-22 Ospreys will provide organic re-supply and transport services, as well
as the flexibility to support other mission areas as required. Although
external to the CSG, the integrated capabilities of P-8A Poseidons, working
with Triton MQ-4C UAVs, will be key to successful strike group operations,
enabling access, providing maritime ISR and conducting critical anti-submarine
operations.
Through judicious application of resources and a focused,
evolutionary investment strategy, the CVN and carrier air wing of the future
will continue to be the primary platform called upon to deliver assured access,
power projection and sea control well into the future. Absolutely critical to
national security and stability in the 21st century, future CSGs will have the
right platforms and new capabilities to operate in highly contested environments
when required, while continuing to provide a persistent, flexible,
forward-deployed force that will remain a stabilizing presence where it
matters, when it matters, in an all too uncertain world.
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