From the Navy: New Submarine Combat Strategy

New Strategy From the US NAVY

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Written by the US NAVY: Commander’s Intent for the United States Submarine Force and Supporting Organizations

We are a Maritime Nation. Approximately 70% of the world is covered in water, 80% of the population lives within a few hundred miles of an ocean coast, 90% of global commerce travels not by plane but by ship, and over 99% of intercontinental communications (including financial transactions) travel not by satellite, but via an underwater cable. Our founding fathers saw the importance of the maritime domain stating in the Constitution that the Congress had the power “to raise and support armies”…but requiring it “to provide and maintain a Navy.”

Our Challengers. America’s military remains the strongest in the world, but our advantage is shrinking due to rapid advancements by rival states Russia is investing in new military capabilities, including nuclear systems that remain our most significant existential threat. China is aggressively pursuing the most capable and well-funded military in the world, after our own. North Korea publicly seeks the ability to attack us with nuclear weapons. Iran supports terrorist groups and openly calls for our destruction. Terrorist organizations such as ISIS and al-Qa’ida are also determined to attack the United States, and threaten our way of life. These ever evolving challenges demand our continued vigilance, commitment to combat readiness, ability to quickly adapt and learn in the face of change, and our strict adherence to the Navy core attributes of our professional identity.

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The Undersea, Critical to Homeland Defense. The SSBN force is the only survivable leg of our strategic deterrent triad, and under New START carries approximately 70% of the nation’s accountable nuclear warheads. Our SSN and SSGN forces have the unique ability to enable all-domain access and hold critical adversary assets at risk. Consistent with our history as a maritime nation, the responsibility to prevent challengers from using the sea to threaten the U.S. and its allies falls predominantly on the Navy. As antiaccess / area denial systems proliferate, the share of this Navy responsibility that falls on U.S. submarine and undersea forces will only grow.

Lethality and the High-End Fight.