Navy Increases Amphibious Warfare Fleet Plans to Include 31 Ships & 18 Light Amphibious Warships

Video Above: Modernized DDG(X) Destroyer Warship Designed to Fight into 2060s and Beyond

By Kris Osborn – President & Editor-In-Chief, Warrior Maven

The Navy’s plan for future amphibious warfare has become more expansive, varied and ambitious compared to just 8 years ago, something which likely pertains to the rapid advent of unmanned systems, networking and a need to prepare for amphibious, multi-domain warfare in the Pacific theater.

Light Amphibious Warship (LAW)

Years ago, the Navy and Marine Corps talked about a need to operate roughly 33 amphibious assault ships and possibly flex up to 38. At this time, many felt there was still a sizable unmet combatant commander demand for amphibs, a sentiment which has grown substantially in many years.

Now, the advent of drones, unmanned platforms and lighter-weight, faster coastal amphibs such as the Marine Corps Light Amphibious Warship (LAW). The Chief of Naval Operations Navigation Plan 2022 calls for a new mix of amphibious assault ships moving into the future, citing the service’s capacity goal as 31 amphibious assault ships and as many as 18 Light Amphibious Warships.

This mix represents an interesting and apparently deliberate ship to incorporate a greater mix of lighter, more expeditionary warships such as the LAW for “island-hopping” kinds of multi-domain maritime warfare scenarios in the Pacific.

The flashpoints for potential conflict are numerous, ranging from Chinese-Japanese disputes over the Senkaku Islands to Chinese pressure on Taiwan to a possible clash in the South China Sea. Should a Marines unit operate with an ability to set up fortified mini fire-bases of sorts from small island areas, they might be positioned to prevail against enemy surface ships and even larger scale amphibious attacks. Island based artillery, long-range rockets or anti-ship missiles could potentially derail a Chinese amphibious assault upon Taiwan, by virtue of denying an ability to advance through heavy precision fire.