US Navy Projects Massive Power With Dual Carrier Ops in Pacific

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

Two massive US Navy aircraft carriers are now projecting power in the Philippine Sea in close proximity to one another in what appears to be a deliberate effort to prepare for any ability to potentially project an extremely powerful, large and sustained air attack campaign in the Pacific. The USS Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group is now performing routine war preparation exercises right alongside the USS Vinson within striking distance of Taiwan’s airspace.

“Dual carrier operations are an example of the US Navy exercising to operate at scale in major conflict. The carrier battle group, as a rule, is all-domain. Dual carrier ops and other integrated exercises at scale are essential for great power conflict. They provide a deterrent effect that tells would-be adversaries we have enough firepower to be where we need to be,” said Ret. Maj. Gen. David Coffman, former Director, US Navy Expeditionary Warfare, senior Warrior Naval warfare expert.

The scale and scope of these kinds of operations, which essentially deliver two combined massive floating airports, widens the operational envelope and greatly increase attack volume, dwell time and mission endurance, as aircraft can quickly replace or supplement one another over a given target area. This can also decrease any need for aerial refueling, something which can be quite dangerous over hostile areas as most large tankers are non-stealthy and vulnerable to enemy air defenses. With extra sorties and attack aircraft volume, dwell time over targets can be greatly extended as newly arriving aircraft replace ones operating over a target area.

A major challenge, as well as a major advantage of these kinds of scaled operations resides in the realm of Command and Control, Coffman explained.

“A Carrier task force built to be an autonomous self-contained thing, a composite warfare structure. Dual-carrier ops merge these structures’ command and control,” Coffman said.

There are many command and control advantages to these kinds of operations, provided transport layer connectivity is both assured and secured. Carriers likely have radio connectivity between them, something which enables operational synergy and coordination. Fighter jet sorties can be properly staggered, scaled and integrated to ensure any air attack campaign achieves its intended impact.