- The Strategist - https://www.aspistrategist.org.au -
Graph of the week – why (fleet) size matters
Posted By Andrew Davies on February 1, 2013 @ 05:00
The creation and maintenance of security at sea is essential to mitigating threats short of war, including piracy, terrorism, weapons proliferation, drug trafficking, and other illicit activities. Countering these irregular and transnational threats protects our homeland, enhances global stability, and secures freedom of navigation for the benefit of all nations. Our maritime forces enforce domestic and international law at sea through established protocols such as the Maritime Operational Threat Response Plan (MOTR). We also join navies and coast guards around the world to police the global commons and suppress common threats.
[In the future] protecting open access to the global commons will be in high demand, but the capacity of the US military to protect the commons will be challenged by new commitments and an increasingly diverse set of military threats. The status quo, in which the United States is the sole guarantor of the openness of the global commons and other states free ride, is unsustainable.
Article printed from The Strategist: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au
URL to article: https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/graph-of-the-week-why-fleet-size-matters/
[1] last week's graphs: http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/graphs-of-the-week-expensive-ships-or-a-big-fleet-you-may-only-pick-one/
[2] over half are cargo vessels: http://shipbuildinghistory.com/today/statistics/wldfltgrowth.htm
[3] In its doctrine: http://www.navy.mil/maritime/Maritimestrategy.pdf
[4] declined from 234 combatants in 1960 to just 36 today: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1538569/How-Britannia-was-allowed-to-rule-the-waves.html
[5] increased capability comes at increased cost which reduces the numbers purchased: http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/aspi-recommends-augustines-laws-2/
[6] Image: http://www.aspistrategist.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Picture-21.png
[7] USN fleet data: http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/org9-4.htm
[8] now moving to exploit it: http://www.hstoday.us/single-article/commercial-launch-of-typhon-maritime-security-service/6acd53746dd3f844059df0070c91e37c.html
[9] observed in a 2010 report: http://www.cnas.org/files/documents/publications/CNAS%20Contested%20Commons_1.pdf
[10] across the Atlantic in convoys: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/battle_atlantic_01.shtml