Seaforth World Naval Review 2013

596 Pages·2012·69.35 MB·English

by  Conrad Waters

The Irish Naval Service on exercises. The service is proud that the Irish Government has recognised the
importance of the fleet by maintaining a programme of replacement construction in spite of the country’s
financial difficulties. A detailed review is provided in chapter 2.4A. (Defence Forces Ireland)

The editor welcomes correspondence and suggestions from readers.
Please contact him via Seaforth at [email protected].
All correspondence should be marked FAO: Conrad Waters.
Copyright © Seaforth Publishing 2012
Plans © John Jordan 2012
First published in Great Britain in 2012 by
Seaforth Publishing
An imprint of Pen & Sword Books Ltd.
47 Church Street, Barnsley
S Yorkshire S70 2AS
www.seaforthpublishing.com
Email [email protected] British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A CIP data record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978-1-84832-156-4
eISBN 9781473808331
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and
retrieval system, without prior permission in writing of both the copyright owner and the above publisher.
The right of Conrad Waters to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with
The right of Conrad Waters to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
Note on Tables: Tables are provided to give a broad indication of fleet sizes and other key information but
should be regarded only as a general guide. For example, many published sources differ significantly on the
principal particulars of ships, whilst even governmental information can be subject to contradiction. In
general terms, the data contained in these tables is based on official information updated as of June 2012,
supplemented by reference to a wide range of secondary and corporate sources, such as shipbuilder
websites.
CONTENTS
Section 1: Overview
1.0 Introduction
Section 2: World Fleet Reviews 2-1
Regional Review – North and South
America
2-2 Regional Review – Asia and The Pacific
2-3 Regional Review – The Indian Ocean and Africa
2.4 Regional Review – Europe and Russia
2.4A Fleet Review – Ireland: The Irish Naval Service: A Model
Constabulary Navy
Richard Beedall highlights how the Naval Service has justified its
existence in a time of austerity.
2.4B Fleet Review – Italy: The Marina Militare: A Well-balanced Force in
Time of Crisis
Enrico Cernuschi & Vincent P O’Hara describe the consistent themes
guiding the Italian Navy’s development since the end of the Second World
War.
Section 3: Significant Ships 3.1 France’s
Aquitaine: First French FREMM heralds
a Renaissance for its Surface Fleet
The editor considers the significance of France’s new multi-mission frigate.
3.2 US Coast Guard Legend Class Cutters: ‘Our Highest Priority for the
Twenty-First Century’
Scott Truver analyses the importance of Bertholf (WMSL-750) and her
sisters to Coast Guard fleet renewal.
3.3 Braunschweig Class Corvettes: Eagerly awaited by the German Navy
Guy Toremans reviews Germany’s littoral combat ship design as the class
enters operational service.
3.4 Shivalik Class Frigates: An Overview of India’s P17 and P17A Stealth
Frigates
Mrityunjoy Mazumdar assesses the design and industrial significance of
India’s new stealth warships.
Section 4: Technological Reviews 4.1
World Naval Aviation An Overview of
Recent Developments
David Hobbs provides his annual review of maritime air power.
4.2 Ballistic Missile Defence and the USN
Norman Friedman details how a low-cost, incremental approach has given
the US Navy the right weapon system at the right time.
Contributors
OVERVIEW
1
INTRODUCTION
‘He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot will be
victorious,’ wrote the famous Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu,
author of the influential The Art of War. This maxim appears to be
exerting particular influence on ‘Austerity America’s’ military – and maritime –
strategy as it embarks upon a period of retrenchment to rebuild government
finances dented by the global financial crisis and drained by the long ‘war
against terror’, most notably in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The United States defence budget continues to dwarf that of any other nation
by a considerable factor, as demonstrated by the comparative data set out in
Table 1.0.1. Equally, the country’s armed services face an underlying decline in
defence spending at a time when that of likely rivals, particularly that of China
and Russia, is displaying a markedly upward trajectory. Total US defence
expenditure, including both base funding and war costs, is currently planned to
drop by over 20 per cent from its 2010 peak after taking account of inflation.1
This holds out the prospect of a steady diminution of US military hegemony to
an extent not seen since the height of the Cold War.
Whilst the United States’ response to this threat to its supremacy has been
multi-faceted, the overall result has been a significant shift in priorities that will
have considerable implications for the world naval balance in the years ahead. A
common theme that is steadily emerging is a hard-headed focus on maintaining
investment in defence assets which are most critical to US military superiority
whilst giving priority to those potential theatres of operation that are paramount
to the country’s global political interests. At the same time, missions where the
US is unlikely to achieve ultimate success, and regions that are perceived as
having only peripheral significance to its interests are being de-emphasised. This
approach is most evident in the rapid drawdown of US Department of Defense
supplemental funding for ‘Overseas Contingency Operations’, as the expense
and impracticality of imposing a military solution on countries such as
Afghanistan gives rise to alternative approaches. This is being accompanied by a
more fundamental realignment of force structures away from the land-based
forces required for protracted stabilisation operations.
Table 1.0.1: COUNTRIES WITH HIGH NATIONAL DEFENCE EXPENDITURES – 2011
The overall reduction in US defence resources means that the traditional
‘two-war’ force structure that had shaped post Cold War force levels has been
abandoned in favour of a configuration which is designed to deter conflict in one
region whilst the military is actively engaged in another. This places a premium
on power projection type assets that are capable of rapid deployment.
Consequently, the US FY2013 defence budget request largely protects
investment in air and naval assets with these attributes, such as aircraft carriers,
large deck amphibious ships, submarines and long-range bombers. These are
seen as being essential in ensuring US victory in any future conflict.
Although the US military will continue to contribute to security globally, the
new US Presidential Strategic Guidance issued in January 2012 makes it clear