The Navy’s leader in uniform said Monday that the U.S. is entering a new era of warfare where it must be prepared to respond to threats at sea.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson said the U.S. faces threats from Iran, North Korea and the “pervasive threat” of international terrorism. But the rise of Russia and China have led the U.S. back to an era of competition between world powers with developed navies.
“When the Soviet Union dissolved, the Cold War ended, we really entered a period where we were not challenged at sea, not in a very meaningful way. That era is over,” Richardson said during a luncheon at the National Press Club.
Richardson specifically spoke about the threat from Russia, which is operating at a high tempo and just put out a maritime strategy that is “very forward-leaning,” he said.
“Of course we must I think respond to that threat,” he said. “The details of that of course remain to be seen and you’ll see those unfold.”
When asked about the U.S. fleet’s ability to respond to China’s new Dongfeng ballistic missile, Richardson defended the surface fleet’s capability to address this threat. Rather than needing new assets, he said, officials will just need to figure out how to use assets differently.
“The surface fleet is as relevant and important today as it ever has been, so it is causing us to think about employment options, force offerings, fleet design,” he said. “We are going to have to adapt to that threat, but it’s not a matter of whether we employ surface forces and carriers, but how.”
