The Pentagon has just released a new strategy in which the U.S. Navy surface fleet will fight its future wars with the aim of wresting sea control from China and Russia in disputed waters.
The return to sea control, which was the paramount strategy during the face-off against the Soviet Union during the Cold War, from the current doctrine of force projection confirms the threats posed by the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and the Russian Navy, either alone or in concert with one another.
And to achieve this new mission, the navy will acquire more surface combatants, emphasize electronic warfare and develop new over-the-horizon anti-ship missiles (AShMs).
In early 2015, the surface fleet announced a re-emphasis on the higher-end fight, which it described using the concept of "distributed lethality."
The idea was to expand the offensive capability of the surface fleet through modification of existing weapons, changes in tactics and putting more firepower on more ships.
The strategy recommends four paths to attain the goals of distributed lethality: increasing the firepower of surface warships; supporting the Navy's long-range shipbuilding plan and modernization strategy; improve battle space awareness and improving learning in the surface forces.
"Part of my drive is to take a look at the weapons and weapon systems that we have and see what modification we can make to those to maximize their value, and how rapidly can we do it," said Vice Admiral Tom Rowden, Commander, Naval Surface Forces.
Admiral Rowden described the sea control strategy as the navy's "North Star."
"All the conversations we've had over the last three, four years, and starts to focus them in a single direction that will drive resources (towards sea control)," he said.
"Sea control does not mean command of all the seas, all the time. Rather, it is the capability and capacity to impose localized control of the sea when and where it is required to enable other objectives and to hold it as long as necessary to accomplish those objectives," explains the navy.
"Controlling the sea isn't about surface ships and surface weapons. Controlling the sea is about utilization of all of the different types of arrows in the quiver," said Admiral Rowden.