If China has decided it must take Taiwan soon, the Navy doesn't have time to expand the fleet. But it can expand the missile supply and the ability to reload our ships vertical launch system cells..
America thinks China may have accelerated its goal of capturing Taiwan:
“There has been a change in the approach from Beijing toward Taiwan in recent years,” [Secretary of State] Blinken told an event at Stanford University on Monday.
This includes “a fundamental decision that the status quo was no longer acceptable and that Beijing was determined to pursue reunification on a much faster timeline,” he said.
And the Navy CNO thinks it must be ready sooner than previously thought*:
Adm. Mike Gilday said he stands by prioritizing readiness, then lethality and then growing the size of the fleet, but said during remarks at the Atlantic Council Wednesday the potential for a conflict with China in the next couple years makes it important to do all three.Except for ships already under construction and new construction of small vessels, readiness and lethality will be the primary means of coping in the short run.
So more missiles for our existing ships must be a priority:
America needs a bigger Navy to fight China for control of the seas. But that takes time, especially when you consider our limited shipbuilding capacity. If there is a danger in the short run, emphasizing putting more anti-ship missiles on our existing ships, planes, and ground units will help us get to the long run.
Even if we have to bolt extra launchers on the decks of our ships. And other weapons like sea mines, for the Navy and all the aircraft that can fight.
As an aside, Gilday addressed my concern about retiring our cruisers now. I'll accept his explanation.
And with few ships until shipbuilding can kick in, reloading our ships' vertical launch systems without returning them to Pearl Harbor or the West Coast takes on added importance for lethality:
A pairing of a guided-missile destroyer and a supply ship in San Diego Bay last week was the Navy’s latest test to learn how to resupply its warships with missiles during a high-end conflict.
The Military Sealift Command-sponsored reloading test matched USS Spruance (DDG-111) with the offshore support vessel MV Ocean as a test platform to support logistics experimentation for fuel, stores, passengers and ordnance delivery.
The test marked the first time the Navy has used an offshore support vessel to test the reloading of the vertical launch system aboard a warship, officials announced.
I hope a sense of urgency will deter what we worry about.
*Mind you, I think China can invade if it is willing to endure the casualties:
China can invade Taiwan--going right for Taipei--if they are willing to endure the casualties required to do it. In 2004, apparently 21,000 dead was too much to pay.
But perhaps the goal of being able to invade soon includes achieving the mission under that casualty limitation. And perhaps a redefining of what "winning" for China means is part of that accelerated goal.
NOTE: War updates continue here.
