WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Navy’s top officer hopes to convince commanders to use smaller, newer ships and other assets for missions rather than continually turning to larger aircraft carriers — as is now being seen with the U.S. military buildup near Venezuela and Iran.
Adm. Daryl Caudle’s vision – which he calls a “battle directive” – calls for the Navy to deploy more tailored groups of ships and equipment, allowing the sea service to be more nimble in responding to evolving crises.
Caudle spoke to The Associated Press ahead of the rollout of the new strategy, in which the Trump administration has moved aircraft carriers and other ships around the world to address emerging problems. This has disrupted standing deployment plans and sent ships on emergency voyages thousands of miles, putting increasing pressure on ships and equipment already facing growing maintenance problems.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, was diverted from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean late last year, where its crew ultimately supported an operation last month to capture then-Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro. Two weeks ago, the USS Abraham Lincoln arrived in the Middle East after withdrawing from the South China Sea as tensions with Iran escalated.
Caudle said in an interview that his strategy would make the Navy’s presence in areas such as the Caribbean leaner and better able to respond to actual threats.
He said he had spoken with the commander of U.S. Southern Command, which covers the Caribbean and Venezuela, and “we are negotiating on his issue — and I hope to be able to convey the message that I can be there to address this issue with a tailor-made package.”
Admiral sees future smaller task force in Caribbean
Caudle said he expects missions in the Caribbean to focus more on interdicting and keeping tabs on merchant shipping.
The U.S. military has seized a number of suspicious, false-flagged oil tankers linked to Venezuela that are part of a global shadow merchant fleet that helps the government evade sanctions.
“This doesn’t really require a carrier strike group to accomplish,” Caudle said, adding that he believed the mission could be accomplished with a number of smaller littoral combat ships, Navy helicopters and close coordination with the Coast Guard.
For months, the Navy has had 11 ships, including the Ford and several amphibious assault ships carrying thousands of Marines, operating in South American waters. It’s a significant shift for a region that has historically deployed one or two small naval vessels.
“I don’t expect to have a lot of destroyers out there just to actually operate the radar to understand the motor ships and other tankers coming out of the port,” Caudle said. “It’s really not well-suited to the task.”
Moving to drones or robotic systems
To compensate, Caudle envisions greater reliance on drones or other robotic systems to provide military commanders with the same capabilities but with less investment in Navy ships. He admitted it wasn’t easy to accept.
Caudle said that even if a commander understands a new capability, the staff “may not know how to require it, integrate it, or use it effectively to deliver this new niche capability.”
“It requires some education here,” he later added.
President Donald Trump favors a massive, bold response by the Navy and leans heavily toward a show of firepower.
Trump refers to the aircraft carrier and its accompanying destroyers as fleets and armadas. He also restored the historic battleship designation for a planned ship that would be equipped with hypersonic missiles, nuclear cruise missiles, rail guns and high-power lasers.
If built, the proposed Trump-class battleships would be longer and larger than the World War II-era Iowa-class battleships, although the Navy has not only struggled to deploy some of the technologies Trump said it has, but has also faced challenges in building smaller, less complex ships on time and on budget.
Given that trend, Caudle said he would discuss with Indo-Pacific commanders how to make up for the loss if the Lincoln is recently redeployed to the Middle East under his new plan.
“So, with Abraham Lincoln, I had a three-ship (group) to make up for that,” Caudle said as an example.
Caudle believes his vision is already in place and has worked across Europe and North America “over the past four or five years.”
He said this may soon apply to the Bering Strait that separates Russia and Alaska, noting that “the importance of the Arctic continues to become more prevalent” as China, Russia and the United States prioritize the region.
Trump cited threats from China and Russia in calling for a takeover of Greenland, the Arctic island overseen by NATO ally Denmark.
Caudle said he knows he needs to provide “more solutions” to commanders in the region, and his “tailored force approach will be one way to do that.”
