Amphibious operations will remain a vital component of future U.S. military capabilities, but the proliferation of long-range, precision anti-ship and aircraft defense systems could make the conduct of such operations using current tactics, platforms and weapons prohibitively deadly.
That is the conclusion of a new study released Nov. 15 by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA) that was delivered in a briefing at the Navy Memorial.
The study, titled “Advancing Beyond the Beach, Amphibious Operations in an Era of Precision Weapons,” proposes radical changes in operational concepts, tactics, naval force structure and weapons to avoid the likely high cost of traditional amphibious assaults on well-defended shores.