The World's Most Powerful Navy Needs Modernization

The U.S. Navy, the dominant power of the waves, is actually a relic of the Cold War that must be reshaped to deal with modern threats, according to the lead author of a 2007 maritime strategy. Cdr. Bryan McGrath, USN (Ret.), director of consulting, studies and analysis, Delex Systems, Inc., told a breakfast panel audience at West 2010 that today's U.S. Navy was designed in the Carter administration to defeat the Soviet Union in battle. It is the inherent flexibility of naval forces that allows it to be hyper relevant today, he stated. McGrath urged a return to the traditional naval mission-sea control. "We are oversubscribed in land attack," he said. We don't spend enough time and energy on what navies do: sea control." He called for the development of a "navy-killing navy," adding that a navy built around that capability would be able to conduct most of the other operations that could arise.