Lockheed Martin continues to receive criticism over production delays and cost overruns of the F35, but their anti-ballistic missile program is receiving high marks. They are developing land based missile batteries and improvements on Aegis ships that can intercept short and medium range ballistic missiles such as the ones that North Korea has launched towards Japan, and the kind that Russia fields in Eastern Europe. But even though the US is fielding new and better technology to counter their adversaries, the US Navy collision earlier this week raises questions about the training and ability to implement those technologies.
America’s missile destroyer participated in a towing exercise in Japanese waters when the tug boat lost propulsion and drifted into the US ship. Thankfully it caused little more damage than scratches, but it does recall two past deadly crashes that killed dozens of seamen.
Because of these crashes the previous commander of the 7th fleet, Admiral Aucoin resigned. The new leader, Admiral Sawyer, announced a series of reforms this month aimed at restoring basic naval skills and alertness at sea after a review of deadly collisions in the Asia-Pacific region showed sailors were under-trained and over-worked.
The fleet instituted an automatic beacon that transmits their location, speed, and direction to other ships, and they have stressed additional rest and a more rigorous sleeping schedule for their sailors.
But the development of a new missile system has requirements that clash with the abilities of the 7th fleet that has recently had to reemphasize basic navigational skills (and even then, they seem to be outsourcing part of those skills to a computer that can be hacked). One of the arguments I’ve often made is that China’s training, leadership, and organization remains spotty to the point that the highly trained American pilots, seamen, and soldiers would outclass their rivals regardless of whatever fancy and supposedly scary technology they implement.
Because of operations in the War on Terror, American servicemen and women have an edge in experience
Yet American sailors are having trouble even steering their ships to the point that a tug boat could accidently ram a missile destroyer. Wartime conditions affect even the most seasoned individual. When communications are hacked, missiles are flying towards ships at 500 miles per hour, and the seamen are operating on little sleep, failing to steer the ship in peacetime training exercises doesn’t lend confidence to their potential wartime performance.
Because of operations in the War on Terror, American servicemen and women have an edge in experience. The new ballistic missile technology continues to keep pace with the new weapon systems that China, Russia, and North Korea increasingly use.
This new technology is a continuation and perfection of anti-missile doctrine that has been around since World War II. But the many naval accidents should be cautionary tales that at least in some critical areas, the skills of the US navy are eroding to a dangerous degree. And it suggests that in the case of warfare, it is America and not China that will have new and fancy systems that overwhelmed seamen can’t properly use.
