Road to 350: What Does the US Navy Do Anyway?

[Hotdogs]

Let’s see where else…
1 Gaza
2 Azerbaijan quite extensively
3 Syria
4 China
5 Russia
6 several countries in Africa
7 Mexico
8 Haiti
9 Venezuela
10 major defense companies
11 DPRK potentially in future

Some are those against infantry specifically, since you seem to want to narrow the focus. Exhibits 1 and 2 are telling. Some are used more broadly than that. Exhibit 5 some might consider a new leg of nuclear deterrence. Exhibit 7 is nonstate. Exhibit 8 is LE (if you can even call it that). Exhibit 11 has not been used yet, but could result in changes to future planning assumptions for a conflict on the peninsula.

When the USMC is looking at reshaping the composition of its infantry squad due to it, I'd call that a doctrinal change in the DOTMLPF sense. I don't think drones are going away, they've routinely defeated armored vehicles in Ukraine that we used extensively in ODS '91/OIF '03, and I do think they've begun to change warfare doctrine.

I would say yes, drone warfare has already revolutionized warfare.

Don't back track.

Drones have been around the military since the 1980s (as you mentioned). Tell us why you think they're the raison d'être of the current/ongoing RMA. Listing conflicts where they've been used doesn't make them decisive. I could point out several other methods of conventional force employment in those conflicts that had unforeseen utility.

 

[taxi1]

Drones have been around the military since the 1980s

This is absolutely revolutionary. Leaps and bounds in autonomy. Orders of magnitude increase in numbers enabled. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to envision military application.

 

[Brett327]

View attachment 42904

This is absolutely revolutionary. Leaps and bounds in autonomy. Orders of magnitude increase in numbers enabled. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to envision military application.

I would say that this is an example of zero autonomy.

 

[Spekkio]

Let’s see where else…
1 Gaza
2 Azerbaijan quite extensively
3 Syria
4 China
5 Russia
6 several countries in Africa
7 Mexico
8 Haiti
9 Venezuela
10 major defense companies
11 DPRK potentially in future

I agree that drones are a cheap force multiplier for nations who lack the resources to develop exquisite weapons systems and blue water navies

What platform(s) and tactic(s) will drones make obsolete in our doctrine?

Russia has no B-2 analogue to degrade / destroy the C5I network needed to operate drones effectively. If the US were fighting Ukraine, we'd just turn their army into red dust with relative impunity.

 

[taxi1]

I would say that this is an example of zero autonomy.

Extremely precise synchronized autonomous navigation of hundreds (even thousands) of drones that in this case are not meshed, but could be.

 

[Brett327]

Extremely precise synchronized autonomous navigation of hundreds (even thousands) of drones that in this case are not meshed, but could be.

I haven’t done a deep dive on how these operate, but it would seem like they’re all just following a predetermined pattern with some kind of inter-drone station keeping. However one wants to define autonomy, rigorous adherence to a pre-programmed flight path probably isn’t the best one out there.

 

[NoMoreMrNiceGuy]

I haven’t done a deep dive on how these operate, but it would seem like they’re all just following a predetermined pattern with some kind of inter-drone station keeping. However one wants to define autonomy, rigorous adherence to a pre-programmed flight path probably isn’t the best one out there.

And when they eventually fuck up it's hilarious

 

[Brett327]

And when they eventually fuck up it's hilarious

They’re probably autonomously opting out of the dragon show. 😂

 

[Hotdogs]

View attachment 42904

This is absolutely revolutionary. Leaps and bounds in autonomy. Orders of magnitude increase in numbers enabled. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to envision military application.

Drones flying in formation with special lights? This is the drone equivalent to the Blue Angels. Looks cool, tactically irrelevant.

Russia has no B-2 analogue to degrade / destroy the C5I network needed to operate drones effectively. If the US were fighting Ukraine, we'd just turn their army into red dust with relative impunity.

A) No we wouldn't. There are lots of nuances that go into rolling back a C2 system. Sometimes its best to leave it in tact (don't interrupt your enemy when he's making a mistake) and sometimes it's best to remove parts or all of it (maybe we'll need it for post-conflict). It depends on the objectives of the campaign or operation. It's never black and white. Also, everybody loves a good Baghdad Bob press conference.

B) You're missing the forest for the trees on this topic. No one is saying that there isn't a significant ongoing change in conventional warfare. Try to put together some more wholistic concepts of why drone warfare is featured prominently in conflicts today.

 

[Hair Warrior]

Speaking of the road to 350, it looks like both the House and Senate versions of this big bill have quite a bit of funding to modernize and refit US shipyards. I’m at least glad to see the US investing in shipyards again.