Research for Policy Analysis

On August 9, 2012, CNA hosted a workshop examining trends in Naval developments in Asia. As the PLA Navy demonstrates genuine competence and professionalism on distant sea operations, despite being oriented to peacetime missions, this is, ironically, raising concerns among littoral states of the Indo-Pacific over the security implications of a PLA navy that is becoming more expeditionary. Clearly the introduction of modern amphibious ships, and, shortly, an aircraft carrier force, provides the PLAN with a credible power-projection capability. This emerging capability is, in turn, creating a demand by littoral states for area-denial capabilities such as submarines and land-based aircraft with anti-ship cruise missiles. This workshop explored this interaction.

This volume provides background and context essential to understand the U.S. Navy of the 1990s, and especially its capstone documents, in slide handout format.

For easier use, this volume enlarges some of the graphics from The U.S. Navy in the World (1970-2010): Context for U.S. Navy Capstone Strategies and Concepts: Volume I.

The U.S. Navy promulgated over 35 “capstone” strategy, policy, concept and vision documents between 1970 and 2010, to provide guidance to the service and explain its value to its civilian political leaders as well as to external audiences. This summary volume provides a thumbnail description of each major document, in slide handout format.