The US has come out with a strategic initiative to enhance the readiness and capabilities of the US Navy to counter potential threats and conflicts, particularly from China, by 2027.
The initiative, 'Project 33', part of the 'CNO Navigation Plan' launched by Chief of US Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti, aims to strengthen naval readiness and enhance the US Navy's role in the US joint war-fighting ecosystem. The project intends to end maintenance delays, scale up robotic and autonomous systems, create command centers, recruit and retain talent, and invest in watertight competency among others.
The Navigation plan "drives toward two strategic ends: readiness for the possibility of war with the People’s Republic of China by 2027 and enhancing the Navy’s long-term advantage."
There are seven core areas in 'Project 33'. They are:
•Ready the force by eliminating ship, submarine, and aircraft maintenance delays
•Scale robotic and autonomous systems to integrate more platforms at speed
•Create the command centers our fleets need to win on a distributed battlefield
•Recruit and retain the force we need to get more players on the field
•Deliver a quality of service commensurate with the sacrifices of our Sailors
•Train for combat as we plan to fight, in the real world and virtually
•Restore the critical infrastructure that sustains and projects the fight from shore
According to the Navigation Plan, by 2027, the US Navy will be more ready for sustained combat as part of a Joint and Combined force, prioritising China as the pacing challenge and focusing on enabling the joint warfighting ecosystem.
The US wants to ruthlessly pursue the implementation of 'Project 33' and expand the Navy's contribution to the joint warfighting.
READ MORE: China not a future military threat, it is a threat today, says US Air Force official
"Project 33 is how we will get more ready players on the field by 2027. Project 33 sets my targets for pushing hard to make strategically meaningful gains in the fastest possible time with the resources we influence," Franchetti wrote.
A few days ago, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall, while speaking at the Air and Space Forces Association convention, had said that China is not a future threat to the US and its allies, but it is already a threat today.