The US Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti expressed confidence that her plan to have 80 per cent of the US Navy's ships and aircraft ready to surge on short notice will be materialised by 2017.
The 80 per cent surge goal, which falls under a portion of the Navigation Plan for America's Warfighting Navy, aims to enhance the US Navy's ability to deploy forces rapidly in response to crises.
Surge readiness refers to the ability of the naval forces to be ready and prepared for deployment outside of their normal operational schedules.
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The US Navy intends to boost its readiness as part of a broader strategy to deter potential conflicts and ensure rapid response capabilities, especially in response to an increasingly aggressive and assertive China. The year 2027 has been fixed as achieving the goal of 80 per cent surge readiness as that is the year Chinese President Xi Jinping asked his armed forces to be ready for armed conflict.
Combat surge readiness is a “a crisis force generation term. It is really identifying units that can be made ready through tailored training and certification to go out and be deployed to do a mission outside of the (Optimised Fleet Response Plan),” Adm. Franchetti was quoted as saying recently.
When asked if the 80 per cent surge readiness goal was "aspirational, achievable (or) both," Adm. Franchetti recently said, "These are stretch goals, but I am confident we are going to work hard to get after them."
Even if they fail to achieve the goal, they are "going to be further along the road than we would be if I hadn't set such an ambitious goal."
She cited the example of how readiness percentages for the twin-engine, carrier-capable, multirole fighter aircraft F/A-18 Super Hornet has been increased in recent years, she said, "In 2018, (the then Defense) Secretary (James) Mattis challenged our aviation community to get F/A-18 readiness up from 50 per cent readiness availability to 80 per cent."
"And now, six years on we have been able to sustain 80 per cent readiness for the F/A-18s because of the processes we've put in place," a Department of Defence release quoted her as saying.