To tackle anti-access challenges, the U.S. is now fleshing out a new military operational concept ― the “AirSea Battle.” The concept is to conduct integrated aerial and naval operations across all domains such as air, maritime, space and cyberspace to neutralize “anti-access/area denial” capabilities.

It is comparable to the successful “AirLand Battle” concept that undergirded America’s war-fighting doctrine to contain the armed forces of the former Soviet-led Warsaw Pact from the 1980s to the 1990s. It focused on close coordination between land forces and air forces attacking non-frontline troops feeding the forward-deployed ones.

“In November 2011, the U.S. Department of Defense created the AirSea Battle office to oversee the integration of the concept into air and naval combat capabilities. In the following experimentation phase, the Korean Peninsula will likely serve as an important testing ground for the ASB simulation, war games, joint experimentation and fleet battle experiments,” said Michael Raska, associate research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University.

“Indeed, the concept may also permeate into future combined U.S.-ROK training, exercises, and operational requirements in a similar way the Air-Land Battle shaped U.S-ROK defense strategies from the early 1980s onward.”

Such a novel operational concept is critical for the U.S. as China’s anti-access capabilities put in danger its formidable “floating military units” ― aircraft carriers ― experts pointed out.

“In the past, China winced when the U.S. deployed its aircraft carriers as evidenced in the 1996 Taiwan Straight Crisis. But things have changed now with China deploying its short- and mid-range missiles to its coastal bases to deny any hostile access to its waters,” said a security expert who declined to be identified.

“We used to call the aircraft carriers ‘floating military bases.’ But some now call them ‘floating coffins.’ This is part of the reasons why the U.S. is seeking to improve military cooperation with its regional allies in missile defense and maritime operations.”

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)