Page 223 - NAVAL SCIENCE 3 TEXTBOOK

UNIT

Naval Weapons and Aircraft

ea power is that portion of a nation's overall power that enables it to use the
S sea in furtherance of its interests, objectives, and policies. A major part of
this is sea control: the ability to Lise the sea for oneself and one's allies and to deny
that usc to an enemy. Another major aspect is the ability to project naval power
to inlalld areas of cOllf1ict far fi'0111 Ollr shores \"henever necessary.
The naval power that can best bring its airborne and waterborne weapons to
bear on a given area of the sea, land, or air controls that area. Naval weapons have
played and will continue to play an important role in achieving victory in bat-
tle, both on land and sea. The n"'1' of John Paul Jones's day used muzzle-loaded
guns, cannon balls, and Marine sharpshooters in the rigging. Its ability to proj-
ect power ashore was pretty much limited to the range of a cannon shot. Today,
the U.S. Na\1' has highly accurate gun projectiles, missiles, torpedoes, bombs,
and rockets and a variety of ships and aircraft can deliver them. The ability to
project naval power t,"· inland with sea-based intercontinental ballistic missiles
(ICBj\,JIs). naval aircraft. and long-range cruise missiles makes naval weaponry an
important consideration in both the strategic and the tactical planning done by
national political and military leadership.