Page 39 - NAVAL SCIENCE 3 TEXTBOOK

44 NAVAL KNOWLEDGE

Modern Naval Striking Forces approach or cruising formation to a battle disposition, or forma-
tion, are called deployment of forces. This is a tactical deployment
Today's naval striking forces are built primarily around the carrier,
for battle and differs from a normal overseas deployment of ships
just as in World War II. There are also some striking forces built
to the Mediterranean on a cruise, for example. A battle formation
around cruisers or destroyers and frigates.
is not a precise formation, for each ship must be able to meet its
The missions of carrier strike forces are still basically the same
own opposition as it occurs. However they may be arranged, sur-
today. These are
face warships in a battle formation are usually close enough to
To seek out and destroy enemy air, surface, and subsurface each other that some mutual support is possible. Such ships are
forces often referred to as a surface action group (SAG).
To make preinvasion strikes against enemy airborne aircraft
and airfields
To provide close air support Fleet Aviation Organization
To strike against remote enemy installations Naval air forces are broken down into functional air wings, each of
To protect amphibious forces from enemy attack which supports squadrons of one type of aircraft such as fighter,
AEW, attack, control, and patrol. The functional wings are respon-
While many of these missions are in support of amphibious
sible for training and preparing their squadrons for deployment,
assault forces, the primary purpose of the carrier strike groups, as
they are called today, is to win command of the seas. To do this, they either aboard ships or in the case of patrol squadrons to advance
can make strikes, sweeps, and raids. A carrier strike is an operation bases. A squadron may contain anywhere from four to fifteen
aircraft, usually of the same type and model, and from 150 to in
planned to destroy an enemy base area or strong point. A series of
excess of 400 personnel, depending on the kind of aircraft, mis-
strikes against several enemy targets in a general area is termed a
sion, and duty assignment.
sweep. A raid is a sudden destructive attack against a limited area or
facility, with no intention of holding the territory attacked. When a squadron is deployed on an aircraft carrier, it becomes
The modern carrier strike group (CSG) usually has one carrier an operational unit of the air wing of that carrier, which is com-
along with the necessary escort and support ships. Unlike World prised of various types of squadrons. Typically a carrier air wing
today consists of several FI A-IS strike fighter squadrons, plus air-
War II formations, with concentric circles of protective escort ships
borne early-warning (AEW), electronic attack (EA), and helicop-
surrounding the carriers, today's formations are spread over vast
expanses of sea, often with the ships out of sight of one another. ter squadrons, totaling altogether seventy to eighty aircraft. Upon
Dispersion makes it more difficult for an enemy to determine the completion of a deployment, usually of about six months in dura-
defense plan, or to target multiple ships in a single attack. Guided tion, the individual squadrons return to their respective functional
missile ships, radar picket vessels, submarines, fast replenish- wings to begin another training cycle.
ment ships, and airborne early-warning (AEW) aircraft have been
added. Some of these may remain close to the carrier, while oth-
Air Warfare
ers may range farther from the CSG to increase chances of spot-
ting enemy activity by electronic means. The earlier the warning All air warfare may be roughly broken down into three main clas-
of impending attacks, the better are the chances for defense and sifications: air-to-surface, air-to-air, and surface-to-air.
launching counterattacks. Air-to-sUlface strike warfare includes all measures used byair-
Protecting the carrier strike group from surprise air attack are craft to attack surface targets on land and sea, including guns, mis-
the airborne early-warning aircraft and combat air patrol (CAP) siles, bombs, and other types of air-dropped ordnance. Although
fighters. Other airplanes may do tactical scouting. Still others carried out primarily by attack aircraft, in recent years fighters,
will attack the enemy to damage, destroy, or demoralize enemy patrol aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, and especially heJjcopters
forces. Surface action groups (SAGs) may be formed from the sur- have been increasingly used in this role. Major subcategories of air-
face warships of the CSG and detached for particular tasks, such to-surface warfare are undersea warfare (USW) and surface war-
fare (SUW).
as destruction of isolated enemy units, shore bombardment, or
scouting missions. Air-to-air wmfare is that carried out by one or more aircraft
against each other. The primary type of plane involved in this type
Surface Action Groups of warfare has been the fighter, but attack planes and sometimes
helicopters also get involved on occasion, as do surveillance and air-
When surface action occurs, it is usually a series of rapid
borne early-warning (AEW) aircraft that detect incoming hostile
engagements, often overlapping. Surface warfare ships such as
aircraft. Although in modern times long-range missiles have largely
cruisers and destroyers are moved in and out of battle for attack,
replaced guns as the main air-to-air combat weapon, it may still be
pursuit, or mopping-up operations. Maneuvers to change from an