Former U.S. Deputy Undersecretary of the Navy Seth Cropsey told an audience at the Heritage Foundation Thursday afternoon that American sea power and global projection is "in trouble."
Cropsey appeared at Heritage to highlight the release of his new book Mayday: The Decline of American Naval Supremacy.
Michaela Dodge, policy analyst of defense and strategic policy at the Heritage Foundation, highlighted the current plight of U.S. naval forces before Cropsey’s speech.
Under current sequestration cuts, the Navy will be reduced from approximately 285 ships to 195 in the next thirty years, Dodge said.
While Cropsey was quick to criticize sequestration’s effects on U.S. Naval power, his main focus was the looming threat posed by China. Cropsey highlighted the fact that the last Maritime strategic review was conducted over six years ago and did not mention China at all.
"The 2007 strategy did not mention China, not once." Cropsey said. "The Chinese have made it clear that its policy is to deny the United States access to the Western Pacific."
"China’s military budget continues to grow … in double percentage points each year," Cropsey added.
With countries in various stages of unrest, Cropsey pointed to the fact that countries like Iran, China, and Russia have already begun projecting naval power in various parts of the globe. Cropsey pointed to the fact that Russia is in the process of having a permanent twelve-ship presence in the Mediterranean Sea.
With rival countries encroaching on American sea power Cropsey lamented the state of the U.S. 6th fleet—the group of ships responsible for Mediterranean operations.
"The Eastern Med has reverted back to instability… and the U.S. 6th Fleet … that once composed of two carrier battle groups, today consists of a command ship based in Italy and three [surface ships]," Cropsey said.
Cropsey also stressed the threat of the recently tested DF-21D a Chinese anti-ship ballistic missile designed to destroy large surface ships from over 1,200 miles away.
"The DF-21 … is a real threat," Cropsey said.
Cropsey’s solutions to a waning American naval power centered on being more fiscally responsible with ship purchases and production. Cropsey highlighted the recent overage on the budgets associated with the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program and an Arleigh-Burke Class destroyer.
When asked if he had further suggestions for the Navy to be more fiscally responsible, Cropsey suggested the use of unmanned drones to supplement personnel and the use of older technology.
Older tech, Cropsey suggested, such as diesel electric powered submarines and smaller aircraft carriers would make "a more combat effective" Navy by creating more units for the enemy to counter on the battlefield.
Cropsey concluded his remarks by using history as a sign of things to come if the U.S. loses naval supremacy.
"Americans are forgetting the importance of naval power … and once you lose it, you never get it back," Cropsey said.