US Navy Needs to Be Ready to Fight China by 2027 if Necessary, Commanding Admiral Says
20220826
WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US navy needs to be prepared to fight China by 2027, although its current growth and modernization plans will not be completed until 2040, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday said.
"[The main challenge the navy faced] In a word, it is China," Gilday said in a presentation at the Heritage Foundation on Thursday. "We see a force that has tripled in size. We see a heavy investment in systems with long range. They are a significant adversary."
He described China's behavior in the Western Pacific as "fairly aggressive."
Current plans called for the US navy to reach a target size of 355 manned and 150 unmanned vessels by 2040, but Gilday warned that the navy had to be prepared to fight a war in the Pacific within five years from now.
"We have to be ready for the 2027 scenario [with China]," he said.
China remained the main threat that the navy had to face, Gilday reiterated.
© Sputnik
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