Military operations involving the use of surface warships
Surface warfare
is
naval warfare
involving
surface ships
. It is one of the four operational areas of naval warfare, the others being
underwater warfare
,
aerial warfare
, and
information warfare
. Surface warfare is the oldest and most basic form of naval warfare, though modern surface warfare doctrine originated in the mid-20th century.
Description
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Modern surface warfare dates from the mid-20th century, when surface, air, and submarine warfare components were blended together as a tactical unit to achieve strategic objectives. In
United States Navy
doctrine, the two most important strategic objectives are
interdiction
and
sea control
.
- Interdiction is the process of intercepting an enemy transiting through a location. For example, German naval objectives against
Britain
during
World War II
's
Battle of the Atlantic
were primarily focused on preventing ships from arriving intact with their cargoes.
- Sea control is the dominance of force over a given area that prevents other naval forces from operating successfully. For example, the mission of the
Allied
navies in the Atlantic during World War II was to maintain sea control and prevent
Axis
naval forces from operating. The
Anti-access/area denial
is an opposition to enemy's sea control without itself being an attempt to gain sea control.
Surface warfare (SuW) is conducted by a surface ship to eliminate a threat, which may include
Anti-surface warfare
(ASuW),
anti-air warfare
(AAW),
anti-submarine warfare
(ASW),
naval gunfire support
(NGFS), riverine operations,
mine warfare
, and
electronic warfare
.
In the second half of the 20th century, the importance of naval surface power was reduced as air and submarine warfare platforms demonstrated their capabilities, as in the
Battle of Taranto
, the
Battle of Pearl Harbor
, and the
sinking of
Prince of Wales
and
Repulse
.
Following World War II, guided
anti-ship missiles
required new
[
clarification needed
]
tactics and doctrines. Small, fast, relatively cheap
missile boats
became a threat for large ships, much more serious than previous
torpedo boats
, as in the
War of Attrition
, when
Egyptian missile boats
struck and sank the Israeli destroyer
Eilat
on 20 October 1967.
Ships
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Surface combatant ships include
battleships
,
aircraft carriers
,
cruisers
,
destroyers
,
frigates
, and others. Surface combatants also include
mine warfare ships
,
amphibious command ships
,
coastal defense ships
,
amphibious assault ships
, and many others. An important facet of naval warfare are however the support ships (that is, non-combat ships): freighters,
oilers
,
hospital ships
,
tugs
,
troop transports
, and other
auxiliary ships
. In the U.S. Navy model, now widespread in the world, various types of ships would be primarily organized into the
carrier battle group
.
See also
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]