‘Project 33’ New Naval Strategy Aims to Overcome Near-Peer Adversaries, Like China: Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti is fantastic. She is the first woman to be CNO and the first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Franchetti displays a soft touch when caring for individual sailors and their families and a unique toughness in naval warfighting. This is the correct combination of traits necessary to address future threats to the Navy, especially as the maritime branch ponders what to do about China.
Watch Out China, Project 33 Is Here
Now, Franchetti has overseen the development of a new maritime strategy to counteract Beijing’s efforts to dominate the United States in the Indo-Pacific. Dubbed by some as “Project 33,” it is a starting point for using future trends in warfare to ensure the Navy comes out on top during any conflict with the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) by 2027.
Emphasis on Warfighting
Officially, this document is called the “Chief of Naval Operations Navigation Plan for America’s Warfighting Navy.” The title may sound run-of-the-mill, but I especially like the “warfighting” part. It is time the Navy realized that acts of war with China could happen any day. This could be a problem with the PLAN, such as an accident or miscalculation that sparks a weapons exchange. Or it could involve the PLAN blocking and quarantining Taiwan.
It’s All About the Individual Sailor
The Navy needs every sailor to do their job to the best of their ability. Also, in recruiting and training new naval personnel, trainers should emphasize that sailors could die at the hands of the Chinese. Now, that sounds extreme because the Navy hasn’t had to worry much about their ships being sunk during the Global War on Terror, but this type of intensity must be communicated to everyone in the fleet.
That’s why these strategy documents are essential. They set the tone, and Franchetti is trying to show that she creates the correct balance of aggressiveness and fleet security while making sure the Navy is a destination for a great career.
Project 33 has two overarching themes. One is maintaining readiness and training in the manner that I have described above and strengthening the Navy’s role in the future fight. The second is leading the way with the latest technology, such as “advancements in artificial intelligence, robotics, and distributed maritime operations.”
The French Marine Nationale aircraft carrier FS Charles De Gaulle (R91), and the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) are underway in formation in the Red Sea, April 15, 2019. The John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of naval operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and the Pacific through the western Indian Ocean and three strategic choke points. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Joshua L. Leonard)
China has the world’s largest navy with more than 370 ships and submarines with 13 naval shipyards (more than the United States). So, a big part of Project 33 is new vessels and maintaining ships of the existing fleet. These things take time, money, and resources and Congress and the White House should be aware that to enact Project 33, the Navy will need ample investment to execute it.
The Main Project 33 Targets Are
-“Ready the force by eliminating ship, submarine, and aircraft maintenance delays
-Scale robotic and autonomous systems to integrate more platforms at speed
-Create the command centers our fleets need to win on a distributed battlefield
-Recruit and retain the force we need to get more players on the field
-Deliver a quality of service commensurate with the sacrifices of our sailors
-Train for combat as we plan to fight, in the real world and virtually
-Restore the critical infrastructure that sustains and projects the fight from shore”
I am an armchair strategist, and I love these goals and aspirations. Some think strategy documents are written and then left on the shelf to collect dust. Franchetti’s leadership style is different. I am confident that she will deliver on these priorities.
(Left to right) Australian ANZAC Class frigate HMAS Stuart (FFH 153) and USS Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125) wait off the coast of the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai, Hawaii, as they prepare for Flight Test Aegis Weapon System-32 (FTM-32), held March 28, 2024.
I have talked to senior Navy leaders, and they say, “We will roll up” enemy ships in the Indo-Pacific if war takes place. Plus, the PLAN does not have combat experience like the Americans. However, the PLAN continues to leap forward. Currently, three Chinese aircraft carriers are operating in East Asia at once. It will take the best training and execution, along with placing U.S. shipyards on a war footing. That means recruiting and retaining shipbuilding personnel who are at the top of their games.
A strategy document is only as good as its people. War is a human endeavor and Project 33 ensures that individual sailors, aviators, and ship drivers know the stakes and how strong the enemy is. That means to train and operate with a purpose and be ready to bring the violence of action at any time. This sounds like a Navy to be reckoned with, and the PLAN should take notice that they are dealing with a U.S. force that is not going away with its tail between its legs if China decides to blockade or invade Taiwan. So, let’s make sure Project 33 is relevant and remains a blueprint for future navy operations.
The CNO is ready to rock; now, it has become a matter of execution and maintaining an iron will.
About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood
Brent M. Eastwood, PhD, is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare, plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.
Commentar
September 25, 2024 at 6:10 pm
Hmm, first time ever heard of this project 33.
US Navy always has been long dreaming ’bout china war. As has the great pacific forces or INDOPACOM nowadays. Army recently also jostling hard for a gud piece of the coming action.
What did the very famous general mike minihan say in early 2023.
“Bro, my guts tells me war with china in 2025. Fight with total lethality. Aim for the head.”
To fight project 33, china must emerge from its currently self-induced stupor AND start building fleets of spaceplanes and spacebombers capable of unleashing payloads from space or from FOBS altitudes.
Recently, an explosion allegedly occurred at a RS-28 ICBM site in russia.
Shows space bombers are truly better than rockets. (Spacebombers that are circling 24/7 round and round and round in orbit.)
China today already basically has the technology or know-how to develop those spacebombers, but the gorbachev-type china leadership is very seriously obstructing.
It has now succumbed to the bamboozling by western media about economic slowdowns and economic malaise and economic weakness.
Just spend the bloody MONEY on those urgent spaceplanes and spacebombers instead of pandering to foreign voices and wasting MONEY on hotels, airports, travel itineraries and airliners and tourist attractions and endless sports events and fickin’ racket flingin’ tournaments.
Russia & china should now come together to start building multitudes of space fleets of bombers and gliders.
The threats from the US Navy and USAF and US Army are deadly and reliance on ICBMs equally deadly !!!
Jacksonian Libertarian
September 26, 2024 at 12:36 am
“Drones own the battlefield”
“Never send a man to a drone fight”
Modern warriors fight by remote control from undisclosed locations.
With the evolution of war from Industrial Age dumb weapons to Information Age smart weapons, most of the order of battle is obsolete and militaries are stuck deep in the “Sunk Costs Fallacy”.
We can all see the stand-out weapons (ATGMs, HIMARS, Drones) in the Ukraine war and the losers (Armored vehicles, manned aircraft, surface ships) from a bygone age.
The poorest nation in Europe-Ukraine will produce and use 1,000,000+ drones this year 2024.
The US Navy is the worst of the services at adapting to the new reality, absolutely buried in the “Sunk Costs Fallacy”.
The Marines are doing their best with the FD 2030, eliminating logistical nightmares like Tanks and Artillery. However, they are still limited by the DOD’s corrupt relationship with Defense Contractors.
Where are America’s drone swarms?
America should have millions of cheap drones across the spectrum of sizes.
Francis Maikisch
September 27, 2024 at 11:29 am
A fantasy-land concept by an unqualified DEI pick as CNO. The sell off of our industrial base will take many years to recover, if the govt actually decides to do something. Our entire military has major issues and shortcomings. Leadership has been very poor for decades. We can’t build anything that doesn’t go wildly over budget and actually works as intended. The entire DOD needs an industrial strength enema. It’s corrupt AF and supremely incompetent at the same time.