What would a present time Naval engagement look like?

[justdoit19]

I just watched a Drain the Oceans episode about HMAS Sydney of the Australian Navy, and a Nazi German raider disguised as a merchant ship Kormoran (fascinating episode, by the way!!).

It raised a wonderment. Would a (naval) war in present times be like this?? We have so much more technology. What would a present day naval engagement look like?

Maybe that’s an unanswerable question….

 

[Kierkegaard]

The most obvious difference that jumps out is how important cyber and electronic warfare will be. What exactly that looks like, I don’t know. There’s so much in that domain that you and I will never know about.

You may find this article interesting:

https://www.csis.org/analysis/first-battle-next-war-wargaming-chinese-invasion-taiwan

 

[Old Navy BGO]

One thing is likely -- it won't be a long drawn out affair like WW2. We won't have the opportunity to build up forces and overpower any adversary. Both sides are going to have to fight with what they have at the time, and it is likely to be short, violent and very costly in terms of people and equipment.

Cyber and EW are going to be critical.. Surface ships aren't going to hide in the vast ocean anymore. I hate to admit it..but Submarines are going to be a critical factor. Beyond that, Kieregaard is right --I 'm sure there is a lot we don't know, and hopefully never have to find out.

 

[raimius]

Hard to say. If anything, the war in Ukraine shows things don't always go to plan. Sometimes, wars go long enough that sustainment and production actually do matter a lot.