How the U.S. Navy Hopes to Take Out Enemy Anti-Ship Missiles

Multiple precision-guided anti-ship missiles stream across the ocean, armed enemy drones circle the skies and swarms of radio-networked enemy small boats coordinate integrated surface attacks —all while enemy radar systems track and target U.S. Navy surface ships.
Such an attack scenario is increasingly realistic for U.S. Navy warfare strategists working on arming the surface fleet for massive blue-water combat. How might the Navy be equipped to respond to such a multi-pronged attack? Surely, this combination of attack strategies, designed to overwhelm and destroy ships’ defenses, could present serious problems for Navy Carrier Strike Groups.
Holistically there are a number of simple, straightforward counters—chief among them increased superiority in the electromagnetic spectrum.
“The warrior that controls the electromagnetic spectrum is likely to win the next fight,” Mike Meaney, Vice President, Land and Maritime Sensors, Northrop Grumman, told Warrior in an interview.