New Navy Warfighting Strategy Embraces Flexibility, Accepts Risk

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle unveiled the U.S. Navy’s new warfighting plans, which call for a more flexible approach to meet current and future threats, during his keynote address Tuesday at AFCEA/USNI WEST in San Diego, California. The U.S. Navy Fighting Instructions provide a conceptual framework for how the sea service approaches future conflicts.

“Today we find ourselves operating in an era with other great powers. An era in which speed and decision ruthlessly punish delay,” Caudle said.

Full Spectrum Hedge Strategy

The Navy’s approach to combat can no longer rely solely on mass and technological dominance, Caudle said. Instead, the service needs a strategy that can be “hedged” to enable flexible responses across a range of threat scenarios. The approach includes tailored forces and capabilities, as well as an enhanced mission command framework, he added.

Balance is a key element of the hedge strategy. Caudle noted that the Navy already applies similar concepts to special operations forces and its strategic nuclear submarine fleet, meaning the idea itself is not new. What is new, he said, is applying the hedge approach across the entire Navy and within joint force operations.

The strategy is designed to bring the full weight of the joint force to bear during a crisis without requiring a purpose-built force for every possible contingency, Caudle said. Building a massive fleet to address every scenario would be prohibitively expensive, while an overly specialized force could prove too brittle to adapt to emerging threats.

Acknowledging the need for a bigger fleet, Caudle praised the Trump administration’s Golden Fleet plan to grow the fleet and expand U.S. shipbuilding. However, he noted that the challenge is knowing where to draw the line for force capabilities.

Accepting Risk

The Navy Fighting Instructions also explicitly accept risk, Caudle said. The strategy reduces risk in some areas while deliberately shifting it to others, rather than attempting to eliminate risk entirely.

Another key component is the use of scalable force formations that can be tailored to specific missions. These forces will allow the Navy to hedge against threats without overcommitting on a specific scenario. Unmanned surface, undersea and air systems will complement the Navy’s primary battle force, he added.

Above all, the new strategy will prepare the Navy for the future.

“It will ensure we are ready. Not for the last war, but for the one that is coming,” he said.