US Navy: organization and composition. Russian and US Navy: Comparison

The United States Navy is considered the largest and most efficient fleet in the world. As of January 2018, it included about 280 main warships and more than 3,700 pieces of aircraft. 322421 people serve in the structure, another 107000 are in the operational reserve. The main striking force is 11 aircraft carriers, two more are under construction.

Description

The origins of the US Navy go back to the Continental Fleet, created in the 18th century by Congress during the wars with the British for the independence of the American colonies. Later, the fleet of "northerners" played an important role in the US civil war, blocking the Confederate states from the sea and taking control of river traffic. This did not allow the "southerners" to receive assistance from overseas allies, to acquire ammunition, weapons and ammunition.

The role of the Navy in the defeat of Imperial Japan in the 2nd World War is invaluable. Indeed, most of the hostilities took place at sea and in relatively small islands, with the direct participation of warships. Then, the advantages of aircraft carriers as an important strategic force were fully manifested.

The 21st Century Navy maintains a global presence in key areas of the United States . First of all, it is the western part of the Pacific Ocean, the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean. In the event of local conflicts, naval forces are able to carry out operational deployment, block the coasts of entire countries and, if necessary, launch air strikes at enemy positions by carrier-based aircraft.

Structure

The fleet is managed by the administration of the Department of the Navy, which is headed by the Civil Secretary. Today, this position is held by Donald Trump's protege Richard Spencer. In turn, the Department is a unit of the Department of Defense, which is headed by Secretary of Defense General James Mattis. The operational command is carried out by the Head of Naval Operations, who is the highest naval officer by rank. Since 2015, four-star (full) Admiral John Richardson has been acting in this post. All strategic actions are determined and authorized by the National Security Council, headed by the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Areas of responsibility

The entire world ocean is divided into zones of responsibility of the US Navy fleets:

• 2nd Fleet - Northwest Atlantic and part of the Arctic Ocean in the Canadian archipelago.
• 3rd Fleet - the eastern part of the Pacific Ocean (excluding the coast of South America) and part of the Arctic Ocean (Alaska, Western Canada).
• 4th Fleet - the waters of Central and South America.
• The 5th Fleet is a region of the Persian, Aden Gulfs and the Red Sea.
• 6th Fleet - East Atlantic, Mediterranean, African coast (up to Somalia), part of the Arctic Ocean (from Greenland to Yamal).
• The 7th Fleet is the western part of the Pacific Ocean and most of the Indian Ocean.

Previously, areas of responsibility were distributed differently, so some fleets no longer exist.

US Navy bases

Given that the United States is present in many regions of the world (this also applies to military presence), the Navy is forced to organize and maintain a large number of naval bases (including in other countries). Some of the facilities, command posts and training grounds are located deep in the United States. For example, China Lake, the largest research and testing station in the area, is located in the middle of the Mojave Desert in California and covers 4,500 km ² .

East Coast

This is the cradle of the country's Navy. The largest shipyards for the construction of warships operate here. The fleet’s second largest base, Hampton Road, is located in Virginia. It spans 15,000 hectares and is the heart of the Norfolk-Newport News-Hampton-Chesapeake-Portsmouth shipbuilding cluster. Among other important objects of the region are:

• Military airfield NAS Oceana.
• The main amphibious (landing) base of the United States Little Creek.
• Norfolk Fleet Naval Station.
• Dahlgren Marine Test Center.
• Patuxent River Flight Testing School.
• Naval Academy (Annapolis).
• Maritime Station (Newport).

West Coast and Hawaii

Since the 2nd World War, the main naval forces of the country have been concentrated here:

• The heart of the Pacific Combined Fleet is the port of San Diego (southern California).
• Naval Air North Island - Several U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and destroyers are based here. There is also an aerospace complex and the headquarters of the Air Force of the sea-based.
• Pearl Harbor (Hawaii) - a large port of registry of warships and the headquarters of the Navy.
• Puget Sound is a cluster consisting of several naval bases in the northern United States. Among them is the newest port of registry of aircraft carrier groups NAVSTA Everett.

World Regions

There are bases of the US Navy in other regions:

• Guam Island - occupies a strategic position on the eve of Asia, is famous for its deep-sea harbor, capable of sheltering a large number of ships.
• Yokosuka is the focal point of the 7th Fleet and Japan Self-Defense Forces.
• Naval communications station in Naples. The parking lot of the 6th fleet.
• Airfield naval aviation Sigonella (Sicily).
• Bahrain - the base of the 5th fleet.
• Guantanamo (Cuba) - the place of detention of especially dangerous terrorists.

Comparison of the Russian Navy and the United States

Given the particular geographical location, the fleets of the two countries developed differently. The Russian Federation, being a continental power, devotes the main resources to the priority development of land and air forces. If strategic nuclear submarines are taken out of the scope, the tasks of the Navy include protection, navigation control and coastal defense in the event of a conflict. As well as the conduct of hostilities in the adjacent seas (Baltic, Mediterranean, Barents, Black) and in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean.

The United States is located far from Europe and Asia. On the American continent no one threatens them. Accordingly, the main resources are allocated to the development of the fleet and aerospace forces. The use of aircraft carriers makes it possible to concentrate large strike forces almost anywhere in the world ocean.

The composition of the US Navy and the Russian Federation:

These are basic quantitative data.