The U.S. Air Force (USAF) is making a return to antishipping operations. There are several programs underway to improve the service’s ability to contribute to potential joint sea denial and maritime strike campaigns against China’s vast maritime capabilities in the Pacific – including blunting a hypothetical Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
The rise of peer competition with China and the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), which now possesses the largest navy in the world in terms of ship numbers, has forced the U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), and the USAF to develop maritime strike capabilities of their own to contribute to the joint sea denial campaign alongside the U.S. Navy.
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