How the US Military Can Bring “Denial” to Any Part of the World
Story by Harrison Kass • 21h
The United States does not take a traditional approach to anti-access / area denial (A2/AD) that focuses on regional defense. Instead, its version is tailored to its global posture.
Whereas the concept of an “Anti-Access/Area Denial” (A2/AD) system is typically first attributed to China, which has used A2/AD to establish a regional buffer around their homeland, the concept can also be attributed to the United States, who has one of the most formidable A2/AD toolkits in the world. Notably, unlike China—who uses A2/AD for regional defensive purposes, as well as to head off a potential American response to regional aggression—the US possesses an expeditionary force tasked with implementing a globally interventionist foreign policy. Accordingly, America’s A2/AD capabilities are often used as a complement to power projection rather than defense of the homeland, whereby the United States leverages its unique combination of global force posture, advanced tech, and alliance networks to establish what are functionally A2/AD zones all over the world—an feat that only America could come close to executing.
America’s Submarines Are Masters of “Sea Denial”
The US’s global A2/AD capabilities would not be possible without an unrivaled submarine fleet. The US Navy’s nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) and guided-missile submarines (SSGNs) can stealthily patrol contested waters anywhere in the world, threatening enemy naval forces, or interdicting ships, with a slew of torpedoes and land-attack cruise missiles. Capable of creating invisible denial zones, including at strategically vital zones like the Strait of Hormuz or the first island chain of the Pacific, US submarines are nearly impossible to track or neutralize, making them the tool of choice for sea denial.
US surface vessels complement the undersea fleet, with world-class destroyers and cruisers, all outfitted with long-range ballistic missile defense, sea-based air defense, and precision strike capabilities. US surface vessels are able to form protective bubbles, shielding allies and deterring enemy missiles. The result is something like a moving fortress at-sea. And of course, the Navy can deploy carrier strike groups, while themselves more vulnerable, are capable of imposing zones of exclusion through launching McDonnell Douglas F/A-18s and Lockheed Martin F-35Cs.
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