US Navy “Fighting Instructions”

U.S. Navy “Fighting Instructions”: Admiral Caudle Defines the Path Forward at DPC26

At the 17th Annual “FY2027 Defense Programs” Conference, US Navy Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle outlined a clear framework for how the Navy will operate, fight, and deliver capability in an era of great power competition.

U.S. Navy “Fighting Instructions”: (i) Foundry; (ii) Fleet; and (iii) Way we Fight.

“The United States Navy finds itself operating in an era with other great powers…where our adversaries are actively working to up-end the international rules-based order…An era in which the speed of decision-making ruthlessly punishes delay…”

“President Trump’s and Secretary Phelan’s Golden Fleet Initiative signal that a dominant United States Navy, is the world’s surest guarantee of peace…”

The Mission Set: What the Navy Must Deliver

Admiral Caudle outlined the core missions that define Navy requirements:

• defend the Homeland
• respond to crises
• project power
• ensure sea-control
• defend critical choke-points
• protect global commerce

The Strategy: Full-Spectrum Hedge

The Navy’s approach is anchored in a Full-spectrum Hedge strategy, built on:

• Tailored Forces
• Combat Surge-ready Forces
• Tailored Offsets. [MUSV for scouting/screening/striking] [UUV for sea-denial/survey/mine warfare]
• Mission Command. [“Delegated-autonomy”]

Tailored Forces: Moving Beyond Exquisite Platforms

The shift away from one-size-fits-all force design is explicit: US cannot afford exquisite carrier strike groups for every mission. This requires “Tailored Forces”, to prioritize forces to different COCOMs, depending on the mission, and the threat.

• Large surface combatants
• submarines
• frigates
• unmanned

Golden Fleet: Enabling the “High/Low” Mix

The Golden Fleet Initiative introduces a balanced force design:

Golden Fleet provides “high/low” mix.

• Battleship
• Frigate
• Unmanned
• Containerized payloads

“Mathematically, that drives a ‘high/low’ mix…”

“You want to have a spectrum of capabilities, between aircraft carrier, battleship, Arleigh Burke [DDG-51] at one end. And at the other end, Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicles, Frigate, and large-scale UAVs…”

“By having that large ‘high/low’ mix…I can actually have the degrees of freedom necessary, to build these tailored packages necessary to solve these problems…”

“If I push everything to the high-end, I can’t afford it, I can’t deliver it…If everything is at the low-end, I can’t mass the capability necessary to deliver the iron to culminate a conflict…”

Industry’s Role: From CONOPs to Deployment

Industry is central to execution through the "Fleet Introduction Operating System":

Industry must be able to address the full-breadth of deployment/operations/sustainment, through the “Fleet Introduction Operating System”.

“I need our Industry partners to help us figure out how to carry these systems from cradle-to-grave…How to go from hypothetical CONOPs…to the most important…Concepts of Deployment…”

“An exquisite capability is virtually worthless, if I don’t know how to ready it, rehearse it, replenish it, retrieve it, revive it, and recycle it…”

“The Fleet Introduction Operating System is our framework for synchronizing Doctrine, Training, Logistics & Support, so new capabilities entering the Fleet are seamless…”

Containerization: Expanding Options for Commanders

The Navy is advancing a Containerized Capability Campaign Plan: 

“Missiles and USVs are not the only thing that can fit inside of these, from towed-array-systems, to drone swarms, to electronic attack systems, to high-powered lasers…I want to containerize everything…”

“Tailored capabilities give our combatant commanders something they value above all else, options…”

“Options to confuse, options to confound the enemy, options to obfuscate the battlespace, options to provide simultaneous dilemmas…and options for our Navy to dominate the fight…”

Force Generation Reality

The current operating model is under pressure:

Traditional Navy Force Generation Process runs on ~36 month schedule, (now ~42 months), for an optimal ~7 month deployment, (now often ~8-10 months).

• Certifies Strike Groups for major-combat-operations

The Bottom Line: Mass Still Matters
“It takes military mass to culminate a conflict…”

“I think I can deliver solutions for combatant commanders, that more optimally solve their key operational problem…”

“You see this in spades in the Ukraine/Russia fight…You see all this unmanned fighting each other…It is interesting…But it never culminates…”

“You have got to be able to put your foot on the throat of an adversary, to actually culminate the fight…”