Air-Sea Battle, the Challenge of Access, and U.S. National Security Strategy

This article examines Air-Sea Battle (ASB), the operational concept that has emerged in response to Anti-Access/ Area Denial (A2/ AD) challenges posed by potential adversaries of the United States. Driven largely by the diffusion of technology, the ability of the United States to achieve uncontested access to execute a variety of operations has been constrained by the development and deployment of various military capabilities by a number of regional powers. However, ASB as it is presented has several important implications, most importantly for U. S.-China relations. The critical question that emerges is whether ASB-a war-fighting conceptis necessary to deter China from aggressive behavior, or could it actually spur greater hostility, making deterrence more difficult and therefore decreasing regional stability, thus undermining U. S. interests? The article concludes that ASB seems disproportionate to the perceived challenges and largely out-of-step with U. S. strategic goals.