The power of the naval fleet or the Navy is traditionally an instrument that has been used since the past for the sake of conquests and expanding colonies. Excerpted from the work of Thucydides (431 BCE) entitled Peloponessian War, described three phases of the Peloponnesian War, Athens in ancient Greece with superior marine power succeeded in defeating the Peloponnesos, but in the second and third phases of war Athena failed to sustain excellence after Sparta with Persian aid succeeded in preventing the superiority of the Athenian navy. Naval instruments have been used as political means far past. Alfred Thayer Mahan in his book The Influence of the Sea upon the French Revolution & Empire states that the naval strategy of dominance will determine the victory, the victory is not achieved by major operations on land but through control or mastery of the sea, the Navy is further said to have a strategic position because its influence can be felt in the region where land power cannot be present/presence.
The use of naval power was one of the determinants of victory in warfare, the argument was not exaggerated at least if we saw the use of naval power during World War I and World War II. World War I is a very brutal war in the European Palagan. Although the ditch strategy became a popular illustration but the battle front occurred also at sea. Naval Strategy War occurred between the British Navy maestro with Germany, the Germans emphasized the underwater war strategy using submarine (U-Boat) against Allied surface warship domination and disrupting the supply line through the ocean Atlantic. While during the Second World War, in addition to the use of surface warships and submarines in European and Pacific seas, the naval battle strategy grew by the deployment of the aircraft carrier in warfare. Aircraft carriers can carry dozens of warplanes so as to expand and enlarge operating targets. For example, the Japanese attack on the United States Naval Base (USA) at Pearl Harbour insure the power of the aircraft carrier and the Kamikaze fighter aircraft. During the Second World War, the Pacific Front became a highly destructive area of the US Navy fight with the Japanese Navy.
The Momentum of Naval warfare technology
Post World War second the technology of marine Alutsista developed rapidly. The power of the battleships is not only measured by large canons or robustness but also weapons systems, supporting systems such as navigation, radar, sensors, and others as well as the propulsion system used. The use of nuclear power for example, makes warships able to operate for long periods without having to do a sandar to refuel and logistics. Nuclear power is applied among aircraft carriers, destroyers, submarines, and other warship variants.
Soon after World War II ended, the world order changed with the emergence of the Western Bloc (US and its allies) and the Eastern Bloc (the Soviet Union and its allies), known as the Cold War. Each competed with each other to spread its influence in the world. Various ways are done to attract the sympathy of the country that has not yet entered into the influence of these two blocks. Both blocks offer assistance to countries that have not been affected through economic assistance, education, and defense. Many wars and conflicts are the impact of Cold War, known as proxy war that is war done by countries or actors that are under the influence of each block such as the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Arab-Israeli war Years 1967 and 1973.
The wars seemed to be a palagan proving the power of each block, various tools of coloring the wars, the Alutsista with good combat ability will get a battle proven label. Marine alutsists are experiencing evolution at these times. During the six-Day War of 1967, for example, the Egyptian Navy was able to sink an Eilat class Israel destroyer using four Styx missiles fired from the Komar class warship. That Momentum is the starting point of Naval warfare technology development. The Styx missile has a range of 46 km. The Komar-class warship when firing his crew in a Sandar position at the Egyptian naval base in Port Said, the target of the Eilat warship is 24 km away. Eilat ship did not detect Komar's ship as a threat due to its central position, the vessel was encrued after being hit by the third missile, recorded 47 Israeli sailors were killed and 90 the remainder injured.
Illustration 1. Battle of the FPB Komar Class and the Eilat Destroyer
The use of missile revamp naval warfare tactics, the weapon system is no longer confined to the range of cannons and battleship torpedoes. Missile technology became a differentiator between conventional and modern naval warfare strategies. Interesting when it was noticed the sinking of the Israeli destroyer of the Eilat class by the Egyptian-class battleship Komar, the Komar class battleship was the motor-class torpedo (MTB) vessel with a length of approximately 25 meters. With these dimensions, the Komar class warship can carry four surface missile units to the surface of the SS N 2 Styx. With these events, the tactics and strategy of naval warfare changed drastically. The Canon size and ship dimensions are no longer a major aspect of winning battles. The TNI AL according to records from 1961 to 1965 operates 12 units of a similar vessel.
The difference between the canon and the missile is firing distances, flexibility of use, and shattered power. The battleship that relied on the canon had to be within target firing distances, had to position the bow of the vessel so that the canon could shoot effectively. The effect of the canon shot is not enough to destroy the target in a short time, the bullet fired by the canon does not have a guide so the probability regarding the target is low. Targets are very likely to perform dodge maneuvers or perform counterattacks, while missile attacks can effectively destroy enemies quickly, regardless of the dimensions can be destroyed by proper calculations and strategies.
Missiles have the advantages of large crushed power, supersonic and subsonic speeds to achieve the target, high precision to the target thanks to the continuously developed and refurbished technology of the guide. A good guiding system can minimize the likelihood of a hit shot from a target, the missile can be said to be ideal when it has good speed, good shattered power, and has a small circular error probality (CEP). CEP is a quantitative analysis of the probable ballistic object misses of the target, the smaller the CEP means the more accurate the ballistic object.
Modern naval warfare technology develops very rapidly on various types of warships such as submarines, aircraft carriers, destroyer, frigate, Corvet, and others. Stealth technology has become the most developed thing today, so that battleships can operate with the possibility of a minimal radar detected. Anti Surface Warfare (ASW) is one of the tactics and strategies developed by many countries as a defense strategy. The ASW strategy is not only oriented towards the traditional concept of naval warfare by relying on canon and ship dimensions, but rather on the use of surface to surface missile (SSM) tactics, maneuvering massive small warships, electronic wars and Sensor systems and radar. A kind of Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) armed with missiles and equipped with good radar, sensors and communication systems can be very deadly in combination with the right tactics and strategy.
The Doctrine of Naval warfare
The development of technology changes naval warfare tactics, but does not dramatically change the strategy of naval warfare. Naval warfare strategy was developed and applied to bring about victory. Sea control and sea denial concepts are still the main strategy in naval battles. There are several new concepts to match the needs of each country's strategy such as the Maritime Conception Domain Awareness (MDA) as well as the integration of naval, ground, and air-based combat operations. In peacetime, sea power is a strategy that is to be achieved by many countries. The concept of sea power actually not only contains the power of the Navy, but has a wider scope of concept. There are three main elements in the concept of sea power, namely control over commercial and international trade traffic, naval combat operation capabilities, and the use of naval instruments in diplomacy, deterens, and influence Politics in peacetime. Unlike the concept of land power or water power is very military-oriented, the concept of sea power is integral to the interests of geo-economics. However, the aspect of Marine defence Forces has a very important role as the instrument that ensures sea power is achieved and the achievement of the geo-economic interests.
In addition to being an instrument of defence Military, sea power is used by the state as a law enforcement instrument And diplomacy (naval diplomacy). The strategy application used should With the needs of the state, in peacetime or wartime. Time strategy Different from the strategies applied during wartime, The challenge is that the Navy must be able to apply both Well according to the situation faced.
Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum.
Prepared by: Department of Public Relations of PT PAL Indonesia (Persero)