Blue, Navy

The term blue-water navy is a colloquialism used to describe a maritime force capable of operating across the deep waters of open oceans. more...

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While what actually constitutes such a force remains undefined, there is a requirement for the ability to exercise sea control at wide ranges. The term used in the United Kingdom is Expeditionary.

Capabilities of a blue water navy

"Blue-water" (high seas) naval capability means that a fleet is able to operate at high seas. While traditionally a distinction was made between the coastal brown water navy, operating in the littoral zone to 200 nautical miles, and a seagoing blue water navy, a new term has been created by the US Navy , green water navy, which appears to be equivalent to a brown water navy in older sources. The term brown water navy appears to have been reduced, in USN parlance, to a riverine force.

In modern warfare blue water navy infers self-contained force protection from sub-surface, surface and airborne threats and a sustainable logistic reach, allowing a persistent presence at range. In some maritime environments such a defence is given by natural obstacles, such as the Arctic ice shelf.

Few navies can operate as blue water navies, but "many States are converting green water navies to blue water navies and this will increase military use of foreign EEZs" (littoral zone to 200 nautical miles), "with possible repercussions for the EEZ regime."

An example for the difference between a blue-water navy and a green-water navy: "(...) The first should be a 'green-water active defense' that would enable the People's Liberation Army Navy to protect China's territorial waters and enforce its sovereignty claims in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea. The second phase would be to develop a blue-water navy capable of projecting power into the western Pacific. (...) Liu" (commander in chief of the PLAN 1982-88 and vice chairman of the Central Military Commission 1989-97) "believed that in order to fulfill a blue-water capability, the PLAN had to obtain aircraft carriers. (...)" Aircraft carriers are deployed with other specialized vessels in carrier battle groups, providing protection against sub-surface, surface and airborne threats.

As there is no clear definition of a blue-water navy, the status is not undisputed. Usually it is considered to be strongly linked to the maintenance of aircraft carriers capable of operating in the oceans. "In the early 80s there was a bitter and very public battle fought over whether or not to replace Australia's last aircraft carrier, HMAS Melbourne. Senior navy personnel warned without a carrier, Australia would be vulnerable to all types of threat. One ex-Chief of Navy went so far as to claim that we" (the Australians) "would no longer have a blue-water navy (one capable of operating away from friendly coasts)."

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