Admiral: U.S. army in Pacific quickly gearing up for warfare with China by 2027

U.S. military forces in the Pacific are deploying large numbers of drone weapons and increasing overall force readiness in preparation for a potential 2027 war with China, according to the commander of the Indo-Pacific Command.

Adm. Sam Paparo stated in a new naval journal article that his forces are rapidly building drone weapons and armed robots for use in both air and sea as part of “Project 33,” named for Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Lisa Franchetti, the service’s 33rd CNO.

The strategic guidance plan calls on the Navy to increase its warfighting power “in the fastest time,” according to a Navy fact sheet, with the key goal of preparing “for the possibility of war with the People’s Republic of China by 2027.”

Adm. Paparo said Project 33 is a critical program for the Indo-Pacific Command because it is driving integration of unmanned systems, bolstering maintenance infrastructure and improving joint and combined operations — “all essential elements for deterring China, Russia and North Korea.”

The plan is focused on improving combat capability and combined operations with allies by 2027, an effort that will strengthen the command’s ability to maintain stability across the vast expanse of the Indo-Pacific ocean, he said.

“The initiative, coupled with increased exercises and strengthened partnerships, seeks to deter adversaries and enhance interoperability with allies,” Adm. Paparo told The Washington Times.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered the People’s Liberation Army to be ready to use force to annex Taiwan by 2027. U.S. defense officials said the PLA is honing its forces for a possible invasion or blockade of the self-ruled island by that date.

The second objective of the plan is enhancing the Navy’s long-term military advantages. Adm. Paparo stated that China, Russia and North Korea are all threatening stability and security throughout the Indo-Pacific.

Project 33, he said, is the implementation plan for the new CNO strategic guidance. The major focus is deploying large numbers of drones produced by Avidrone Aerospace, a Canadian drone manufacturer. The company built four types of military drones with varying ranges and payload capacities.

“They can be built quickly, are difficult to detect and counter, and can carry a variety of payloads, both logistical and lethal,” Adm. Paparo said, writing in the current issue of U.S. Naval Institute journal Proceedings. “The Navy and Marine Corps are experimenting with swarming tactics using small, attritable UxSs for key geographic areas,” he said, using an acronym for robotic and autonomous weapons.

The article is the first by a senior American military officer outlining plans to use drone swarms, both aerial and underwater, in a future conflict with China, an effort that includes a defense contractor program called Replicator. 

Boosting readiness

The project will be used to bolster Navy contributions to joint warfighting forces that include the Marine Corps, Air Force, Army and Space Force.

In addition to deploying drone swarms and robot weapons, some driven by artificial intelligence, the Navy will move to cut maintenance backlogs to assist “combat surge capability” in a conflict,” Adm. Paparo said.

The Navy also will step up recruitment of sailors and others trained in handling advanced technology arms and restoring critical infrastructure that will generate and sustain war-ready forces, he said.

“Building capital ships takes years. Therefore, to increase warfighting capability in the near term, the CNO is focusing on rapidly developing, fielding, and integrating” unmanned and robotic weapons systems, Adm. Paparo said. “These systems will augment the multi-mission conventional force to increase lethality, sensing and survivability.”

Robots and drones will allow the Navy to operate in more areas with greater capabilities. the admiral wrote, providing “the ability to project fires and effects dynamically, at any time, from multiple axes, and with mass.”

Some of those drones are difficult for adversaries to detect or counter. The project will provide more munitions and delivery platforms in more locations.A key target of the drones will be enemy command and control and intelligence and reconnaissance systems.

Vice Adm. Rob Goucher, command of Navy submarine forces, stated in a recent journal article that using unmanned undersea vehicles, or UUVs, will enhance submarine operations by allowing multiple missions simultaneously, including for intelligence, surveillance, acoustic intelligence collection and sea-bottom surveys.

Underwater drones can reach areas that are too shallow or too deep for submarines and shifting risks from submarine crews to robots.

Swarm tactics

Adm. Paparo said the Naval Information Warfare Center has launched a program called “Pacific Offensive Swarm-Enabled Tactics” program, testing and deploying weapons that use autonomous swarming tactics through small, massed unmanned aerial vehicles in key locations in the region.

Training and exercises for combat in the Indo-Pacific also are being stepped up. The Army, for example, uses a program called “Project Convergence” that was used in military war games with Philippines armed forces. The program increases joint force rehearsals for combat.

For a possible war with China, U.S. Indo-Pacific forces are working on “sea denial and sea control.” That includes the use of unspecific geography to restrict the movements of adversary forces with the help of AI, he said.

“Traditional and new capabilities being developed will make key areas a wasteland for adversaries with malign intentions,” Adm. Paparo said.

The four-star admiral warned that U.S. and allied forces must not “overlearn” warfighting lessons emanating from the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East for a far different battlefield in Asia.

Unmanned weapons use in those theaters has been significant. But the platforms “are not the long-duration, autonomous systems that can be recovered if unused, with capable, large, discrete payloads required for the vast distances of the Indo-Pacific,” he said.

Steps are already underway in the Indo-Pacific command to strengthen repair and sustainment facilities in Guam, Japan and other areas in the western Pacific.Arms and weapons stockpiles also are being increased to give commanders more options in a real war. .

The new Navy guidance and Project 33 “set aggressive and necessary goals to improve readiness and prepare for crisis or conflict by 2027— just two years in the future,” Adm. Paparo said. “There can be no bluffing when it comes to deterring adversaries and assuring allies.”

Project 33, he added, “is enhancing those efforts and capabilities in the Indo-Pacific, and I am confident it will give us the capability and capacity to prevail.”