Are contested amphibious landings still viable given modern coastal anti-access technology?
Short answerYes, if the force avoids the strongest defenses and concentrates on a weaker sector; a frontal assault on the enemy's principal defended beach remains a bad idea.
NotesA direct landing against an enemy's principal port or most heavily defended beach was never sound practice, even before modern anti-access and area-denial weapons. Normandy and San Carlos Bay illustrate the historical alternative: choose a weaker sector, mass superior force there, and support the troops once ashore. The defender must distribute sensors, missiles, and troops across an entire coastline, whereas the attacker needs to overpower only one selected area. Demonstrations can draw defenders toward one site before the ships shift to another, giving a mobile amphibious force an advantage in concentration. Modern coastal systems make the contest harder, but they do not abolish this basic asymmetry.