What makes an enemy a peer threat at sea

The definition used here treats comparable technology, skill, and training as evidence of a peer threat even when national resources differ. Japan in 1941-42 qualifies because it could assemble major carrier forces, capture bases, and take the fighting back to its enemies. Argentina's submarines, carrier, and Exocet missiles similarly support treating it as a peer opponent in the Falklands War. Another participant asks whether the distinction is an inability to pull punches, and the answer focuses on an enemy's ability to retaliate and exploit an opening. Interventions in the former Yugoslavia provide a comparison because the opposing forces could not threaten London or the coalition's Italian air bases. Industrial capacity is treated separately from immediate fighting capability, especially because mobilizing American production took time. Other authors use broader definitions that include national industrial strength.