Q&A · 2:03:31-2:04:05

The essential sequence for a future opposed landing

A modern landing is framed as a chain from air-defence suppression through anti-access reduction to the physical delivery of equipment ashore.

Question

Will armed forces conduct large amphibious landings again, and how could they do so?

Short answer

Yes, but only after suppressing air defences and other anti-access threats, followed by a workable system for landing and sustaining equipment.

Notes

Armed forces may conduct large landings again because heavy equipment still has to reach contested territory. Before landing craft can close the coast, the force must suppress enemy air defences and reduce the wider anti-access system. The remaining problem is practical: moving people and materiel across the surf and sustaining them after arrival.