Maritime Security: The New Mission of Naval Forces

In this paper, the new mission of naval forces, i.e. the mission of “ensuring the security at sea and the security against the dangers threatening from sea” – have been discussed and presented. Especially the content of today’s World’s terrorism, the subject of the global war on transnational terrorism, the subject of the maritime security, as well as the consequences resulting form the new mission – have been shown. The considerations, statements, and conclusion contained in this paper regard mainly the European NATO countries, particularly the smaller ones. INTRODUCTION By the term “naval forces mission” we will understand the “one of the main and enduring tasks of naval forces”. The main and the most know missions of naval forces are “sea control “and “maritime blockade”. The other missions are: “ensuring and maintaining the safety of sea lines of communications”, “projection of power ...from the sea”, and some other. Missions of naval forces remain almost constant for very very long period of time, though the means and methods of naval. Warfare is being permanently changed and perfected as result of steady scientific and technological progress. Very rarely the new naval missions are being emerged. However now, i.e. in some last years, the huge changes of economic, but especially of political, social and military world’s situation resulted in emerging and arising the new naval mission. This mission is: “ensuring the maritime security”, i.e. ensuring the security of all the maritime movable and fixed objects, including the security against environmental catastrophes, as well as security of all coastal objects against the terrorist attacks threatening from sea. The main reasons that resulted in emerging the new mission of naval forces was the collapse of Soviet political and military black, as well as collapse of Soviet Union, but mainly, as result of emerging and growing the threat of transnational terrorism and dire necessity to wage the global war on world’s terrorism. The direct reason of the outbreak of the global war on the world’s terrorism, which may last for very very long period of time, or even to become the permanent phenomenon of the future world was the terrorist attack and destroying the Towers of World Trade Center in New York on 11.09.2001. Below, the following issues have been discussed and presented: • world’s terrorism, its subject and objectives, Dabrowski, T.; Kopacz, Z.; Morgaś, W.; Urbański, J. (2006) Maritime Security: The New Mission of Naval Forces. In Tactical Decision Making and Situational Awareness for Defence Against Terrorism (pp. 12-1 – 12-12). Meeting Proceedings RTO-MP-SCI-174, Paper 12. Neuilly-sur-Seine, France: RTO. Available from: http://www.rto.nato.int/abstracts.asp. Report Documentation Page Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to a penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number. 1. REPORT DATE 01 MAY 2006 2. REPORT TYPE N/A 3. DATES COVERED 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Maritime Security: The New Mission of Naval Forces 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER