Dictionary

fleet in being en · NOUN

Etymology

First used in 1690 by British Admiral Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington, in defending his strategy of keeping his fleet in port until reinforcements arrived, rather than engaging with the superior French force.

Meanings

1. (countable) A naval fleet which exerts an influence while remaining in port.
   • Lines of communication in space, on the other hand, move physical elements, but they are also used to move non-physical elements as well, such as data and information. Consequently, the space equivalent to "fleet in being" should recognize this fundamental difference. […] Whereas the naval fleet in being strategy uses ships to dispute command of the sea, a space strategy employing a force in being may use physical assets as well as non-physical means. 2006, John J. Klein, Space Warfare: Strategy, Principles, and Policy, page 122:
   • In point of fact command of the sea and a fleet in being are mutually exclusive terms. 1895, “The Armada”, in The Quarterly Review, volume 182, number 363, John Murray, page 6:
   • But even for that navy, with its strong tradition of offensive action, there were occasions when the fleet-in-being strategy was prudent and effective. 1994, Colin S. Gray, The Navy in the Post-Cold War World: The Uses and Value of Strategic Sea Power, page 85:
   • It should instead have been saved as a reserve force, a fleet in being, as long as possible, and then committed in a Riskflotte operation at a key juncture, striking a decisive blow even if it involved its sacrifice. 2007, James B. Wood, Japanese Military Strategy in the Pacific War: Was Defeat Inevitable?, page 81:

Forms

Translations (6)

fr flotte de dissuasion (naval fleet) · de Präsenzflotte (naval fleet) · it flotta in potenza (naval fleet) · cmn 存在艦隊 /存在舰队 (naval fleet) · es flota en potencia (naval fleet) · he עֶצֶם קִיוּם הַצִי (naval fleet)