"This major revision updates Wayne Hughes's 1986 landmark study that has provided decision makers with a sound foundation for battle planning and tactical thinking. The book integrates the historical evolution of tactics, analyses, and fleet operations, and today it can serve as a primer for anyone who wants to learn how navies fight and win. This second edition includes much new material on combat in the missile age and reflects the reconfiguration of many tactics for littoral operations after the fall of the Soviet Union."--BOOK JACKET.