War on the Rocks – Referring to the People’s Liberation Army, the commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command recently reported to Congress that “we haven’t faced a threat like this since World War II.” The nature of this threat should compel allied militaries to strengthen their efforts in the Indo-Pacific. One way to do so is by creating a standing joint task force headquarters. The 2023 National Defense Authorization Act directed the establishment of such a headquarters in the Indo-Pacific by 1 Oct. 2024, but congressional leaders have conveyed concern with U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s current approach.
Fighting in the Spectrum With Navy and Marine Corps Electronic Warfare Aircraft
CIMSEC – A discussion of the value of electronic warfare capability, deadly shootdown incidents involving electronic reconnaissance aircraft, and how the Joint Force came to rely so heavily on the Navy for airborne EW.
Despite Mortar Attack, U.S. Is Satisfied With Gaza Beachhead Security
The War Zone – Construction began today on a temporary pier off the coast of Gaza aim at providing humanitarian aid to millions of Palestinians.
Asymmetric Naval Strategies: Overcoming Relative Naval Power Weakness to Contest Command of the Sea
CIMSEC – Joint operations, while important in a general sense, and critical for first rate navies, are not the best option for weaker powers to contest command of the sea. Joint operations are resource-intensive and could prove more burdensome than helpful for a weaker naval power. Additionally, joint interoperability would likely be nonetheless reliant on the previous factors of asymmetric naval warfare, coalition leveraging, and attrition of distance sea lines of communication in order to be effective. Conversely, joint interoperability is not a prerequisite for those different factors. Asymmetric naval warfare can be conducted regardless of a joint force in a variety of ways, especially when possessing devastating technologies and employing surprise shifts in strategy that undermine an adversary’s understanding of the maritime environment.
RAND: What Does The U.S. Navy Need In Its Future Combatants?
Naval News – Naval News asked the RAND Corporation for their opinions on what the U.S. Navy’s next-generation destroyer, the DDG(X), should have in terms of designing the plug-in Payload Module. The DDG(X) Payload Module option is a hull insert that can accommodate, for example, additional vertical launch missile cells to a Mission Module Bay to additional interior rooms.
A More Comprehensive Plan to Push Back Against China’s Fishing Practices
War on the Rocks – More aggressively pushing back against Chinese illegal fishing practices is an opportunity for the U.S. government to highlight its global leadership in a way that directly defends the rules-based international order, challenges its most capable global competitor, helps rehabilitate the maritime environment, and increases the food security and economic opportunity for some of the world’s poorest and most helpless people.
New Details About Turkiye’s Future Aircraft Carrier
Naval News – On April 25, 2024, Turkish Navy’s Istanbul Naval Shipyard opened its gates to inform the press about the latest developments in various naval projects. The most intriguing one is undoubtedly the future aircraft carrier.
US sends land-attack missile system to Philippines for exercises in apparent message to China
CNN – China has accused the United States of “stoking military confrontation” with the recent deployment of a powerful missile launcher capable of firing weapons with a range of up to 1,600 kilometers to exercises in the Philippines.
Third and final OPV 58S offshore patrol vessel delivered to Senegal
DefenceWeb – French shipyard Pirou has delivered the offshore patrol vessel (OPV) Cayor to Senegal’s Navy, marking the end of the construction programme for the West African nation.
(Thanks to Alain)
Zumwalt-Class Stealth Destroyer: Hypersonic Missile Truck or Giant Failure?
National Interest – Zumwalt will be pushing ten years old once its hypersonic weapons are installed, assuming its current yard period wraps up on schedule. That’s a sizable share of its service life.
India’s 3rd Nuke-Powered Submarine Spotted In Satellite Image; ‘Nuclear Triad’ Bolstered Amid China Threats
Eurasian Times – With an eye on China, India has been bolstering its military capabilities. In line with this, it launched its third indigenous nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSBN) in 2021. The latest satellite imagery showed the extended nuclear submarine, codenamed S-4, underlining the possibility that it has already been inducted into the Indian Navy.
(Thanks to Alain)
Ship to shore – new solutions for getting troops onto the beach
Navy Lookout – In January 2023 the Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA) launched the Novel Amphibious Craft competition as a prelude to replacing the Royal Marines’ small landing craft. Here we look at one of the potential solutions – Steller Systems’ Offshore Insertion Craft concept.
Anti-Piracy Lessons From the Seychelles
War on the Rocks – Trainees of the Seychelles Coast Guard didn’t expect to be baptized by fire when they left Victoria harbor that morning. Yet there they stood (or ducked for cover) on the deck as 7.62×39-mm cartridges from the pirates’ AK-47s whizzed over their heads. Seychellois commandoes reacted with the sang-froid that comes from experience. They quickly turned the guns of their Trinkat-class patrol vessel on the pirates in the fishing trawler they had forcibly seized only hours before. The pirates didn’t have a chance; they dropped their weapons and surrendered.
Solving the Houthi Threat to Freedom of Navigation
War on the Rocks – While imperfect, a U.N.-backed political process provides the most significant form of international leverage over the Houthis. If executed effectively, it has the potential to enforce Houthi compromise with other Yemeni political actors. Most importantly, it could provide the conditions necessary for an economic recovery that fosters economic cooperation with Yemen’s wealthy neighbors. Such a recovery process would provide powerful incentives discouraging renewed Houthi use of force in the region.
Make ASW Joint: Integrating the Joint Force Into Full Spectrum ASW
CIMSEC – During the Cold War, NATO maintained anti-submarine competency and internalized lessons learned during the Second World War. The collapse of the Soviet Navy during the 1990s shifted the U.S. focus to power projection ashore in the Balkans and the Middle East, and anti-submarine warfare competencies across the joint force atrophied. As the era of near-peer competition began, the Navy looked at ways to recapture the hard-fought competencies and lessons lost since the end of the Cold War. In particular, the whole government approach to anti-submarine warfare (ASW) was reintroduced, known as “full-spectrum ASW.” The Navy is the domain owner for undersea warfare. As such, the Navy must be prepared to educate and explain undersea warfare doctrine and its roles to the rest of the joint force so that lessons written in blood are not repeated.
German Frigate That Fought Off Houthi Drones Heads Home After 58 Days
The War Zone – The Hessen repelled four Houthi drone attacks during its deployment but also accidentally targeted a U.S. Reaper drone.
Ukraine Strikes Russia’s Kommuna Submarine Rescue Ship With Neptune Missiles
Naval News – On April 21, 2024, Ukraine attacked Sevastopol Naval Base with Neptune anti-ship missiles and damaged Russia’s iconic 112-year-old submarine rescue vessel “Kommuna”.
Navy looks to apply jet readiness gains to surface ship fleet
Defense News – The U.S. Navy’s supply corps will spend the next two years applying lessons from the service’s aircraft fleet to surface ship readiness.
The PLA’s New Information Support Force
China Aerospace Studies Institute – On Friday, 19 April, Xi Jinping, Chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the Chinese Communist Part (CCP), attended a ceremony where he established a new ‘force’ of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the Information Support Force (ISF). The ISF appears to have been cleaved from the former Strategic Support Force (SSF), which was essentially disbanded at the same ceremony.
Snapshot: The Royal Navy escort fleet in April 2024
Navy Lookout – In this article we summarise the current status of the RN’s surface combatants.
China is Battening Down For The Gathering Storm Over Taiwan
War on the Rocks – Chinese war drums beat on as pundits hotly debate if or when Beijing will try to seize Taiwan by force. There is no apparent countdown to D-day for initiating a blockade or invasion, but major strategic indicators clearly show that General Secretary Xi Jinping is still preparing his country for a showdown. Developments under way suggest Taiwan will face an existential crisis in single-digit years, most likely in the back half of the 2020s or front half of the 2030s.
Australia’s Ghost Shark Uncrewed Submarine Breaks Cover
The War Zone – The Ghost Shark is Australia’s ambitious extra-large autonomous undersea vehicle, but details about its future missions remain scarce.
AUKUS allies developing undersea capabilities they can field this yearDefense News
Defense News – Though the submarine portion of the AUKUS trilateral alliance will take decades to fully come to fruition, development of the advanced technology under the agreement is in full swing, as Australia, the U.K. and the U.S. seek quick wins for their fleets, officials said.
Maritime Capabilities Take Lion’s Share Of Australia’s Future Defence Investment
Naval News – At the National Press Club of Australia in Canberra, Defence Minister Richard Marles simultaneously unveiled the first ever “National Defence Strategy 2024” (NDS) plus the “Integrated Investment Program 2024” (IIP). The latter was the first release of the IIP since its last public iteration four years ago. The NDS continues on from last year’s Defence Strategic Review, and gives the raison d’être for Australia’s major boost in defence capability. Meanwhile, the IIP lists in detail what will be procured in the next decade, alongside approximate monetary amounts.
Anduril’s Aussie drone sub ‘one year early and on budget,’ heads to production
Breaking Defense – In a bright spot for Australian defense procurement, an important domestic defense program, the first Ghost Shark autonomous submarine prototype, has come in early and on budget.
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