– Barents Observer – President Putin assembles his top military aides to discuss the development of the Navy and Northern Fleet.
Chinese military exploring new ways of replenishment support at sea
– Global Times – The Taihu, a military supply ship, conducted a replenishment docking with civilian container ship Fuzhou in an offshore area in mid-November amid the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) exploration of new ways to replenish ships at sea.
Navy Amphibious Warfare Ship USS Portland Spotted Heading To Sea With New Laser Turret
– War Zone – The laser represents a large leap in power output over previous systems and is hardened to operate in the harsh maritime environment.
Navy Boss Hints At A Very Different Looking Future Fleet Of Naval Combat Aircraft
– War Zone – He also talked about the possibility of deploying those manned and unmanned aircraft on ships beyond traditional aircraft carriers.
The Wind of Change: The Drift
– Defense News – David Larter says a wind of change is blowing through the Navy right now. It has to do with a new force structure assessment that’s ongoing that keen observers of the Navy believe may set the service on a very different course than the one its on. And there is no keener observer over the Navy than the Congressional Research Service’s Ron O’Rourke…
CMC Berger Wants to Retool Kit for Leaner, Lethal Marine Corps
– USNI News – Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. David Berger previewed a shift in focus for the Marine Corps soon after taking over the job this summer, with his Commandant’s Planning Guidance. Now, he’s previewing what that shift will mean for the gear the Marines use and how they spend their money, writing in an essay in War on the Rocks that the service is over-invested in gear to support traditional land wars and under-invested in naval expeditionary capabilities.
Lessons from a Training Ship
– USNI Blog – As a former surface warfare officer, now a civilian pursuing a merchant mariner license, I recently had the opportunity to serve onboard the State University of New York (SUNY) Maritime College’s training ship, the Empire State VI. I was assigned as a deck training officer and lab instructor, but I also received an immersive education in how the Merchant Marine trains its officers and operates its ships.
France orders six patrol ships, equipped with drones and able to secure prisoners
– Defense News – France has ordered six 70-meter-long (230-feet-long) offshore patrol vessels from Socarenam, a shipyard in Boulogne-sur-Mer on the country’s northern coast, to patrol its vast economic exclusive zone.
Here’s what the Marines’ information command centers will do
– C4ISRNet – The Marine Corps is building new information command centers that will help commanders better understand the information environment.
Here’s what you need to know about the US Navy’s new deadly (and expensive) attack subs
– Defense News – The U.S. Navy inked a deal with General Dynamics Electric Boat on Dec. 2 to be the lead contractor for the newest iteration of the Virginia-class attack submarine.
With China gunning for aircraft carriers, US Navy says it must change how it fights
– Navy Times – Just because China might be able to hit U.S. Navy aircraft carriers with long-range anti-ship missiles doesn’t mean carriers are worthless. The chorus of doom and gloom over China’s anti-access weapons is too simplistic, but that doesn’t mean the Navy should refrain from adjusting the way it fights.
The Navy and Marines want an integrated force for information warfare
– C4ISRNet – To keep up with the changing nature of war and in response to nations such as China and Russia restructuring their militaries around a consolidated information warfare discipline, senior leaders at the Navy and Marine Corps recently said they are looking to boost their own prowess in that area.
The US Navy and Air Force have teamed up on a new ‘Manhattan Project’
– Defense News – The U.S. Navy and Air Force are teaming up to rapidly develop a battle network that can link together Air Force and Navy assets, an effort the Navy’s top officer compared to the 1940s program to develop an atomic bomb.
Navy, Industry Still Talking Over What Ship Designs Could Best Support Distributed Maritime Ops
– USNI News – The Navy and industry are still facing a lot of unknowns during a “dynamic” conversation about what ships to build and how to best support future operations.
Notes on Designing the Marine Corps of the Future
– War on the Rocks – The Commandant says the Marine Corps is not optimized to meet the bold demands of the National Defense Strategy.
5 takeaways: The US Navy’s new top officer issues his orders
– Defense News – The U.S. Navy’s top officer released his first planning guidance Wednesday, the first major document released since ascending to the office earlier this year.
Warship seizes Iranian missile components
– Navy Times – A Navy warship has seized a “significant cache” of suspected Iranian guided missile parts headed to rebels in Yemen, U.S. officials said Wednesday, marking the first time that such sophisticated components have been taken en route to the war there.
U.S. Navy Plans To Stop Buying P-8 Poseidon Sub Hunters Despite Growing Undersea Threat
– Forbes – The U.S. Navy’s 2021 budget proposal apparently will request no new money to purchase the service’s only long-range anti-submarine aircraft, despite a growing undersea threat and a shortfall in aircraft designed to cope with that threat.
The Future of Aircraft Carriers: Consider the Air Wing, Not the Platform
– CIMSEC – Robert Rubel asks what is it that the air wing, irrespective of the range of its aircraft, is supposed to do? That is a function of the ability of aircraft to penetrate to a launch point, and the ability of the weapons they deliver to achieve the effects needed. A valid discussion of those factors involves much more than just “bombs on target.”
China’s New Surveillance Blimp In The South China Sea Is Likely Just The Beginning
– War Zone – Tethered sensor-laden aerostats are a low-cost way for China to expand its situational awareness in the region and to help defend its island outposts.
US Navy awards largest-ever shipbuilding contract to Electric Boat for new attack submarines
– Defense News – The U.S. Navy on Monday awarded its largest-ever shipbuilding contract to General Dynamics Electric Boat for construction of nine Virginia-class attack submarines, eight of which will have 84-foot section that boosts the boat’s strike missile capacity.
The Moor-pedo: A Strategic Underwater Weapon to Re-shape Naval Conflict
– USNI Blog – A new breed of strategic underwater weapons unmanned has the potential to re-shape not just mining but also anti-submarine and surface warfare.
USS Harry S. Truman Enters U.S. 6th Fleet Region After Delayed Deployment Start
– USNI News – USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) crossed into the eastern Atlantic Ocean on Sunday, entering the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility as part of a deployment widely believed to include relieving USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) in the Middle East.
Spencer’s firing is latest in string of disasters for US Navy leadership
– Defense News – Last week’s ouster of Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer marked the latest in a string of leadership disasters for a beleaguered service, one that has seen a slew of admirals and senior captains reprimanded, fired or had their careers cut short for everything from ethics violations to poor performance on their watch.
A Bump in the Belt and Road: Tanzania Pushes Back Against Chinese Port Project
– CIMSEC – China’s Maritime Silk Road ambitions suffered a setback after Tanzanian officials refused to budge over stalled negotiations to build what would be the largest deep-water port in Africa.
