– War Zone – Being able to lay entire minefields with pinpoint accuracy from high altitude, over 40 miles away, and on a single pass is a total game changer.
Time Out For Tactics
– CIMSEC – Nobody’s arguing that inspections aren’t important. Heaven only knows what the beam of a flashlight might find under the bunk of a warship during a zone inspection. But there must be some way to reduce the 80 or so inspections a combat unit is subjected to every 18 months and use some of that time for the study of tactics.
Who is the Admiral Rickover of Naval Artificial Intelligence?
– War on the Rocks – Unlike the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program (also known as the Naval Reactors program) today there is no Navy organization accountable for overseeing a practical application of any AI-enabled combat system that is ready be pushed to the fleet in the near future. Useful military AI is proven in concept. What if the Navy treated operationalizing AI enabled combat systems the way it once treated operationalizing nuclear power?
Truman Carrier Strike Group Returns to Europe After Mid-Deployment Visit to Norfolk
– USNI News – The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (CSG) returned to the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations for the second time this year after spending a month visiting its homeport of Norfolk.
Congress to buy 3 more LCS than the Navy needs, but gut funding for sensors that make them valuable
– Defense News – Congress loves buying littoral combat ships, but when it comes to the packages of sensors and systems that make the ships useful, lawmakers have been less enthusiastic.
China Sent Uninvited Spy Ship to Russian Vostok 2018 Exercise Alongside Troops, Tanks
– USNI News – Russia recently concluded the 2018 edition of the massive Vostok exercise series that included Chinese forces for the first time. At Moscow’s invitation, Beijing sent People’s Liberation Army soldiers, helicopters, tanks – and one uninvited Chinese surveillance ship.
How the Fleet Forgot to Fight, Part 1: Combat Training
– CIMSEC – The U.S. Navy is suffering from self-inflicted strategic dysfunction across the breadth of its enterprise.Part One looks at U.S. Navy combat training and draws a comparison with Chinese Navy training.
The US Navy is going to need a bigger boat, and it’s getting ready to buy one
– Defense News – The U.S. surface Navy is moving rapidly toward buying a new large surface ship that will replace the aging cruisers, a ship that Navy leaders and experts say will need to be spacious to accommodate future upgrades and weapon systems.
Japanese submarine conducts first drills in South China Sea
– Reuters – A Japanese submarine has for the first time joined a naval drill in the South China Sea in an expansion of Japanese activity in the disputed waterway claimed by China and others.
The inside story of how a US Navy pilot shot down a Syrian jet
– Navy Times – Navy Lt. Cmdr. Michael Tremel made history last year when he became the first American aviator in nearly 20 years to shoot down an enemy plane.
Adjusting to New Conditions for Command of the Sea
– CIMSEC – Whatever character naval warfare takes on in the future sea control will always be the key to success. Being so essential one should understand its principles in order to gain sea control, but history abounds with cases where nations succeeded or failed. Some of those who initially failed were able to readjust their doctrines in time (and consequently their capabilities) to gain sea control and win.
Fighting for Sea Control in the Next War
– CIMSEC – Since the end of the Cold War, the West has been able to exercise Sea Control when so needed without having to fight for command of the sea. This comfortable situation is now going away – and it has already disappeared regarding a potential conflict with China.
Russian warships hold drills in Bering Sea in huge military exercise
– CBC – Russian warships held drills in the Bering Sea, which separates Russia from Alaska, as part of Moscow’s biggest military manoeuvre since the fall of the Soviet Union.
Merchant Warships and Creating a Modern 21st Century East Indiaman
– CIMSEC – The great mercantilist trading companies of the age of sail are long gone, but the idea that a heavily armed merchant ship might again more fully participate in naval warfare has new credence.
The Nature of Sea Control and Sea Denial
– CIMSEC – The value of maritime activity is derived from its connectivity. Occupying or dominating a maritime space but disconnecting it from other parts of the global oceans is a misuse of power born from the historical experience of landpower applied to the maritime theater.
Navy’s Revamped Stealth Destroyer Looks Less Stealthy As It Leaves San Diego For Trials
– War Zone – Zumwalt class destroyers consistently shed capabilities as costs ballooned. Now the Navy is bolting components directly to their stealthy deckhouses.
Navy Readies Ships To Help Hurricane Florence Victims
– Breaking Defense – As the Navy sorties 30 ships from Norfolk and surrounding bases, a few ships will be heading back in short order to assist in the cleanup. The amphibious ships USS Kearsarge and USS Arlington, along with hospital ship USNS Comfort, have all loaded up on supplies and have put out to sea.
Marines Prepared to Use F-35Bs in Middle East Combat If Needed; No Other Naval Aviation Nearby
– USNI News – The Marine Corps’ F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters are the only ship-based fixed-wing aircraft in the Middle East right now, and service leaders say the new jets are ready to handle any fight in Syria, Iraq or Afghanistan they may be tasked with.
Japanese destroyer shoots down ballistic missile off Hawaii
– Defense News – Japanese Aegis destroyer Atago detected and shot down a short-range ballistic missile in space Tuesday in a joint test with the U.S. Navy using the SM-3 Block IB missile.
For Sea Control, First Control the Electromagnetic Spectrum
– CIMSEC – Lofty tactics and operations will perform sub-optimally and be disrupted through electronic attack unless the Navy builds a solid foundation in electromagnetic freedom of action.
Bringing Back Seapower From the Deckplate Up
– CIMSEC – The most important challenges faced by the U.S. Navy in achieving sea power are not technological, but human.
Sea Control at the Tactical Level of War
– CIMSEC – This article explores sea control at the tactical level of war in an age defined by precision-guided munitions and post-industrial production.
New Forms of Naval Operational Planning for Earning Command of the Seas
– CIMSEC – Sea Control operations require a delicate balance of protecting the hunters and releasing the hounds.
Marines Deploy First F-35Bs to the Middle East; 13th MEU, Essex ARG Test Battle Readiness
– USNI News – Marines training on the ground on the Horn of Africa will see a new set of wings pulling the classic close air support mission: The F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.
China’s Navy Is Studying the Battle of Guadalcanal. Here’s Why It Matters
– National Interest – In lieu of real wartime experience, the PLAN is drawing from history.
