1945 – The Fourth Battle of the Atlantic, it seems, promises to be an omnidirectional—and Omni-domain—affair. Today’s seafarers have the mixed fortune to inhabit interesting times.
Yearly Archives: 2021
Theories of Naval Blockades and Their Application in the Twenty-First Century
US Naval War College Review – Technological advancements in weapon systems, platforms, and communications raise questions about the continuing relevance of blockade strategies and tactics that were developed during previous eras of naval warfare. If modern navies are using a centuries-old strategy, to what extent do the old rules still apply?
A U.S. Security Strategy For the Arctic
War on the Rocks – In order to better position the United States for geopolitical competition in the region, the Biden administration should write and publish a new national security strategy for the Arctic.
Japan-based Carrier USS Ronald Reagan Will Make Rare Middle East Patrol to Cover Afghanistan Withdrawal
USNI News – The American aircraft carrier based in Japan will make a rare deployment to U.S. Central Command to support the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan later this summer.
Russian Navy Surveillance Ship Quietly Operating Off Hawaii
USNI News – A Russian Navy surveillance ship has spent the last several days lingering off the coast of the western coast of Hawaii.
South Korea’s New CVX Aircraft Carrier Project: An Overview
Naval News – Here is everything you need to know about the CVX project ahead of MADEX 2021
Just Say No: Defining New Force Allocations for Effective Commitments
CIMSEC – When attempting to answer the question of what the U.S. military should be ready for, the responses are usually positive ones, statements of actions it should be prepared to undertake. But another possible answer is a negative one, a statement of what the U.S. should reject doing, and should choose to not be ready for. When the U.S. makes an effort to be ready for one eventuality, it is reducing its readiness to respond to others. Policymakers should consider both sides of this coin, and more consciously accept risk.
Russian Tu-22M3 Backfire Bombers Based In Syria Are Going To Patrol The Mediterranean
War Zone – In a throwback to the days of the Cold War, the Russian swing-wing bombers will fly maritime missions in NATO’s “backyard.”
Proficiency Versus Effectiveness: What Readiness is Not
CIMSEC – The U.S. Department of Defense is like an NFL franchise that, for lack of any game tape, relies solely on the athletic testing numbers to determine how ready their players are for the next game. Internal metrics of success, as the only numbers available, take on an outsized importance in predicting battlefield success. But anyone with even a small amount of military (or athletic) experience understands that there is more to winning than simply being the most proficient person on the field. A military, like a football team, has to be effective, as well.
French, Japanese And U.S. Navies Build Logistics Network In Indo-Pacific
Naval News – Combined logistics planning by the French Navy, Japan Maritime Self Defense Force and the U.S. Navy culminated in ships from each country exercising its ability to sustain each other at sea.
Russia Shows Off Tiny Fleet Of Titanium-Hulled Sierra II Attack Submarines In New Video
War Zone – The clips show the wake detection gear, escape pod, and sauna on Sierra II class submarines, and also explores force protection measures ashore.
The French Navy In The Indo-Pacific
Naval News – Interview with the Chief of Staff of the French Navy, Admiral Pierre Vandier, about the role of the Marine Nationale in the Indo-Pacific.
Moving Toward a Holistic, Rigorous, Analytical Readiness Framework
CIMSEC – The adoption of this new data framework for military readiness would go a long way toward achieving the quantitative underpinnings necessary to support the service chiefs’ vision and it can be used to fix the fundamental problem they call out: the “gold-plating” of existing force requirements at the expense of future capability.
Japan’s New “Aegis Equipped Ships”: What We Know So Far
Naval News – Japan’s Ministry of Defense (MOD) is trying to build unique ships that will specialize in ballistic missile defense (BMD) using systems originally procured for a land-based installation known as “Aegis Ashore”.
Japan’s Backwards Island Defense Strategy Against China Is A Mistake
1945 – Japan may be coming at the problem of defending its southwestern islands backward.
Inside Russia’s Trefoil military base in the Arctic
BBC – BBC Moscow correspondent Sarah Rainsford was given rare access to the Russian base, known as Arctic Trefoil.
The U.S. Role on the Global Stage
USNI Proceedings – The United States was dragged, largely against its will, into international importance. It must not walk–or be pushed–away.
The Fallacy of Presence
USNI Proceedings – Presence that is not backed up by authorization for substantive action is rarely a deterrent.
Nightmare: A New Missile Arms Race with China Is a Recipe For Disaster
National Interest – As a new generation of “whiz-kids” takes up the challenge in the post-INF world of confronting Beijing in the Western Pacific, the Chinese are busy assessing possible countermeasures.
The Navy sub commanded by artificial intelligence
BBC – On 20 April, the Royal Navy’s latest nuclear-powered hunter-killer submarine, HMS Anson, emerged from a vast construction hall at Barrow-in-Furness, travelled down a slipway and entered the water. All 7,400 tonnes of it. Around 260 miles away in Plymouth, another submarine made its debut that same day. A minnow compared to HMS Anson, this secretive nine-tonne craft may have greater implications for the future of the navy than the £1.3bn nuclear boat.
Italy’s Secretive Submarine Deal With Qatar: New Intelligence
Naval News – The world of Italian midget submarine construction is famously secretive. Deals are not talked about in the same way that larger submarine purchases inevitably are. Currently an Italian boatyard is building two small submarines for the Qatari Emiri Navy. That much can be treated as fact, yet few other details are available through traditional reporting. In the absence of details, speculation has been rife. Which company is building them? What will their capabilities be?
NATO Maritime Commander: Allies Are Coming Up With Modern Littoral Warfare Concepts, and NATO Needs to Exercise Them
USNI News – The head of NATO’s maritime force says amphibious operations will play a big role in any future combat or crisis response scenario – but he wants to move beyond old notions of what an amphibious operation really is.
Why Does China Want A Naval Base In The Atlantic Ocean?
1945 – Now that the People’s Liberation Army has ensconced itself at Djibouti, in the western Indian Ocean, Xi Jinping & Co. are “casting their gaze to the Atlantic coast and wanting to get such a base there.”
The US Military in Competition: Supporting Effort One
CIMSEC – To help counter the gray zone strategy the Chinese Communist Party regularly uses, the U.S. military should consider non-traditional approaches to competition.
Amphibious MC-130J Transport Is On Special Operations Command’s Wishlist
War Zone – There have been proposals for a waterborne C-130 Hercules in the past, but the U.S. special operations community might just make it a reality.
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