China Maritime Studies Institute – This report traces the origins and development of China’s current naval strategy: “Near Seas Defense and Far Seas Protection.” Near Seas Defense is a regional, defensive concept concerned with ensuring China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests. Its primary focus is preparing to fight and win informatized local wars within the first island chain. Far Seas Protection has both peacetime and wartime elements. In peacetime, the Chinese navy is expected to conduct a range of “non-war military operations” such as participating in international peacekeeping, providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, evacuating Chinese citizens from danger, and engaging in joint exercises and naval diplomacy. In wartime, the PLAN could be tasked with securing China’s use of strategic sea lanes and striking important nodes and high-value targets in the enemy’s strategic depth. Nears Seas Defense and Far Seas Protection is rooted in the ideas of Alfred Thayer Mahan and Mao Zedong.
Yearly Archives: 2021
The FC-31, China’s ‘Other’ Stealth Fighter
The Diplomat – A look at the jet with many names – and its carrier-based future.
Defense Strategy and the Empire State of Mind: How Preparing for the Best Can Leave Washington Vulnerable to the Rest
War on the Rocks – At a time when the United States is on the hook to deter four rivals across three theaters, all of its military services, including the sea services, are busy refocusing their attention on great-power competitors and reorienting their concepts, equipment, and operating patterns to deny aggression. Unless the United States scales back commitments or spends enough on defense to enjoy a surplus of power, overstretch is a very real possibility under these conditions.
Marines Defend ACV Development as Program Matures
USNI News – The Marine Corps’ 20-year odyssey to replace its 1970s-era amphibious vehicle has hit more than a few roadblocks, but after months of operational testing, the service says the new Amphibious Combat Vehicle program is on its way to joining the fleet in earnest.
French Amphibious Ready Group Set Sails For The Indo-Pacific
Naval News – The “MISSION JEANNE D’ARC 2021” will take the LHD and frigate all the way to Japan. The ARG will transit the South China Sea twice.
How Columbia’s Drug Cartels Almost Bought a Soviet Submarine
Sandboxx – What may surprise you is that amateur submarines were really a consolation prize for drug smugglers out of Colombia. Their first choice? An actual Soviet Foxtrot-class submarine. What’s even crazier, however, is that the Russians seemed to be more than happy to sell them one.
RSN Neutralizes Underwater Threat Using Unmanned Surface Vessel & EMDS
Naval News – The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) announced that it has neutralized an underwater threat using a mine disposal system deployed from an unmanned surface vessel (USV). A first for the RSN, and even a world’s first according to them.
MSDF sub crew’s failure to check blind spot probed as collision cause
Asahi – The Maritime Self-Defense Force submarine Soryu’s failure to detect a cargo ship in time to avoid slamming into it while surfacing was likely due to the crew not checking a blind spot in its sonar, investigative sources said.
Unfurl the Banner! Privateers and Commerce Raiding of China’s Merchant Fleet in Developing Markets
War on the Rocks – Both China’s navy and coast guard are larger than their American counterparts and increasingly well equipped. In the event of a conflict, the U.S. Navy will have to think outside the box: Hiring privateers to raid Chinese maritime interests is one such strategy.
With the submarine threat on the rise, the US Navy looks to autonomous water sensor drones
Defense News – The U.S. Navy is collecting proposals for a new autonomous glider drone that can collect data — such as water temperatures over time — as a way to improve how it hunts for enemy submarines.
IKE Carrier Strike Group Commands SEALs, Marine Missile Teams in First-of-a-Kind, Large-Scale Drill
USNI News – A Navy carrier strike group got a first glimpse at what future operations could look like, with SEALs providing forward targeting data and Marines on expeditionary bases providing another missile strike option to supplement the strike group’s aircraft- and surface ship-based weapons.
Cold War and Strategic Competition With China
CIMSEC – The most significant foreign policy debate in Washington at the moment is how to frame the emerging strategic competition with People’s Republic China (PRC), with foreign policy elites arguing whether we are in a “cold war” with China or something entirely different. The stakes of the debate are considerable because it will decide how the United States develops policies for competing with the PRC and how it frames that competition with allies and partners.
PLA Navy commissions final Type 056A corvettes specialized in coastal defense
Global Times – The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy recently commissioned its last batch of Type 056A corvettes specialized in coastal defense, with the total number of the Type 056 series reaching 72, as analysts predicted on Wednesday that China could then shift focus to produce more larger warships as part of the country’s aim to build a blue-water navy.
PLA destroyer flotilla joins multinational drills in Pakistan with US, Russian navies
Global Times – A Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy flotilla led by a Type 052D destroyer on Thursday started participating in a multinational exercise in Pakistan, a unique platform experts said that provides opportunities for Chinese and Russian navies to come together with their counterparts from the US and other Western countries.
Iran, Russia reportedly launch military drill in Indian Ocean
Defense News – The Iranian and Russian militaries have kicked off a joint naval drill in the Indian Ocean aimed at boosting security of maritime trade in the region.
Indonesian mine hunters feature MAN hybrid propulsion
Marine Log – German shipbuilder Abeking & Rasmussent has begun the construction of two mine hunting vessels for the Indonesian Navy. Each vessel will feature a complete MAN hybrid propulsion package.
China Increases Production Of AIP Submarines With Massive New Shipyard
Naval News – New intelligence confirms that China has ramped up submarine construction at a new site near the city of Wuhan. The Type-039A Yuan class submarines are replacing older types in the Chinese Navy’s (PLAN) order of battle. Together with new nuclear powered submarines they are helping to transform the PLAN into a much more modern and capable navy.
Turkey’s Armed USV ‘ULAQ’ Starts Sea Trials
Naval News – Turkish companies ARES Shipyard and METEKSAN Defence announced that the prototype ULAQ armed unmanned surface vessel (USV) has been launched and its sea trials have started.
(Thanks to Alain)
Can the Biden administration break the cycle of marathon naval deployments to the Mideast?
Defense News – After showing signs of improvement following two deadly collisions in 2017, the Navy is again under pressure to provide aircraft carrier presence to the Middle East for the American regional force, U.S. Central Command, despite what experts say is limited public evidence that such deployments deter the United States’ top geopolitical adversary in the region: Iran.
Navy, Lawmaker Split Over Timeline to Renovate Public Repair Yards
USNI News – The Navy faces a conundrum in renovating its centuries-old public shipyards. On one hand, the sooner the yards are redesigned with more efficient layouts and overhauled to have the latest tools and machines, the sooner yard employees can start repairing submarines and aircraft carriers at a faster pace and dig out of the maintenance backlog that plagued the sea service throughout the last decade. On the other hand, the Navy has to continue working on submarines and carriers while overhauling the yards, and any intrusive work in the public shipyards could mean a halt to maintenance activities.
Analysis: The Future Of The Turkish Navy
Naval News – The presence and visibility of the Turkish Naval Forces have increased considerably within the Blue Homeland doctrine framework for several years. Regional disputes require Turkish naval forces to deploy more at sea. Thus, the Turkish defense industry’s national policy has supported the continuously active Turkish Navy, and a force composition is formed with indigenous weapons and systems.
All You Need To Know About Italy’s F-35 Carrier That Just Arrived In The US
War Zone – The Italian Navy’s flagship aircraft carrier is about to begin operations with the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter off the U.S. East Coast.
The Navy Wants To Get Rid Of Its Nearly Brand New Patrol Boats
War Zone – The Navy is looking to have all of its Mk VI patrol boats, the oldest of which it acquired just six years ago, decommissioned by the end of the year.
Forging 21st-Century Strategic Deterrence
USNI Proceedings – Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Department of Defense (DoD) has not had to consider the possibility of great power competition with a nuclear-capable peer.
It will be at least a decade before Canada sees any of its new frigates
CBC – It will be 2031, at the earliest, before the navy sees the first of its new frigates; a setback brought about partly by the fact Canada, Britain and Australia are still feeling their way around how to build the ultra-modern warship.
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