Yearly Archives: 2022

2022 World Naval Operational News Highlights

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The ten most significant naval news stories / trends / themes this year included:

  • The Russian Navy’s overall poor performance in the war with Ukraine in the Black Sea, which was on par with the poor performance of the Russian Army and Air Force. Is the Russian Navy a Potemkin fleet?

  • The Ukrainian Navy’s adaptable and creative performance against the Russian Navy in the Black Sea. What additional indigenous weapons will the New Year bring to the Ukrainian Navy?

  • The further democratization of commercial space services (communications, imaging, etc.) for military purposes as evidenced in the lead-up to and throughout the conflict in the Ukraine. How will this affect naval warfare in the future?

  • The threats to undersea infrastructure with undersea cables to Svalbard and the Shetland Islands cut and the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines cut. What will be an efficient and effective technique for protecting such infrastructure going forward?

  • China’s new alliance with Papua New Guinea, which sits astride the U.S. – Australian sea line of communication. Will China build an anti-access area-denial base there?

  • Taiwan beginning to reluctantly adopt an anti-invasion porcupine strategy, encouraged in part by events in the Ukraine. With such a strategy could Taiwan survive an invasion by China?

  • Stepped up joint Chinese-Russian naval patrols around Japan. Is this the straw that finally broke the camel’s back and led to Japan procuring long range cruise missiles to provide its Self Defense Force with an offensive capability if attacked?

  • Lots of nuclear signaling with Western ballistic missile submarines to counter Russia’s nuclear signaling over the Ukraine. Did the West’s message get through?

  • The decommissioning of littoral combat ships from the US Navy almost as soon as they are commissioned. Is this the final, inglorious end of the LCS program?

  • Pausing of unmanned surface vehicle (USV) work in the U.S. Navy, which has decided to focus on USV technology maturation before USV procurement. Will perfect become the enemy of good enough?

Japan Flies Its RQ-4 Global Hawk For The First Time

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War Zone – The Japanese Air Self-Defense Force, or JASDF, has officially flown the first of its new RQ-4B Global Hawk surveillance drones that the country started the process of procuring from the United States in 2015. The high-altitude, long-endurance, or HALE, unmanned aerial vehicle is expected to strengthen Japan’s surveillance capabilities as the country explores ways to enhance its situational awareness and better deter and respond to attacks from outside forces like North Korea and China.

Canada’s Recent Naval Deployments and Power Projection Across the Pacific and Beyond

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CIMSEC – Canada has been conducting annual Pacific deployments of strategic import, including Westploy in 2016, Operation Poseidon Cutlass in 2017, and Operation Projection since 2018. These deployments highlight increasing Canadian naval presence and naval exercising with other China-concerned partners in the region. The particularly successful Operation Projection of 2022 has complemented Canada’s recently-released Indo-Pacific Strategy and its maritime provisions for the future.

Crowsnest Airborne Surveillance and Control due to achieve Initial Operating Capability in 2023

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Navy Lookout – The Merlin helicopters equipped with the Crowsnest ASaC role kit provide are a critical aspect of the carrier strike programme. In this article, we look at how the troubled Crowsnest development project and efforts to bring the system into frontline service have progressed in the last year or so.

Submarine “Riachuelo” reinforces Brazil’s sovereignty in the Blue Amazon

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ElSnorkel – The “Riachuelo” is the first of a class of four conventional submarines with diesel-electric propulsion, which will allow greater deterrent power in the 5.7 million km2 of the Blue Amazon, whose rich waters, seabed and subsoil are important for economic, scientific and environmental development. It is in this maritime area where Brazilians carry out fishing activities, where 95% of Brazilian foreign trade passes and where biological and mineral resources are exploited.

(Thanks to Alain)

South Korean SLBM Tests: An Arms Race Heating Up?

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Wavell Room – South Korea’s possession and development of ballistic missile capabilities has historically been something rarely featured in mainstream discussions and military profiles of the country. This is owing more towards South Korea’s desire to keep its missile capability and related developments as secretive as possible due to geopolitical sensitivities, than general disinterest in the subject both domestically or in international military circles. It is an undeniable fact however, that given North Korea’s ongoing pursuit of developing nuclear weapons and the relevant ballistic missile capabilities to launch them, South Korea would have to make commensurate investments into similar capabilities for its own national security interests and overall survival.