U.K. Ministry of Defence – As the 2021 Defence Command Paper makes clear, the High North and maintaining security in the defence of the North Atlantic remains of great importance to the UK. The MOD will continue to ensure that it remains capable of protecting the UK’s interests as the region opens up in the coming years.
Monthly Archives: March 2022
Turkey defuses stray naval mine in Black Sea amid Ukraine war
Retuers – A military diving team deactivated a stray naval mine off Turkey’s northwest coast on Monday, Turkey’s defence ministry said, the second such device to be defused in the area in days amid the war in Ukraine.
(Thanks to Alain)
Send Simmers to the Skirmish: A Case For A Wing-In-Ground Effect Attack Craft
CIMSEC – A wing-in-ground maritime attack craft (WMAC) would present an opportunity to field a cost-effective, survivable asset that can punch above its weight and cost. Such a platform would assist the United States naval battlegroups in attriting adversarial surface platforms and shore-based area denial systems to pursue maritime superiority in a contested environment. The United States Navy should pursue the acquisition, experimenting with, and eventual conversion of commercially produced wing-in-ground craft to fill an anti-surface warfare role until purpose-built designs can be developed, tested, and fielded.
Royal Marines launch commando raid from Astute class submarine during Arctic exercise
Navy Lookout – This brief photo and video essay shows Royal Marines of Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron, 30 Commando Information Exploitation Group conducting a small boat raid from a Royal Navy Astute class submarine.
US Navy wants to cut nine LCSs, eliminate their anti-submarine mission
Defense News – The U.S. Navy wants to decommission nine of its Freedom-variant littoral combat ships and eliminate the anti-submarine warfare mission for the ships, citing a trade-off between the cost of the ships and equipment versus the warfighting capability they’d actually deliver.
Assessing Russia’s first major naval loss of the war in Ukraine
Navy Lookout – In the early morning of 24 March, a Russian tank landing ship unloading in the occupied port of Berdyansk in Ukraine was destroyed by explosions and fire. Here we look at the background, the loss of this vessel and its potential implications.
Is There A Serious Sea Mine Threat In The Black Sea?
Naval News – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had a significant impact on the freedom of navigation in the Black Sea. While blockades of areas off the coast of Odessa restricted maritime routes, a NAVTEX message from the Russian station of Novorossiysk revealed a new threat: floating sea mines…
Sizing the Carriers—A Brief History of Alternatives
US Naval War College Review – In the end, the debate over aircraft carriers always boils down to cost; their acquisition costs are much higher than for any other single-item defense program, making them a natural target for criticism. Combined with a simplistic perception of vulnerability, high costs tend to cause critics to declare aircraft carriers unaffordable—but “compared to what?”
Cargo Ships As Missile Carriers Is One Of The Navy’s Options To Offset Cruiser Retirements
War Zone – The Navy needs more ships to carry missiles in order to overcome the loss of Ticonderoga cruisers, five of which could be retiring this year.
Satellite Images Confirm Russian Navy Landing Ship Was Sunk at Berdyansk
USNI News – The Russian landing ship attacked by Ukrainian forces this week at in the southern port city of Berdyansk has sunk, Pentagon officials confirmed on Friday.
New Heights of Russian Hypocrisy and “Unlawfare” in the Black Sea
CIMSEC – Despite Russia continuing to bomb civilians and target hospitals amid an aggressive war that is itself illegal, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has taken the time to issue a press statement complaining about Ukrainian mines in the Black Sea. Specifically, the FSB claims that the Ukrainian Navy has violated international law because a storm broke loose some of the submarine mines used to protect Ukrainian ports from the Russian invasion. Interestingly, Russia is claiming that Ukraine has contravened the provisions of the 1907 Hague Convention (VIII) on submarine mining, yet neither Russia nor Ukraine is actually a party to that Convention.
Chinese Investment Near Panama Canal, Strait of Magellan Major Concern for U.S. Southern Command
USNI News – Restrictions to the passage of traffic through the Panama Canal and the Strait of Magellan as China moves aggressively to expand its footprint across Central and South America are the top concerns of the current U.S. Southern Command head told a Senate panel.
A Generational Change in Naval Aviation Has Begun Amidst Tight Budgets, Fighter Gaps
USNI News – The Navy is making the first major changes to the carrier air wing in a generation. The service just wrapped up the first carrier deployment of the F-35C Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters – the first new fighter jet on a carrier in 20 years – and is a few years away from introducing the first unmanned aircraft into the air wing. But while the Navy is moving ahead with new platforms and ways of fighting, it is still wrestling with maintenance gaps and a fighter inventory too small to deploy and train efficiently. The service is also shifting its strategy to focus on the Indo-Pacific, a vast region for the carrier air wing to operate in, after two decades of providing close-air support for combat missions in the Middle East and Central Asia.
Russian Landing Ship Destroyed in Ukrainian Port
USNI News – The Ukrainian military destroyed a Russian Alligator-class landing ship in the port city of Berdyansk on Thursday, Ukrainian officials claimed.
How Japan Can Help Save Taiwan: Securing the First Island Chain
War on the Rocks – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has taught Taiwan many lessons about preparing for a possible Chinese invasion. Japan should also take this opportunity to learn. What more can Japan’s Self-Defense Forces do to prepare given their inevitable participation in any potential conflict over Taiwan?
France raises its alert level and deploys three nuclear submarines at sea
France Inter – France has just raised its level of alert on nuclear deterrence. Now, three of the submarines equipped with this weapon are at sea, an unprecedented situation.
The National Shipbuilding Strategy and the future of the Royal Navy
Navy Outlook – The much-delayed National Shipbuilding Strategy ‘refresh’ document was finally published on 10th March. Here we examine the plan in the context of the future Royal Navy fleet.
Colombian Navy Finds Clandestine Cartel Shipyard With 2 Narco Submarines
Newsweek – The Colombian Navy says it has uncovered a clandestine shipyard housing two “semi-submersible” vessels and other equipment for shipping tons of illegal drugs in a rural village of a municipality along the Pacific Ocean.
(Thanks to Alain)
Data as an Approach to Yemen’s Maritime Security Challenges
CIMSEC – Data can provide a strategic framework for addressing Yemen’s maritime security challenges while also strengthening partnerships and improving maritime domain awareness in the wider Red Sea Region. Specifically, data is an instrument for addressing three security challenges: maritime enforcement, coastal welfare, and rule of law.
Qatar signs deal with Leonardo for first ever Navy Operations Center
Breaking Defense – The Qatari Navy has signed a new contract with Italy’s Leonardo to develop a Naval Operation Center (NOC) for the military service, the first of its kind in the country. The center will ensure navy forces monitor and control Qatar’s territorial water, Exclusive Economic Zone and adjacent waters. The center, which will control radars and sea-based tracking in real time, will include electronic warfare systems.
(Thanks to Alain)
The Russian Baltic Fleet – Organisation and role within the Armed Forces in 2020
Swedish Defense Research Agency – The role of the Baltic Fleet has varied over time – ranging from projecting naval power on the world’s oceans, to being a force predominantly adapted for coastal defence. In this report, the role in 2020 of the Baltic Fleet within the Armed Forces is thoroughly examined, detailed and analysed. The result is more complex than that represented by the dichotomy between an oceangoing and a coastal naval force. In 2020, paradoxically, shore-based capabilities in the Kaliningrad region constitute a large part of the Baltic Fleet’s organisation, reflecting the significant role of the Baltic Fleet in the defence of Russia’s western border. However, this is at the same time only partly reflected in the Baltic Fleet’s ship inventory, as it retains a firm capability to conduct out-of-area operations. In addition, in the ongoing modernisation of the Russian Navy, the Baltic Fleet takes a prominent position due to its proximity to several key Russian naval educational and shipbuilding facilities in the Russian naval capital of Saint Petersburg.
US Navy considers alternatives to unmanned boats with missiles
Defense News – The U.S. Navy is nearly done assessing whether to put missile tubes on an unmanned surface vessel, comparing the idea to other options for getting missile launchers out to sea.
New Mogami-Class Frigate ‘Kumano’ 「くまの」Commissioned With JMSDF
Naval News – The Mogami-class / 30FFM (also known as FFM and previously known as 30DX) is the next generation multi-mission frigate designed for the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). A total number of 22 Frigates are expected to be procured for the JMSDF.
Fighting, Fishing, and Filming: The Islamic State’s Maritime Operations
CIMSEC – Even with the loss of land control in Iraq and Syria, IS guerrillas continue to operate along the region’s river systems. And with the organization’s international expansion and the establishment of a global network of insurgent hubs, the group’s branches, from the Sulu-Celebes Sea to the Lake Chad Basin, are more actively incorporating maritime activities into their insurgency campaigns.
US admiral says China fully militarized isles
AP – China has fully militarized at least three of several islands it built in the disputed South China Sea, arming them with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, laser and jamming equipment, and fighter jets in an increasingly aggressive move that threatens all nations operating nearby, a top U.S. military commander said Sunday.
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