We invite you to try War Studies Primer – an introductory course on the study of war and military history. Its purpose is to provide an introduction to the study of war.
War Studies Primer is presented as a lecture curriculum at the university level. It is a free, non-credit, self-study course that consists of 28 topics and over 1,900 slides and is updated on a yearly basis.
Look at slides 2 and 3 in the War Studies Primer for its Table of Contents, and then choose a lecture to read and enjoy.
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US Department of Defense – The latest update from the US government.
USNI News – China is building more modern surface combatants and expanding its aircraft carrier and logistics force to grow its naval influence further from shore, according to the Pentagon’s annual report on Chinese military power.
CIMSEC – As we look at our readiness to fight and win at sea, it is clear that our organizational structure is not optimized for the challenges ahead. For the past 30 years, the Surface Force’s administrative and operational chains of command centered on the Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) and the Amphibious Squadron (PHIBRON). These core organizations stand at the crux between the Surface Type Commander (TYCOM) and the Carrier Strike Group Commander or, alternatively, the numbered fleet commander. They are charged with ensuring the material readiness of their ships as well as their operational employment in times of conflict. This model has supported our force in the decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union. However, as we confront the return of strategic competition, a renewed focus on maritime power demands evolving the way we prepare our force to fight and win.
War Zone – The U.S. military has made yet another unusual public announcement about the location and activities of one of the U.S. Navy’s 14 Ohio class nuclear missile submarines, or SSBNs. U.S. Strategic Command’s official statement today disclosed a visit by the USS West Virginia to the British island territory of Diego Garcia, which hosts major American military facilities, earlier this year.
War on the Rocks – Europe is waking up to the dangers of overreliance on authoritarian powers, but largely lacks the toolkit necessary to mitigate dependencies on the very regimes most willing to exploit them. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent weaponization of Europe’s energy dependency on Moscow has hit every corner of the continent’s economy. Meanwhile, Xi Jinping has a track record of imposing economic coercion in response to slights against Beijing. While the discussion of these risks has advanced, the policy framework and how it is used to respond to such dependencies needs urgent change. Europe may be rapidly adapting after the fact to Russia’s coercive use of its control over European critical infrastructure and the oil and natural gas that flow through it, but the opposite has happened regarding China’s increasing role in European ports and the shipping services that flow through them.
Navy Lookout – As the first of class, HMS Glasgow prepares to begin the fitting out phase of construction, here we take an overview of the Type 26 frigate design. This is a highly complex warship and it is not possible to cover every aspect of the vessel in a single article but this provides a primer on the overall design, weapons and sensors.
New Yorker – For decades, China has coveted its island neighbor. Is Xi Jinping ready to seize it?
An excellent introduction as well as a thorough review of the current state of play, especially from the Taiwanese side.
War on the Rocks – When the U.S. seeks to counter aggression, state-sponsored terrorism, or other threats without conducting a full-scale war, the use of naval mining for strategic ends could help it to achieve its aims, as an alternative or complement to aerial bombing. In addition to economic and diplomatic measures, which may not be sufficient, demonstratively mining a nation’s ports can apply pressure both directly and via third parties. Without casualties, and while managing potential escalatory risks, the U.S. can coerce another nation to modify its behavior. The naval mining of North Vietnam was the archetype of such a campaign, one which achieved its limited aims of freeing Americans and enabling withdrawal. Given a modicum of investment in U.S. mining capabilities, overt naval mining could be used to coerce adversarial states by constraining them with an invisible blockade.
War on the Rocks – The U.S. Marine Corps has made it a priority to address the rise of great-power competition in the Indo-Pacific. British forces in the Falklands operated in a similar manner to how the commandant envisions marines operating in the future: small formations distributed across vast expanses of maritime terrain, relatively limited indirect fire support, and limited traditional close air support. Vertical lift aircraft were critical to enabling British maneuver and logistical sustainment in the South Atlantic. But these aircraft are largely absent from new Marine Corps concepts.
CDR Salamander – An address delivered by Claude Berube, PhD in which he was asked to address the issue of readiness for war at the Annual Congress of the Naval Order of the United States.
Global Times – The US recently claimed that China has fielded new, longer-range submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) to threaten the US, but Chinese military experts said on Sunday that China’s SLBM development aims to defend itself from nuclear blackmail, and that the US military’s speculation has ulterior motives which would see it gain more funds to enhance its capabilities.
The Atlantic – Mark Bowden says Russia’s war on Ukraine has given us just a peek of the world to come.
Navy Lookout – While meeting with his Norwegian counterpart on board HMS Queen Elizabeth in Oslo today, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has finally confirmed the RN will purchase the Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile (NSM) to fulfil the interim anti-ship missile requirement.
USNI News – Two Japanese Maya-class destroyers successfully test-fired SM-3 interceptors against ballistic missile targets off Hawaii last week.
Breaking Defense – The Zumwalt class has become notorious for its cost overruns. Now, the Navy is considering even further changes.
War Zone – New wing kits allow P-8A crews to lob Mk 54 torpedoes at enemy submarines at standoff ranges while flying at higher altitudes.
CSIS – When considered more holistically, the implications of an attack on Taiwan would be grim for Beijing, even if Chinese forces “successfully” capture the island. China would probably be diplomatically and economically isolated from key advanced economies, and Chinese leader Xi Jinping would have to tread a narrow path to avoid dire consequences for China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as a whole. This analysis helps clarify what could be at stake for the world and reaffirms the importance of deterring Beijing from contemplating such an attack on Taiwan.
AP – A Philippine military commander says the Chinese coast guard has forcibly seized apparent Chinese rocket debris that was being towed by the Philippine navy, in the latest confrontation in the disputed South China Sea.
Naval News – It appears that a Ukrainian maritime drone, similar to those using in an attack on Sevastopol, has struck Novorossiysk. This would be strategically important, showing that more of the Russian Navy is under threat. Efforts may be underway to suppress this story in Russian media.
USNI News – U.S. aircraft carriers USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) and USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) will exercise with aircraft carriers from France, Italy and the United Kingdom as part of a joint operation across Europe meant to show NATO interoperability.
USNI News – During a ceremony that marked the 77th anniversary of its founding on Nov. 11, the Republic of Korea (ROK) Navy revealed a new operational concept combining manned and unmanned systems.
War Zone – With tensions in the Taiwan Strait remaining high, we look at how Taiwan’s armed forces would prepare to face a Chinese invasion.
USNI News – U.S. Central Command and Israeli officials are blaming Iran for a Tuesday attack on an oil tanker linked to an Israeli billionaire off the coast of Oman.
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