War on the Rocks – The Kremlin’s preoccupation with prevailing in Ukraine is pushing it to contemplate geostrategic risks and adopt a more proactive approach in regions like the Red Sea. In the past, the Yemeni quagmire had limited appeal even to Russia, a country known for its inclination to exploit crises around the globe. But Moscow’s calculations may be shifting. The Kremlin’s warming ties with Yemen’s Houthi rebels could enable the latter to expand and intensify their destabilizing activities, especially if advanced military hardware changes hands.
Yearly Archives: 2024
Are Royal Navy nuclear deterrent submarines being re-supplied mid-patrol?
Navy Lookout – A recent article in The Sun newspaper suggests that submariners were almost “starved’ while on an epic six-month patrol because the boat could not be resupplied with food as planned. Here, we briefly consider the implications of this report.
NATO Flexes With Simultaneous Nuclear Strike And Naval Warfare Exercises
The War Zone – NATO’s yearly Steadfast Noon nuclear readiness drills coincided with Strike Warrior that featured a Royal Navy carrier group at its center.
Our First Look At The Ghost Shark Uncrewed Submarine Underwater
The War Zone – We have now gotten our first look at the Ghost Shark extra-large autonomous undersea vehicle (XL-AUV) operating submerged thanks to the Autonomous Warrior 2024 maritime autonomous capabilities demonstration in Australia. The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the first known customer for the highly modular Ghost Shark, which manufacturer Anduril is now pitching elsewhere, including to the U.S. Navy.
China’s navy is not trying to dominate the world, so what is it trying to do?
Forces News – China’s naval power is growing, having an impact on regional tensions and seeing ships from neighbouring nations targeted by Beijing’s fleet. However, according to one expert, China’s navy is not trying to dominate the world’s oceans, which begs the question, what is it trying to do? Professor Andrew Lambert, Laughton Professor of Naval History in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, said it is attempting to “maintain control of a vital sea area”.
‘Not Enough’: US Coast Guard’s new ops posture statement raises alarm on need for more money
Breaking Defense – Faced with an increasing number of missions, personnel and materiel readiness shortfalls, and “finite resources,” the US Coast Guard today published its first “Operational Posture” document, which a senior officer said is intended to convey to lawmakers and the public how stretched his service has become.
Italy’s DPP 2024-2026: Strengthening Of Italian Navy And Maritime-Related Programmes
Naval News – According to the recently unveiled Italian Defence Multi-Year Planning document (DPP, Documento Programmatico Pluriennale) for 2024-26, priorities in the naval domain include means to counter emerging threats, the renewal and enhancement of the underwater, surface and airborne platforms and weapons components together with the strengthening of the joint 5th generation aircraft expeditionary force.
Royal Navy leadership making every effort to resolve dispute over RFA pay and conditions
Navy Lookout – While the main attention has been focused on the core issue of pay for Royal Fleet Auxiliary sailors, the long-running dispute between the Maritime Trade Unions (MTUs) and the MoD is more complex than has been presented in the media.
Infantry Wins Battles, Logistics Wins Wars: The Role of the Army’s “Little Navy” in the Pacific
Center for Maritime Strategy – When one thinks about war with China in the Taiwan Strait—or in the Pacific broadly—one may rightly imagine large naval engagements and heroic battles led by the U.S. Marine Corps. However, the U.S. Army also plays a critical role in a domain dominated by water.
Russians Helped Houthis Target International Shipping: Report
The War Zone – A new report claims Russia gave the Yemeni rebel group targeting data in large measure to keep the U.S. entangled in the region and draw resources and attention away from Moscow’s grinding war in Ukraine.
China tightens ‘counter-stealth’ military radar net around South China Sea, says report
Breaking Defense – As China increasingly engages in what the US calls dangerous behavior against its regional neighbors in the contentious South China Sea, Beijing also aims to raise its situational awareness there with new radar facilities on a tiny island.
German P-8s To Fly From U.K. To Help Counter Russian Submarine Threat
The War Zone – The future deployment of German sub-hunting planes to the United Kingdom is part of a much broader defense agreement signed today.
Japan Expands Carrier Capabilities With F-35B, Drones Could Be Next
The War Zone – U.S. Marine Corps F-35B stealth fighter has for the first time operated aboard Japan’s biggest in-service warship, the Izumo class ‘multifunctional destroyer’ Kaga. We have previously reported on the significant modifications made to this ship to ensure it can operate the short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) jets, which Japan is also acquiring. At the same time, there are signs that Japan may also be looking to expand the fixed-wing capabilities of this class of vessel, including drones and potentially other crewed platforms.
Part 2: In Defense of Conventional Punishment: Why Japan’s Defensive Realism Requires Offensive Capability
Center for Maritime Strategy – Japan’s shift toward acquiring offensive capabilities is a necessary response to the increasingly complex security environment in the Indo-Pacific. The blurred distinction between offensive and defensive capabilities, particularly in naval warfare, makes it crucial for Japan to enhance its deterrence posture. Restricting Japan’s military to purely defensive measures ignores strategic realities and risks undermining its security. To safeguard both Japanese and broader regional security, Tokyo must prioritize acquiring offensive capabilities that pave the way for effective deterrence by denial and punishment in the long term.
RFA Tidesurge spends two months supporting Royal Navy and NATO warships in the North Atlantic
Navy Lookout – While the RFA is struggling to get ships to sea, the most active vessel in its fleet, RFA Tidesurge has been sustaining allied warships in the Atlantic and High North.
Russia Designing Nuclear-powered Submarines to Transport Gas from the Arctic
MarineLink – Russia has begun designing nuclear-powered submarines to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Arctic to Asia to try to nearly halve the journey time along the Northern Sea Route (NSR), a senior state official has said.
(Thanks to Alain)
Our First Look At Land-Based Aegis Missile Defense System In Guam
The War Zone – Elements of the land-based version of the Aegis system are now in Guam, but they are just part of a very ambitious air defense upgrade for the island.
SSGNs and SSKs? Imagining an expanded Royal Navy submarine service
Navy Lookout – A recent paper produced by the Council on Geostrategy suggested that the RN should buy at least one additional Dreadnought-class submarine reconfigured as an SSGN to launch conventionally armed missiles. Here we consider this proposal and other options for increasing the submarine force strength.
U.S. Navy Resumes At-Sea Testing Of BAE Systems’ Hypervelocity Projectile
Naval News – U.S. Navy work on a guided hypersonic projectile for air defense has resumed with at-sea testing as concerns grow over missile expenditure and costs in the Red Sea.
Russian Pacific Fleet Redux: Japan’s North as a New Center of Gravity
War on the Rocks – The fact that Japan is a neighbor of Russia is often overlooked, especially in the West. In fact, Japan has had no land border with Russia for 79 years. But Japan has always faced Russia across the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk, and until 35 years ago was at the forefront of the Cold War in Asia. Now, as the geopolitical conflict between Russia and the West reemerges, Japan is once again on the front line.
Iran hosts joint naval drills with Russia, Oman in Indian Ocean
VOA – Naval drills hosted by Iran with the participation of Russia and Oman and observed by nine other countries began in the Indian Ocean on Saturday.
Carriers from space (part 2): Contemporary use of satellite imagery for open source intelligence
The Space Review – Although the availability of commercial satellite imagery has proven to be a boon to Western open-source intelligence analysts, there is also reason to believe that China is taking advantage of it as well.
Mexico navy seizes more than eight tonnes of illicit cargo in record drugs bust
The Guardian – Six boats among impounded assets worth at least $100m off country’s south-west coast, navy says, after arresting 23 people
How one warship thwarting a Houthi attack a year ago changed the Navy
Defense News – The men and women aboard the Navy destroyer Carney could be forgiven for thinking they were headed toward a quiet cruise on Oct. 7, 2023, as the warship steamed east across the Atlantic Ocean to begin its latest deployment. But that day heralded the start of a great upending for the U.S. Navy, after Hamasmilitants streamed into Israel and murdered more than 1,200 people, sparking a war that continues to threaten to engulf the Middle East to this day.
Carriers from space (part 1)
The Space Review – Reconnaissance photos of shipyards and port facilities and even carriers at sea were common during the Cold War. And in fact, they remain highly useful tools today, for both the intelligence community and the proliferating community of amateur and professional open source—“OSINT”—intelligence analysts.
NOSI - Naval Open Source Intelligence™ 
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