– Kyodo News – A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer and a Chinese fishing boat collided on the high seas off the coast of Shanghai on Monday.
Author Archives: Naval Open Source Intelligence (NOSI)
Does COVID-19 provide an opportunity for further geo-strategic disruption?
– Defence Connect – The advent of COVID-19 has presented a major challenge to the established global economic, political and strategic order, revealing the fragility of many nations and their traditional metrics of national power. For former US Marine officer and US diplomat Grant Newsham, this presents some serious challenges for the liberal-democratic world order.
Fatigue is the Navy’s Black Lung Disease
– USNI Proceedings – The service must address this threat to the lifelong health of its sailors.
Entire crew of nuclear submarine in coronavirus quarantine
– Barents Observer – A civilian who went onboard the Russian cruise-missile carrier “Orel” had met with a man who tested positive to the coronavirus.
Now Both Aircraft Carriers In The Western Pacific Have COVID-19 Cases, Raising Readiness Concerns
– War Zone – Two sailors onboard the Nimitz class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, which forward-deployed in Japan and presently pier-side there, have tested positive for the COVID-19 novel coronavirus. This comes just a day after the U.S. Navy announced it had quarantined the entire crew of another aircraft carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, on their ship in port in Guam after a number of sailors contracted the virus.
Short On Pilots, Marines Debate Size Of F-35 Fleet
– Breaking Defense – “Our continued inability to build and sustain an adequate inventory of F-35 pilots leads me to conclude that we must be pragmatic regarding our ability to support” the program,” Gen. David Berger says in a blunt new 10-year force design plan.
Nearly 4 years after commissioning, the US Navy is about to get a fully working stealth destroyer
– Defense News – The U.S. Navy’s first stealth destroyer, the Zumwalt, is on track to have its combat system installation completed and delivered within days.
Turkey sends secret arms shipments into Libya
– BBC – …escorted by the Turkish navy.
Royal Navy shadows Russian ships after ‘high activity’ in Channel
– Guardian – Nine Royal Navy ships were involved in a major operation shadowing seven Russian vessels who had lingered in the Channel for several days this month as the coronavirus crisis was beginning to worsen in the UK.
Check Out This Soviet Submarine Firing A Nuclear Ballistic Missile While Docked Pierside
– War Zone – The Russian Navy has reportedly looked into reviving this tactic, but for cruise-missile armed submarines.
In the Pacific, a COVID-19 outbreak sidelines deployed aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt
– Navy Times – To combat a growing outbreak of COVID-19 on the carrier Theodore Roosevelt, the Navy has ordered the ship to pull into Guam and have the whole crew of 5,000-plus sailors tested for the novel coronavirus.
The Currency of Mission Command
– CIMSEC – Information is the currency of mission command.
Taiwan military stages exercise to fight off mock invasion
– South China Morning Post – Taiwan has staged large-scale military drills throughout the island, including an exercise to repel an invading force, against a backdrop of rising tensions with Beijing.
Marine Corps Force Design 2030
– US Marine Corps – This report describes the progress of the Marine Corps on my watch in preparing for the sweeping changes needed to meet the principal challenges facing the institution: effectively playing our role as the nation’s naval expeditionary force-in-readiness, while simultaneously modernizing the force in accordance with the National Defense Strategy (NDS) – and doing both within the fiscal resources we are provided.
Will US aircraft carrier become next Diamond Princess?
– Global Times – Questions have been raised over whether there will be large-scale novel coronavirus (COVID-19) infections on a deployed US warship after the US aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt reported three confirmed cases on Tuesday in what is believed to be the first such COVID-19 case on the deployed warship.
French Navy Mistral-Class LHDs To Fight COVID-19 In Reunion & Caribbean
– Naval News – French President Emmanuel Macron announced yesterday that French Navy Mistral-class LHDs Mistral and Dixmude will be deployed to Reunion Island and the Caribbean in support of the Coronavirus relief efforts. These new deployments will take place as part of the new operation “Résilience”.
With Iran tensions high, a US military command pushes a dubious carrier strategy
– Defense News – Amid heightened tension with Iran, the U.S. Navy is operating two carriers in the Middle East, and all signs point to increasing pressure from U.S. Central Command to maintain aircraft carrier presence that has ebbed in recent years as the U.S. focuses on competition with China and Russia.
Unclogging Toilets at $400,000 a Flush Hits Navy’s Costs
– Bloomberg – New toilets on the Navy’s two newest aircraft carriers clog so frequently that the ships’ sewage systems must be cleaned periodically with specialized acids costing about $400,000 a flush, according to a new congressional audit outlining $130 billion in underestimated long-term maintenance costs.
First modernized Akula attack submarine returns to Northern Fleet
– Barents Observer – The K-157 “Vepr” is first of five upgraded Akula-class subs that are about to return to active duty in the Barents Sea.
Project 955A Borei-A SSBN To Reinforce Russian Navy Pacific Fleet
– Naval News – Borei-A-class SSBN of project 955A will operate in the Far East. Five out of eight submarines will serve in the Pacific fleet. The Russian Navy is restoring the Far Eastern nuclear arsenal which was nearly lost thirty years ago.
New Marine Corps Cuts Will Slash All Tanks, Many Heavy Weapons As Focus Shifts to Lighter, Littoral Forces
– USNI News – The Marine Corps will soon lay out its path to achieve a 2030 force optimized for conflict with China in the littorals – a force that will completely divest of its tanks and slash most of its artillery cannon battalions, instead focusing on developing light mobility options to get around island chains with the assistance of unmanned systems and mobile anti-ship missiles.
US Navy must stay at sea and stay vigilant to defeat coronavirus
– The Hill – James Holmes writes that last week Adm. Mike Gilday, the chief of naval operations or America’s top naval officer, released a video message reviewing precautions the service has taken to fend off the coronavirus. Chief among them: enlisting water as a barrier against contagion. Themistocles’ fleet staged a waterborne defense of land against human antagonists; the U.S. Navy fleet can defend its crews from landborne pestilence by remaining at sea. It can self-isolate.
Colombia’s narco-submarines – a photo essay
– Guardian – For years, they were referred to in hushed tones simply as “Big Foot” – a mythical creature rumored but never seen – but these days, the narco-submarines used by Colombia’s drug cartels have become almost commonplace.
Inside the U.S. Military’s Plans to Stop ‘Civil Disturbances’ Amid Coronavirus Pandemic, Something They Haven’t Done in 30 Years
– Newsweek – William Arkin writes that with the National Guard now active in 22 states and governors continuing to declare more severe emergency measures daily, the U.S. military is preparing forces to assume a larger role in the coronavirus response, including the controversial mission of quelling “civil disturbances” and enforcing the law, a mission that the military has not engaged in for almost 30 years.
Explosive Boat Threat To Tankers Off Yemen
– Naval News – 2020 continues to see explosive boats being launched against tanker traffic in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea area. They also pose a threat to warships, particularly of the Saudi-led coalition. This represents a persistent threat to International SLOCs (Sea Lines of Communication) in the Southern Red Sea, Bab-el-Mandeb strait, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea. The threat can exist over 100 nautical miles off the coast.
