CIMSEC – How might Russian maritime forces be brought to bear against the United States and its allies? This question is particularly critical as fears of inadvertent escalation in Ukraine increase. Understanding the answer requires a close reading of what Russian military theorists themselves write about warfare, matched with an examination of maritime geography; combat power; and intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting (ISR-T). Constraints in all of these areas mean that rather than solely seeking out targets at sea for a series of navy-on-navy fights, Russian maritime forces are likely to be more effective at operations that focus on striking “critical objects” on land rather than ship-to-ship combat at sea.
Author Archives: Naval Open Source Intelligence (NOSI)
First Look At Poland’s New Miecznik Frigate
Naval News – A visualization of Babcock’s Arrowhead-140PL design, which was chosen for Poland’s Miecznik (Swordfish) frigate procurement program, was unveiled last week.
Can the UK supply anti-ship missiles to Ukraine?
Navy Lookout – The UK government says it will send further lethal aid to help defend Ukraine from invasion. Various media reports also say Britain will send anti-ship missiles, including the venerable Harpoon system. Here we consider how realistic that may be and other options to hold the Russian navy at risk in the Black Sea.
Littoral Combat Teams Need Light Infantry, Not Less
USNI Proceedings – Current proposals for littoral combat teams stretch too few people too thin.
Aboard The Marine’s First F-35B-Packed ‘Lightning Carrier’
War Zone – The Marines turned USS Tripoli into a ‘Lightning Carrier’ packed with over 20 F-35Bs. We were there.
US Navy’s unmanned vessel plans need improvement, watchdog agency says
Navy Times – While the U.S. Navy is steaming full speed ahead in developing unmanned surface and undersea drones to augment the fleet of the future, the information technology and artificial intelligence that will drive these platforms remains a work in progress. The sea service needs to better map out its efforts, according to a government watchdog report released this week.
Extended Russian Ukraine Invasion has Stranded Merchant Mariners, Crippled Wheat Production
USNI News – Nearly six weeks into the war in Ukraine, merchant ships in the Black Sea have become stranded, halting the import and export of vital commodities, a situation that could have wide-ranging impacts on the global economy. With the Black Sea blockaded by Russia and Ukraine placing mines around its ports, merchant ships can neither come nor go, leaving the mariners aboard stuck in a war zone.
The Marine Corps and the Naval Campaign: The Necessary Context of Debate
War on the Rocks – For the Marine Corps to fulfill its core purpose, it needs to anticipate and respond to the future battlefield’s challenges and ensure that it can be a critical and decisive component of a modern naval campaign. It may be true that the Marine Corps is still here precisely because of its ability to radically reshape itself to meet the emerging demands of warfare. Change, however, is never an easy process, and criticisms surrounding the Marine Corps’ current initiatives are not a radical departure from historical resistance to change within the service.
Russia’s Most Powerful Warship In The Black Sea Is Operating In A Pattern
Naval News – The Ukrainian Navy was no match for the massive concentration of Russian naval forces in the Black Sea. Yet Russia’s most impressive warship there, the Slava class cruiser Moskva, has mostly remained out of sight. We can shine a light on what she has been up to so far in the war.
Netherlands To Extend The Life Of Walrus Class Submarines
Naval News – The Dutch Ministry of Defence announced that the service life of the Walrus-class submarines will be extended.
(Thanks to Alain)
Despite Setback, U.S. Army Forges Ahead With Maneuver Support Vessel (Light)
Naval News – The U.S. Army’s Maneuver Support Vessel-Light (MSV-(L)) is intended to replace the Army’s Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM-8) with a new vessel that can sail at speeds much faster than the venerable LCM-8 and also carry a heavier cargo payload. The MSV(L) will be able to carry a single U.S. Army’s M1A2SEP Main Battle Tank onto the beach.
Nigeria Acquires New Warship for Maritime Security
Business Post – Nigeria is set to boost its coastal and regional waters security with the acquisition of a new warship, Landing Ship Tank – 100, Nigerian Navy Ship KADA (NNS KADA).
(Thanks to Alain)
Marines Load Record 16 F-35Bs Aboard USS Tripoli Test of ‘Lightning Carrier’ Concept
USNI News – The Marines broke a record on Sunday when they loaded the most 16 F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters ever aboard a big-deck amphibious warship.
Navy and Marines Divided Over the Amphibious Fleet’s Future as Delays and Cancellations Mount in FY 2023 Budget Request
USNI News – After years of working together on naval integration, there is a growing split between the Navy and Marine Corps, showing how the services have come to an impasse over the future of the amphibious fleet.
Beware Buyer’s Remorse: Why the Coast Guard Needs to Steer Clear of the LCS
CIMSEC – With all the negative publicity surrounding the Navy’s littoral combat ship (LCS) program, it would seem self-evident the Coast Guard has no interest in acquiring the LCS as a hand-me-down. However, with the recent publishing of “In Dire Need: Why the Coast Guard Needs the LCS,” a newly found interest in acquiring problematic navy platforms may be growing and deserves to be judged on its merits.
Navy, Marines push ‘campaigning forward’ strategy as vital to deterring China
Defense News – The upcoming National Defense Strategy will highlight “campaigning forward” as a pillar of future operations, and top naval leaders say the force is already moving in this direction.
Upgrading the Royal Navy’s Type 45 Destroyers
Navy Lookout – The Type 45 Destroyer is the Royal Navy’s primary Anti-Air Warfare (AAW) vessel. Other than the propulsion issues discussed in depth elsewhere, this article documents what has already been done to upgrade the class and the potential improvements to be applied later in their service lives.
China gains a foothold in Australia’s backyard
BBC – Late last week, a proposed security treaty between China and a tiny chain of islands in the Pacific sent shock waves across the ocean.
War Studies Primer
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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Stand-in Forces: Adapt or Perish
USNI Proceedings – Small, mobile, and lethal, Marine Corps stand-in forces will be ready to deploy on short notice to disrupt an adversary’s plans at every point.
Frogmen Solve Hard Problems—From and on the Sea
USNI Proceedings – Naval special warfare is the nation’s naval commando force.
Navy Wants To Cut Two Nearly New Sea Base Ships That Are Like Nothing Else
War Zone – The U.S. Navy wants to decommission both of its Montford Point class expeditionary transfer dock ships as part of its budget plans for the 2023 Fiscal Year. Cutting these vessels, which are both less than a decade old, relatively young by ship standards, is ostensibly part of a broader reorganization of the Navy and Marine Corps to focus more on distributed operations. This logic seems highly questionable given that these floating logistics nodes, which are unlike anything else the service has now, offer capabilities that would be ideal for those new concepts of operations.
Insights For Marine (And Beyond) Force Design From the Russo-Ukrainian War
War on the Rocks – While it is too soon to reach any definitive lessons learned from the ongoing war in Ukraine, some immediate insights can inform ongoing U.S. and NATO military force design and defense investment priorities.
US Navy deploys 3 spy ships near China at once ‘in support of submarine warfare’
Global Times – The US Navy has reportedly deployed three spy ships simultaneously to sensitive waters near China over the past week in a provocative move experts said on Thursday aims to boost its submarine and anti-submarine warfare capabilities against the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
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