Defense News – The United States and its allies have been chilling out this summer, but experts and officials say something has been missing that prevents them from making the most of the experience.
Author Archives: Naval Open Source Intelligence (NOSI)
The Mediterranean Sea Is One Dangerous Place
National Interest – James Holmes writes that Russia’s navy conducts live-fire exercises. Greek and Turkish ships collide while staking claims to undersea resources. Civil war rages in Libya and smolders in Syria, drawing in outside powers with competing agendas and little love for one another. European coast guards and navies struggle to stem a flood of refugees fleeing unrest in North Africa and the Levant. And on and on. While military and maritime folk rightly focus on managing events in maritime Asia, the headlines serve notice that the Mediterranean Sea is far from placid. Newsworthy events are commonplace of late.
Did the US Marine Corps give up on a big ship-based surveillance drone too soon?
Defense News – The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps both say they need expanded surveillance capabilities for a potential fight with China, but the Marines have cut bait on a big, ship-based system that some analysts say would make a big difference for both services.
Secretive Seawolf Submarine Makes Port Call In Europe For The Second Time In Two Months
War Zone – The advanced submarine has been spotted sailing to the Royal Navy’s main base in Scotland just weeks after making an unusually public visit to Norway.
Vietnam’s Struggles in the South China Sea: Challenges and Opportunities
CIMSEC – In recent years, China has deployed grey zone tactics, such as utilizing micro-aggressive measures such as maritime militia and the deployment of survey vessels to enforce its claims. Vietnam, as one of the major claimants involved, has been a frequent target of these tactics. With only weak, symbolic reactions to China’s aggression, Vietnam is without a proactive or effective strategy to fight back. There are policies that Vietnam should adopt, but at the heart of these policies is the need for more international cooperation in resolving the issues linked to China’s strategy.
MQ-9B SeaGuardian Maritime UAV: Which Missions ? Which Customers ?
Naval News – MQ-9B SeaGuardian maritime tests flights concluded off the coast of California on September 11th. They can probably be seen as the next step toward a worldwide export success. Indeed, if the first variant of the MQ-9 Predator-B mainly served as an ISR platform for above ground missions, the new MQ-9B SkyGuardian/SeaGuardian is likely to find much more customers in its maritime variant.
After a grueling deployment, the carrier Eisenhower gets set for a dubious ‘double pump’
Defense News – After shattering the U.S. Navy’s modern record for consecutive time at sea, the carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower is preparing for another deployment early next year just six months after returning.
Is the US Navy winning the war on maintenance delays?
Defense News – The U.S. Navy, beset by maintenance delays, is making progress on getting its ships out of the shipyards on time, fleet officials say.
Between the Giants: The Future of the Taiwanese Navy in an Era of Great Power Competition
CIMSEC – In this new era of great power competition the ROCN is designed to maximize utility with a small budget while facing a much wealthier and larger adversary. The small surface fleet patrols and guards the island’s territorial waters, while the anti-invasion force is designed to ensure that the PLA will not be able to land troops on the beach without paying a heavy toll. The future of the ROCN is likely one of further bifurcation, with the anti-invasion fleet continuing to dwarf the surface fleet. Pursuant to its hedgehog strategy, the ROCN will concentrate on raising the cost of conflict with China in the years to come in an attempt to prevent Chinese aggression, while the surface fleet will conduct goodwill tours and conduct joint operations with allies to build relationships and raise Taiwan’s image abroad.
Tracking China’s Third Aircraft Carrier
China Power – China is making steady progress in constructing what is believed to be its third aircraft carrier. Commercial satellite imagery collected on August 18, 2020, shows significant developments in the construction of the vessel and additional improvements to the infrastructure at Jiangnan Shipyard.
Navy Mulling Extending Service Lives of Nimitz-class Carriers
USNI News – The Navy is considering an extension of the service lives of the first few aircraft carriers in the Nimitz-class.
The US Navy is short almost 100 fighter pilots
Defense News – A rash of technical and safety problems has left the U.S. Navy’s fleet short by about 90 fighter pilots. Fixing the issue is an uphill battle.
Sweden and the Blue Society: New Challenges For a Small Navy
CIMSEC – The Royal Swedish Academy of War Science is presently undertaking a study of strategic and operational requirements for the Swedish Armed Forces in the 2030 timeframe. Its naval section has recently published its findings in a book, Vår marin för ett tryggt Sverige och ett starkt Europa. Marin strategi 2030 (Our Navy for a Secure Sweden and a Strong Europe. Naval Strategy 2030). This article discusses some of its findings.
In A War With China, Shipyards Are America’s Achilles’ Heel
National Interest – James Holmes writes that if ships were smaller and easier to construct—if they were more like aircraft—then manufacturing a ship would come to resemble manufacturing an airplane. Fast design improvements would become thinkable even as mass production replenished numbers of hulls. Let’s revivify the marine industrial base—and put it to work laying the keels for an anti-fragile fleet.
A South Pacific Island-Led Approach to Regional Maritime Security
CIMSEC – Given the strong influence of the maritime space on the national economies and local communities within the South Pacific, the deleterious effects of non-traditional threats to human security in the maritime domain are of significant concern to the island nations.
The Plan For Making Aging USMC F/A-18 Hornets Deadlier Than Ever For A Final Decade Of Service
War Zone – The U.S. Marine Corps is moving towards a streamlined fleet of Lockheed Martin F-35B and C-model Lightning IIs for all of its tactical aircraft (TACAIR) needs post-2030. While USMC leadership juggles the exact planning over the number of the stealthy fighters it will need to meet future requirements, both the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II and F/A-18A-D Hornet fleets will continue to provide Close Air Support (CAS) for Marines on the ground and air cover above the battlefield. Under current plans, the Harrier II will bow out in Fiscal Year 2028, followed by the Hornet in 2030.
Storm Clouds Gather Over F-35B Lightning As United Kingdom Prepares Defense Review
War Zone – As the United Kingdom prepares its next defense review — the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy — experts close to the program are increasingly talking about a significant cut in the country’s orders for F-35B Lightning jet fighters.
Amid Pacific naval arms race, US defense chief calls for increased funding for ships
Defense News – U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Wednesday announced called for increased funding for Navy shipbuilding after a major review of its force structure — but it is unclear where that funding will come from.
The Israeli Navy in a Changing Security Environment
CIMSEC – Looking forward, the Israeli Navy is facing a number of challenges.
Narco Submarine: Coast Guard Stop Smugglers In Pacific
Forbes – The San Diego based Coast Guard cutter Bertholf has interdicted a drug-laden narco-submarine in the Eastern Pacific. These vessels are extremely hard to detect and dangerous to board, but the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy and partner forces have stopped at least 19 so far this year.
(Thanks to Alain)
The Sino-Japanese Maritime Disputes in the East China Sea
CIMSEC – In August 2020 China lifted the annual summer ban on its fleet’s fishing in the East China Sea (ECS). Amid speculation that China may use the opportunity to assert its claim over the Japanese-controlled Senkaku Islands, U.S. and Japanese naval forces conducted a joint exercise in the ECS to deter China. While much focus is paid to the Chinese claim of sovereignty over the Senkakus (China calls them Diaoyu), the dispute over the islands is partially nested within a larger dispute over the broader Exclusive Economic Zone(EEZ)/Continental Shelf boundary dispute between the two countries. As such, the implications of the islands’ sovereignty over the broader maritime boundary dispute and the respective strategies of China and Japan warrant closer examination.
Will China upgrade its destroyers with ‘carrier killer’ missiles?
South China Morning Post – China’s Type 055 guided-missile destroyers have the potential to be refitted with “aircraft carrier killer” missiles but the weapons would have to be lighter and smaller than existing land-based technology, observers said.
China’s 3rd aircraft carrier ‘progressing smoothly’
Global Times – It has been nearly two years since the Xinhua News Agency revealed that China’s third aircraft carrier was under construction, and recent media reports suggest that work is progressing smoothly and the launch of the warship is near.
China’s New Carrier Early-Warning Plane Is More Than A Hawkeye Clone
Forbes – If the PLAN’s carriers sail east into the Pacific or south to the Indian Ocean they may be vulnerable to air attack. This is because they lack airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft. But the new KJ-600 plane is about to change that.
The Advanced Thinking Behind Sweden’s New A-26 Submarine
Forbes – Sweden’s next type of submarine, the A-26 Blekinge Class, promises to take stealth to another level. And not just by even quieter AIP. One of its secret ingredients will be uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs).
You must be logged in to post a comment.