Inside Russia’s Laika Next Generation Attack Submarine

Naval News – The Project 545 ‘Laika’ was first revealed in the background of a media report on a Russian defense exhibition in December. Although it has not been officially confirmed the new design is likely to be the next generation Russian attack submarine project known as Husky. The name Laika refers to a breed of Siberian hunting dog very similar to the husky.

Cutter Funding Welcomed But More Investments Needed to Sustain Coast Guard

USNI News – While the Coast Guard Fiscal Year 2021 budget funded two important cutters programs, the service’s top official said more investment is needed to support the demanding daily operations at sea and at home. That includes closing the growing backlog of infrastructure repairs and updating failing information technology and communications systems.

Canada’s CP-140 Aurora MPA Upgraded To Block IV Takes First Flight

Naval News – The Government of Canada is modernizing its fleet of 14 CP-140 Aurora aircraft. The Aurora Incremental Modernization Project (AIMP) involves 23 individual projects to acquire, integrate and install new mission systems and sensors onto the CP-140 for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. This project is being executed in a phased approach with four blocks; blocks I, II and III are complete, and block IV is now in the implementation phase.

An Integrated Approach to Peer Competition in the Undersea Warfare Domain

USNI Blog – Today, some U.S. military leaders would contend that the antisubmarine warfare (ASW) blade is dull because of a lack of attention during the global war on terror. U.S. forces track adversary submarines with MH-60R helicopters, P-8 Poseidon aircraft, surface ships, and submarines. Together, this array of tools could pose a serious challenge to U.S. adversaries. But the U.S. Navy currently does not collate these tools into a sufficiently coherent unit.

The Raisina Dialogues: Naval Convergence in the Indo-Pacific

CIMSEC – The annual Raisina Dialogue, hosted by India since 2016, is useful for highlighting the process of maritime strategic convergence between Australia, France, India, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S. The Raisina Dialogue was initially set up by India as a high-level forum for international discussion. Tellingly, Chinese officials have never been invited.

Iron Fist Teaching Japanese Amphib Force to Synch with U.S. Marines

USNI News – This year’s Iron Fist exercise marked the first time this group of 310 Japanese soldiers – 3rd Company with 2nd Amphibious Rapid Deployment Regiment Landing Team – launched from a ship and landed ashore in a coordinated mission alongside Marines, who earlier had launched their AAVs from the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Portland (LPD-27).