– USNI News – The role of the aircraft carrier is a keystone issue as the Navy crafts its fleet of the future.
Author Archives: Naval Open Source Intelligence (NOSI)
France Confirms Order For Six New POM Offshore Patrol Vessels
– Naval News – The French Ministry of Armed Forces on January 17 confirmed an order for six new offshore patrol vessels (Patrouilleur d’Outre-Mer – POM) for the French Navy (Marine Nationale).
Two Small-Unit Leaders Respond the Marine Commandant’s Note
– War on the Rocks – What impact will the team leader, squad leader, platoon commander, and company commander have in the Marine Corps’ future? What can the small-unit leader do to make a difference within the organization?
The Spectacular & Public Collapse of Navy Force Planning
– Breaking Defense – Planning for a 21st century Navy of unmanned vessels, distributed operations, and great power competition has collapsed. Trapped by a 355-ship force goal, a reduced budget, and a fixed counting methodology, the Navy can’t find a feasible solution to the difficult question of how its forces should be structured. As a result, the Navy postponed announcement of its new force structure assessment (FSA) from January to “the spring.” That means the navy will not be able to influence the 2021 budget year much, forfeiting a major opportunity to reshape the fleet and bring it in line with the national defense strategy.
Down to the Sea in USVs
– CIMSEC – Norman Polmar and Scott Truver write that a family of large, medium, and small USVs will take advantage of new technologies – some only dimly perceived in early 2020 – to provide increased capabilities to the Fleet with reduced construction, maintenance, and manpower. Getting there from today’s fiscal environment is critically important, and there is still much work to do to increase trust and develop CONOPs, but the potential for these unmanned vehicles to transform the future Navy is astounding.
UK MoD Procuring 5 MANTAS T12 USVs For Royal Navy And Joint Forces Command
– Naval News – The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) awarded a procurement contract to Maritime Tactical Systems (MARTAC) of Melbourne, Florida, for the procurement of 5 MANTAS T12 unmanned surface vehicles (USV).
Navy Rethinking Fundamental Training for SWO Skills, Crafting More Complex Pre-Deployment Exercises
– USNI News – The Navy’s surface warfare community wants to increase the proficiency of its officers and its ship crews by reassessing how it teaches fundamental warfighting skills and adding more complexity to pre-deployment training.
The U.S. Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship: A Successful Catastrophe?
– National Interest – James Holmes asks if it is time to admit the U.S. Navy’s littoral combat ships are a failure? Yes. And no—maybe.
U.S. Navy’s First MQ-4C Triton UAS Begins Initial Pacific Deployment
– Naval News – The U.S. Navy’s first MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) have arrived in Guam for their initial deployment in the Pacific theater.
To Be Most Ready When the Nation is Least Ready, The Marines Need a New Headquarters
– War on the Rocks – Setting the Marine Corps back on the right path first requires fixing the structural ways in which the service’s decisions are made and implemented within Headquarters Marine Corps. Without addressing the major imbalances that have led to the service “not [being] organized, trained, equipped, or postured to meet the demands of the rapidly evolving future operating environment,” future commandants will likely find themselves in the same predicaments again and again.
China likely to step up coastguard port calls as part of South China Sea soft power play
– South China Morning Post – Beijing is likely to send more coastguard vessels on port calls to try to take the rough edges off the service’s image as part of a militia fleet used to press territorial claims in the South China Sea
How China Is Practicing—and Perfecting—an Amphibious Invasion of Taiwan
– National Interest – It takes a lot of hard work.
China’s new killer robot ship goes through its first sea trial
– South China Morning Post – China’s new killer robot ship that can carry out anti-submarine and anti-ship missions has undergone its first sea trial.
Royal Saudi Navy Inducts First Batch Of CMN HSI 32 Interceptors
– Naval News – The Royal Saudi Navy officially inducted a first batch of two HSI Interceptor fast patrol crafts
Donald Trump must split up Putin and Xi, the new odd couple
– Niall Ferguson – Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of Henry Kissinger’s secret flight to Beijing, which set in motion the opening of relations between America and China. It was the pivotal moment of the Cold War, exploiting the Sino-Soviet split by effectively aligning Washington and Beijing against Moscow.
The ultimate goal of American strategy in the 2020s must be to achieve a mirror image of that manoeuvre, driving Putin and Xi apart and drawing Russia into that western configuration which alone can save declining Russia from being swallowed up by rising China.
Here’s how the DDG-1000′s stealthy hull design handles stormy seas
– Defense News – After years of stability questions about the hull design for the Navy’s new three-ship class of stealth destroyers, the commanding officer of the lead ship, USS Zumwalt, is satisfied: It handles the seas as well, if not better, than previous classes of surface combatants.
Textron’s Common USV Ready for Production, Experimenting with Lethal Surface Warfare Payloads
– USNI News – Even as Textron is awaiting a decision to move from development of its Mine Countermeasures Unmanned Surface Vehicle (MCM USV) into production, the company also has its eye on using the vessel for missions such as surface warfare and amphibious operations.
India’s Defence Secretary Reviewed Progress On IAC INS Vikrant
– Naval News – The progress on the construction of the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC-P71) project was reviewed by Indian Defence Secretary, Shri Ajay Kumar.
French Carrier Strike Group Begins ‘Foch’ Deployment
– Naval News – The French Navy (Marine Nationale) Carrier Strike Group set sail yesterday for a long operational deployment named “Foch”. Aircraft Carrier Charles de Gaulle and its escort set course to the Eastern Mediterranean before sailing for the Northern Atlantic area.
U.S. and China Will Likely Go To War in the Next 30 Years: James Fanell
– Epoch Times – James Fanell, Former intelligence chief of the U.S. pacific fleet challenges the conventional wisdom that the U.S. military is unsurpassed by any force on this planet. While acknowledging that the Chinese military has strategic vulnerabilities, he warns that the U.S. might go to war with China over Taiwan in the next 30 years not adequately prepared and not confident to win.
DARPA’s latest mad science experiment: A ship designed to operate completely without humans
– Defense News – The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has launched its newest foray into unleashing robot warships on the world’s seas: NOMARS.
Russian Navy’s Top Officer Says Shadowy Zircon Hypersonic Missile Has “Childhood Diseases”
– War Zone – The missile, details about which are scant, has at least some development hurdles to overcome and is still years away from entering service.
Navy Will Commission All Expeditionary Sea Bases as USS Warships
– USNI News – The Navy will now commission all of its Expeditionary Sea Base ships to allow them to conduct a broader and more lethal mission set, compared to original plans for them as Military Sealift Command ships with a USNS designation.
Lincoln Strike Group CO: Record Deployment Marks New Uncertainty for Fleet
– USNI News – The 3,000 sailors aboard aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) arrived at their new California homeport this morning having spent more time deployed than any carrier since the mid-1970s – 294 days.
Is 2020 Really 1940 for the U.S. Navy?
– National Interest – To a degree, anyway. Back then naval grandees, administration officials, and lawmakers discerned grave dangers gathering along the Western European and East Asian rimlands and resolved to rebuild American military might to manage them. Today naval grandees, administration officials, and lawmakers discern grave dangers gathering along the East Asian rimland and are saying the right things about rebuilding American maritime might to manage them.
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