The Conventional Wisdom on China’s Island Bases is Dangerously Wrong

War on the Rocks – Couldn’t the United States easily neutralize China’s remote outposts in the South China Sea in a conflict, negating their value? The assumption is understandable given how seemingly remote the facilities are and how accustomed Americans have become to uncontested dominance over the sea and air. But it is flawed.

The surface Navy needs to fundamentally reshape itself to defeat the Chinese threat, study finds

Defense News – The U.S. Navy’s surface fleet is completely misaligned to meet the threats the military says it must counter in the 21st century, and it’s not correctly constructed to pursue its own strategy of “distributed maritime operations,” according to new study from the Center or Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.

Read the report: Taking Back the Seas: Transforming the U.S. Surface Fleet for Decision-Centric Warfare

Pakistan and China launch joint naval drills. Should India be concerned?

Defense News – A nine-day Sino-Pakistani naval exercise commenced in Pakistan’s port of Karachi on Monday with the arrival of a Chinese naval task group from its South Sea Fleet. Sea Guardians 2020 is the sixth in the bilateral series, which, according to the Pakistan Navy, will focus on “augmenting interoperability and strategic cooperation.”

Why A U.S.-Iran War Isn’t Going To Happen

National Interest – James Holmes writes that the coming weeks and months may see irregular warfare prosecuted with newfound vigor through such familiar unconventional warmaking methods. It’s doubtful Tehran would launch into conventional operations, stepping onto ground it knows America dominates. To launch full-scale military reprisals would justify full-scale U.S. military reprisals that, in all likelihood, would outstrip Iran’s in firepower and ferocity.

Memo reveals Pentagon again tried to decommission the carrier Truman, cut an air wing

Defense News – Despite causing a political firestorm earlier this year and forcing President Donald Trump to publicly reverse his administration’s position on the matter, the U.S. military again tried to push a plan that would lead to the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman retiring 25 years early and would defund a carrier air wing.