– Defense News – Last week’s ouster of Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer marked the latest in a string of leadership disasters for a beleaguered service, one that has seen a slew of admirals and senior captains reprimanded, fired or had their careers cut short for everything from ethics violations to poor performance on their watch.
Author Archives: Naval Open Source Intelligence (NOSI)
A Bump in the Belt and Road: Tanzania Pushes Back Against Chinese Port Project
– CIMSEC – China’s Maritime Silk Road ambitions suffered a setback after Tanzanian officials refused to budge over stalled negotiations to build what would be the largest deep-water port in Africa.
U.S. Shoulders Steep Price to Protect Merchant Ships in Strait Of Hormuz
– USNI News – The Navy pays a steep price keeping an aircraft carrier with escorts on station to deter attacks on oil tanker traffic operating in and around the Persian Gulf as part of the United States’ “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran.
German Navy chief of staff: The naval force is preparing for challenges beyond 2020
– Defense News – The German government’s 2016 defense whitepaper picked up on the fragility and volatility of the political and security landscape around Europe shown in recent years and provided a new strategic outline for the German armed forces and the German Navy. Strategically we have to equally balance collective and national defense with the tasks of international crisis management.
Inside China’s “People’s War” Plan for the South China Sea
– National Interest – James Holmes writes that China is rushing ahead with preparations to ensure it would gain the upper hand in any armed conflict over its territorial claims.
War Studies Primer
Visit the War Studies Primer for an introductory course on the study of war.
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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China and Japan Went to War 125 Years Ago (Beijing Is Still Trying to Reverse the Results)
– National Interest – James Holmes writes that in a day’s fighting, then, the Imperial Japanese Navy upended the region’s Sinocentric pecking order. In turn, the Sino-Japanese War set in motion a maritime strategic contest—sometimes peaceful, sometimes not—that persists to this day.
The Icebreaker Gap Doesn’t Mean America is Losing in the Arctic
– War on the Rocks – Using relative icebreaker fleet sizes as a key metric for the state of strategic competition in the Arctic is flawed. While they are an important platform, icebreakers do little to create or address the most commonly identified defense challenges in the region. Instead, analysts should focus on the nature of the military risks in the Arctic, the role of allies and partners, and economic interests in a broader geopolitical context rather than comparing specific capabilities.
Chinese ships and radar boost navies of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
– South China Morning Post – China is reported to be boosting its arms links with South Asian nations, with further supply of an advanced anti-stealth radar to Pakistan as well as frigates to Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
China, Russia and South Africa team up for first joint naval drill
– South China Morning Post – The Chinese navy has joined its Russian and South African counterparts in a joint exercise near Cape Town, expanding its reach to the southern tip of Africa for the first time.
The First Narco Submarine Ever Seized Off A European Coast Is A Monster
– War Zone – This is the first time authorities in Europe have intercepted one of these vessels, which have been a staple in Latin American drug smuggling.
US Navy Lab Investigates Innovative Non-Lethal Boat Stopping Technology
– Naval News – Maritime Vessel Stopping Occlusion Technologies, or MVSOT, is a promising non-lethal tool for the warfighter to significantly slow or stop an on-coming target vessel. The MVSOT team specifically focuses on technologies that limit or remove the ability of a propulsion system to provide thrust to a boat, but in a reversible manner.
Warmaking by Remote Control Is a False Choice
– National Interest – So it seems remote war is easy to wage, hard to win, and carries hidden moral hazards. Beware the allure of the latest gadgetry. It cannot exorcise the ghosts of wars past—or present.
Boxer ARG, 11th MEU Wrap Up 5th, 7th Fleet Deployment
– USNI News – After an eight-month deployment to the Middle East and Indo-Pacific, one thing the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit won’t offload this week is a platoon of M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks.
The commissioning of the submarine B-274 “Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky” project 06363
– BMPD – On November 25, 2019, the flag was solemnly hoisted on the large submarine B-274 Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky of project 636.3 (serial number 01614) , built by Admiralty Shipyards JSC in St. Petersburg for the Pacific Fleet.
(Thanks to Alain)
Northern Fleet’s 2nd new frigate is ready to test armament in Arctic waters
– The Barents Observer – The Admiral Kasatonov is to be officially included in the Russian Navy in the course of 2019.
Report calls out US Navy for surveillance and targeting shortfalls
– Defense News – The U.S. Navy lacks the necessary intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets to support a force plans to operate more spread out and fight at longer ranges.
Read the full report from the Hudson Institute here.
Royal Navy Intends HMS Queen Elizabeth to be Integrated into U.S. Carrier Operations
– USNI News – The U.K. Royal Navy intends its largest, most advanced warship ever built to be considered interchangeable with U.S. Navy carriers.
In First, NATO Ships Share Target Data & Knock Down Ballistic Missiles
– Breaking Defense – Warships from several NATO allies tracked and knocked down ballistic missile targets from the sea for the first time sharing targeting information across a shared alliance network.
Navy Says JO Ship-Driving Skills Show Modest Improvement as GAO Raises Questions on New Training Regimes
– USNI News – Navy ship-driving skills of its junior officers have seen modest improvements over last the two years since the fatal collisions in the Western Pacific that resulted in the death of 17 sailors.
Ohio Guided Missile Submarines Were Designed To Be Drone-Carrying Clandestine Command Centers
– War Zone – The four converted ballistic missile submarines are so much more than Tomahawk slingers and transports for Navy SEALs.
US Navy Secretary Richard Spencer fired over Seal case
– BBC – US Navy chief Richard Spencer has been fired over his handling of the case of a Navy Seal demoted for misconduct.
Toward a Seamless Pacific
– Air Force – Pacific Air Forces Commander Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr. spoke with Editorial Director John A. Tirpak on Sept. 3 about the challenges of operating in the Pacific Theater, deterring China and Russia, a new force dispersal strategy, and lines of responsibility between regional commands.
Give Marines and Soldiers Better Antiship Fires
– USNI Proceedings – Land-based weapon systems hold tremendous promise in helping the Navy control the littorals.
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