– War is Boring – The Pentagon has sent Marines and warplanes to Italy because of a possible crisis brewing in North Africa. The troops left their base in Spain after receiving a request from the State Department.
Author Archives: Naval Open Source Intelligence (NOSI)
South Korean Navy – Two Koreas, Three Navies
– USNI News – The Korean War of 1950-1953 was concluded by a cease-fire, not a peace treaty, and the three powers—South Korea, North Korea and the United States—are still technically at war. A new conflict on the Korean peninsula would see the commitment of a new, reinvigorated Republic of Korea Navy, an aging, weakened North Korean Navy and an American fleet providing the only ballistic missile defense capability for the region.
Chinese Navy – China Claims U.S. Is Encouraging ‘Dangerous and Provocative Actions’ in Oilrig Standoff
– USNI News – Chinese officials are claiming the U.S. is stoking international discord over a disputed drilling operation in an area of the South China Sea in territory claimed by both China and Vietnam, according to a Tuesday statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.
US Navy – Last U.S. Surface Ship Leaves the Black Sea
– USNI News – The frigate assigned to operations in the Black Sea as part of a U.S. show of support to allies in the region has left, leaving no U.S. surface ships in the region
Geopolitics / Russia – Putin’s plan to reclaim the old Russian empire
– New York Post – Ralph Peters analyses Putin’s long game.
Indian Navy – India’s New Carrier is ‘Operational’
– USNI News – India’s newest aircraft carrier — INS Vikramaditya — is underway on an operational deployment, according to the new head of the Indian Navy.
US Navy – The Next Act for Aegis
– USNI News – Thirty years after its first deployment, the basic components of the Aegis system on cruisers and destroyers have remained largely the same — the SPY-1 radar and the contents of vertical launch systems — but the threats have gotten faster and deadlier.
US Marines – Sikorsky Rolls Out New Marine Helo
– USNI News – Sikorsky Aircraft rolled out the U.S. Marine Corps’ first CH-53K King Stallion heavy lift helicopter. Though the new K-model shares the same numerical designation as previous CH-53 helicopters, it is in fact a new clean-sheet design.
US Navy – LCS Will Miss World’s Largest Naval Exercise
– Defense News – It’s the biggest naval exercise in the world, and it happens only every other year. Nearly every kind of US warship will take part. But notably absent — again — will be the newest type of US warship, the littoral combat ship.
US Navy – Upcoming budget crunch could unravel new deployment plan
– Navy Times – Many ships are sailing on cruises far beyond the once-standard six or seven months, and Navy leaders are eager to make these long and often unpredictable deployments the exception. They’ve developed a plan to lock in eight-month deployments, but a mounting body of testimony from Navy officials suggests that the plan may soon be another victim of budget battles — and sailors will end up paying the price. At the center of the dilemma is the aircraft carrier George Washington, which will be retired early unless lawmakers lift heavy sequestration spending cuts set to take effect in 2016. With no sign they will and uncertainties about when the first of the new supercarrier class will be ready to deploy, experts say nine-to-10-month deployments could be common for fleet sailors.
Chinese Navy – Here’s an Even Better Look at China’s Giant New Cruiser
– War is Boring – One photo at a time, Beijing’s military-industrial-media complex is slowly showing the world the Chinese navy’s giant future warship, the Type 055.
Vietnamese Navy – Vietnam and China ships ‘collide in South China Sea’
– BBC – Vietnamese naval ships and Chinese vessels have collided in the South China Sea, Vietnamese officials say. The incident happened as the Vietnamese navy was trying to prevent the Chinese from setting up an oil rig in an area claimed by both nations.
Russian Navy – Russia to deploy new submarines, ships to Black Sea fleet
– Reuters – Russia will beef up its Black Sea fleet this year with new submarines and warships, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was quoted as saying on Tuesday, following the annexation of the Crimean peninsula.
Iranian Navy – Mockup of American Carrier to be Used as Target in Iranian Exercise
– USNI News – A mock-up of an American aircraft carrier will be used as a target by Iranian naval forces in an upcoming exercise.
Geopolitcs / Syria – The Red Line and the Rat Line
– New York Review of Books – Seymour M. Hersh on Obama, Erdoğan and the Syrian rebels. A very interesting look at who is really behind the chemical weapon attacks in Syria…
Iraq – What We Left Behind in Iraq
– New Yorker – Dexter Filkins on the state of Iraq today – an increasingly authoritarian leader, a return of sectarian violence, and a nation worried for its future.
US Marine Corps – Pilot reaction to flying the F-35B
– Aviation Week – Ever since the F-35B short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) version of the Joint Strike Fighter first flew in the hands of BAE Systems’ test pilot Graham Tomlinson in June 2008 we have heard plenty about the easy and precise nature of the jet’s controllability. Commenting about STOVL operations in particular, pilots tend to focus on the ‘push button’ ease of vertical landings compared to the Harrier and the unusual (until you get used to it) ‘walnuts in a blender’ sound that comes from the lift fan. However virtually everything we have heard so far has been from seasoned military or industry test pilots who were involved in the development and evaluation of the F-35B, or leading instructor pilots assigned to initial training. But now that an increasing number of regular U.S. Marine Corps squadron pilots are flying the F-35B at MCAS Yuma, Arizona, with VMFA-121, what do they think?
Royal Navy – George Osborne orders new icebreaker for UK polar science
– BBC – UK science is to get one of the biggest, most capable polar research vessels in the world.
Fourth Generation Warfare – An Officer Corps That Can’t Score
– The American Conservative – William Lind writes that the most curious thing about our four defeats in Fourth Generation War—Lebanon, Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan—is the utter silence in the American officer corps. Defeat in Vietnam bred a generation of military reformers, men such as Col. John Boyd USAF, Col. Mike Wyly USMC, and Col. Huba Wass de Czege USA, each of whom led a major effort to reorient his service. Today, the landscape is barren. Not a military voice is heard calling for thoughtful, substantive change. Just more money, please.
US Navy – U.S. to Test Seabed Resupply Systems by 2016
– DefenseTech – The Pentagon wants to set up a network of seafloor-bedded “nodes” that would include anything from supplies to weaponry to be called to the surface for military action when needed.
Geopolitics / Indian Ocean – Duqm could become the next Singapore
– StratFor – Robert D. Kaplan writes that a noteworthy geopolitical shift is emerging that the media have yet to report on. In future years, a sizable portion of the US Navy’s forces in the Middle East could be spending less time in the Arabian Gulf and more time in the adjacent Indian Ocean. Manama in Bahrain will continue to be the headquarters of the Fifth Fleet. But American warships and their crews, as well as the myriad supply and repair services for them, could be increasingly focused on the brand new Omani port of Duqm, located outside the Arabian Gulf on the Arabian Sea, which, in turn, forms the western half of the Indian Ocean.
Chinese Navy – The Real Reason China Wants Aircraft Carriers
– Real Clear Defense – China’s carrier plans target US alliances, not the US Navy.
Russian Navy – Russian intelligence ship operating off U.S. East Coast
– Washington Times – A Russian intelligence-gathering ship has been operating off the U.S. East Coast and near the Gulf of Mexico for the past month.
US Navy – Stealth Vs. Electronic Attack
– USNI News – The U.S. Navy will need to use a combination of stealth and electronic warfare capabilities to defeat advanced anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) threats in the future, chief of naval operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert said on April 16 at the U.S. Naval Institute annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
Royal Navy – Royal Navy submarine abandons search for MH370
– Daily Telegraph – The Royal Navy’s HMS Tireless has been stood down from the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet.
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