Naval News – CVW-5 returned to Japan as the air wing assigned to USS George Washington, now equipped with three new aircraft types.

The War Zone – As President-elect Donald Trump nears his return to the White House, the U.S. Navy’s nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile (SLCM-N) program started during his first term is potentially returning to the spotlight as well.

Center for Maritime Strategy – Congress has been reluctant to authorize the Navy’s planned investment of billions of dollars in USVs until the Service can come up with a concept of operations (CONOPS) for using them. The Navy has announced plans to procure large numbers of uncrewed systems—especially large and medium uncrewed surface vessels—but a CONOPS has not yet emerged. Additionally, while the composition of the future Navy’s crewed vessels is relatively well understood—based on ships being built and being planned—what those uncrewed maritime vessels will look like, let alone what they will do, has yet to be fully determined.

Korea Times – A U.S. nuclear-powered submarine has arrived at a major southeastern naval base Monday to replenish supplies and provide rest for crew members, South Korea’s Navy said.

(Thanks to Alain)

USNI News – While the U.S. military can employ small drones in confined spaces, conflict with China in the Pacific will still require U.S. forces to maintain air and maritime superiority, the commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said Tuesday.

CIMSEC – It remains unclear how the Navy might shift its corporate attention toward devising a maritime deterrent and how such a strategy might be promulgated across the service. Today, ideas that depart from routine are sometimes acknowledged and pushed aside, not out of malice but out of an inability to direct them to “the right office.” Without a senior advocate to sponsor change, it is difficult to discern a pathway forward to gain broad acceptance for a new emphasis on deterrence, or the acceptance of a bi-modal maritime deterrent strategy. Nevertheless, we need to put capabilities and operations in place so that Beijing decides that the game is not worth the candle. Maybe the greatest advantage offered by a bi-modal maritime deterrent is that we can begin to put it into practice quickly, before Beijing’s 2027 countdown to a showdown.