– Asia Times – The man nominated to run the US Pacific Command spells out his plans to contain Beijing on a number of fronts, from the oceans to space.

– USNI News – The U.S. Navy’s Logistics Group Western Pacific/Task Force 73 is looking at new ways of using the Expeditionary Fast Transport (EPF) ships for operations in the Indo-Pacific.

– Defense News – The nominee to be the next chief of the U.S. forces in the Pacific has called for an increase in U.S. forces from all three services stationed in the vital region, adding that China is now effectively able to control the South China Sea and challenge the U.S. presence in the region.

– USNI Proceedings – Looking for a way to raise the training bar and allow commanders to develop their warfighting creativity, Pacific Fleet has revived the interwar Fleet Problems.

– Defense News – In a break with recent history, the U.S. military is weighing whether to withhold the Truman Carrier Strike Group from deploying to the Middle East, opting instead to keep the carrier in the Mediterranean and the European theater…the move would be a response to Russian activities in the region and aligns with the new National Defense Strategy that calls on the military to be less operationally predictable.

– Defense News – Development issues with the Navy’s Advanced Gun System, destined to be one of the main armaments of DDG-1000, prompted the Navy to change Zumwalt into a ship killer, the Navy’s top requirements officers said Tuesday.

– War Zone – USS Bougainville (LHA-8) will be built with a well-deck unlike her two sister ships, but that’s just one of its unique features.

– USNI News – The Navy will execute a $21-billion, 20-year public shipyard optimization plan as a series of small projects that can be done even as maintenance work on submarines and aircraft carriers continues at the yards.

– War Zone – The service says a mix of less capable ships that are cheaper to operate might be better for future, distributed operations.

– War Zone – 33 years after the F/A-18’s first cruise, the Navy’s Legacy Hornet fleet has made its last scheduled deployment aboard a carrier.

– Breaking Defense – In one of the largest coordinated international air operations in years, over 100 American, British and French guided missiles slammed into three Syrian chemical weapons facilities early Saturday morning, launched from an armada of aircraft, submarines, and ships offshore.

– CNN – The United States combined with the armed forces of the United Kingdom and France early Saturday to carry out airstrikes against the chemical weapons facilities maintained by the regime of Syria. Here are some of the weapons they used.

– War Zone – The strikes come after days of conflicting reports, rapid diplomatic exchanges, and threats of retaliation from Russia.

– USNI News – The Navy hopes to eventually make unmanned systems just one tool among many for commanders to pick from. However, to get to that point the service will have to get unmanned systems into the hands of warfighters to work out the kinks.

– USNI News – The Navy will keep every one of its Arleigh Burke-class destroyers in service for 45 years, extending the life of the entire class. The move allows the Navy to reach a 355-ship fleet by 2036 or 2037.

– Defense News – Whether it’s 355 ships or 342, the Navy is getting bigger. And as it looks to expand its fleet, the service is looking to its Virginia-class program as a model for success.

– USNI News – The Navy’s dock landing ship replacement program officially has a name: San Antonio-class LPD Flight II.

– Defense News – This year, Northrop Grumman will begin manufacturing the first E-2D Advanced Hawkeye early warning aircraft built from the ground up with an aerial refueling capability.

– Defense News – Buoyed by rapid progress on the next-generation Frigate, the U.S. Navy’s top officer is ready to quickly move out on the long-debated replacement for the Navy’s aging cruisers.

– War Zone – The sad thing is, the whole idea originally was for the Navy to get a stealth drone, but it ended up getting a flying gas can.

– Defense News – Bright yellow underwater drones were a visible highlight on the exhibition floor here at the Sea-Air-Space Exposition. Among the autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) featured: a new high-speed, micro-sized vehicle by Hydroid and a subsea drone refueling station by Teledyne Energy.

– Defense News – Seven months have passed since 10 of McCain’s sailors were killed in a preventable collision, a loss made all the more shocking by the fact that it came just a few weeks after a collision between the destroyer Fitzgerald and a container ship claimed seven lives. While much work and many months lie ahead before McCain will go back in the water and on patrol in the Pacific, the wound in her port side is being healed. Seventh Fleet is healing as well.

– CIMSEC – Now is the time for every agency, department, and service in the executive branch to ask itself hard questions and consider decisive change.

– USNI News – After years of requirements churn and program uncertainty, the signal to companies vying to build the Navy’s first operational unmanned carrier aircraft is crystal clear: the Navy wants the MQ-25A Stingray as soon as possible.

– Defense News – It could be several years before the Navy can deploy persistent, around-the-clock surveillance using its new high-flying surveillance drone.