– Reuters – Two U.S. Navy warships sailed near South China Sea islands claimed by China on Sunday, in a move that drew condemnation from Beijing as President Donald Trump seeks its continued cooperation on North Korea.

– USNI Proceedings – a fictional look at possible Lessons Learned from Recent Naval Actions in the Western Pacific…

– USNI Proceedings – The U.S. Third Fleet was born out of necessity, forged during the peak of the war in the Pacific. Its first commander, Admiral William “Bull” Halsey, was admired for his aggressive nature and warfighting intellect. More than 70 years after its creation, Third Fleet has returned to the forefront of Pacific warfighting. Following in Halsey’s footsteps, Vice Admiral Nora Tyson took the Third Fleet somewhere it had not been in decades—across the international dateline. Under direction from Commander Pacific Fleet, Admiral Scott Swift, this “Third Fleet Forward” concept has featured surface action groups (SAGs) under the command of Third Fleet operating in regions of the Pacific historically under the command of Seventh Fleet.

– Breaking Defense – Once touted by President Trump himself as an alternative to the F-35, the souped-up Super Hornet is now firmly established as its partner.

– Breaking Defense – Gen. Gus Perna, head of Army Materiel Command, is a brave man. He came to Pacific Command’s AOR and announced he wants the Army to stop building the transport ships and so-called watercraft that could be crucial to any conflict in the Indo-Pacific region.

– War Zone – The paper recounts a course of bizarre events that occurred near the USS Nimitz while it was sailing off the Baja Peninsula in November 2004.

– Navy Times – Yet another propulsion train problem has forced the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the Gerald R. Ford, back into port for “adjustments” before it can get back underway to complete what had been expected to be a long testing period.

– CIMSEC – Past examples of peacetime buildups by the British Royal Navy and U.S. Navy suggest that while getting to larger numbers of ships is possible, the costs can be prohibitive; especially in an environment of rapid, technological advancement.

– USNI Proceedings – The assumption that U.S. allies in the Pacific would join the United States in a kinetic conflict with China must be revisited.

– Breaking Defense – The incoming commander of US Pacific Fleet issues a warning about growing Chinese ambitions while taking charge of the world’s largest fleet.

– USNI Proceedings – Fielded en masse, simple naval mines present a serious anti­access threat. Commercial technology exists to provide a modicum of low-cost mine defense capabilities to any ship.

– USNI Proceedings – To better understand the environment, reduce adversary surprise, and improve performance, the Navy’s maritime operations centers need a tighter partnership between intelligence and operational analysis.

– USNI Proceedings – The Navy must revisit its surface combat rescue capability.

– USNI Proceedings – The Navy’s recent seagoing collisions resulting in the tragic loss of 17 sailors have brought into stark relief the urgent need and compelling obligation to “fix the problem.”

– CIMSEC – Part Two focuses on problems that arise once submariners find time to train, both in their homeports and while deployed. Those problems include limited trainer (simulator) availability and extensive administrative burdens placed on deployed submarines.

– USNI Proceedings – The Zumwalt class represents many breakthroughs for the Navy, most conspicuously for hull and deckhouse design, but also for sensors, weapons, and computing infrastructure. On the systems side, the most decisive step forward is the introduction of an integrated electric drive (IED) power and propulsion architecture for a class of surface combatants.

– Defense News – When the destroyer Jack Lucas joins the U.S. Navy’s fleet in 2024, it will look similar to the 73 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers that preceded it. But it’s going to be a very different, more capable killer than its predecessors.

– War on the Rocks – To better aid its allies and partners, Washington should consider expanding its catalogue of peacetime maritime operations. Passive presence has proved inadequate. In some cases, American policymakers may need to place U.S. forces on the front lines, where they can play a more direct role helping other states counter China’s seaward expansion.

– War Zone – The service is looking for a system that launches interceptors at incoming missiles and could end up on more than half a dozen types of aircraft.

– Defense News – With a new National Defense Strategy from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis that deemphasizes the war on terrorism and places emphasis on competition with China and Russia, the U.S. is rethinking how it uses its most recognizable and fearsome force-projection instrument: the aircraft carrier.

– BBC – The US Navy has said it will re-establish its Second Fleet, as Russia becomes more assertive, to oversee forces on the US East Coast and North Atlantic.

– USNI Blog – Containment succeeded in the Cold War. There is no reason a 21st-century version will not work just as well.

– Army Times – The Navy’s air boss announced that “Class C” ground mishaps in naval aviation have doubled in the past decade, and he’s made eliminating the mistakes his current No. 2 priority — behind the continued efforts to eliminate cockpit physiological episodes.

– Defense News – Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has made clear as the military’s top civilian that he has a very different vision for how the military will be used in the future. And recent comments have hinted at big changes on the horizon for the Navy and how it deploys.

– Defense News – Last year was a difficult one for Navy forces forward deployed to Japan.