The War Zone – The Navy is interested in quickly enhancing its ships’ ability to down drones, reflecting concerns over what’s happening in the Red Sea.

The War Zone – The use of the multi-purpose SM-6 missile in the ongoing battle with the Houthis would mark a major milestone for the versatile weapon.

The War Zone – A new program envisions swarms of drone boats autonomously finding and chasing down target ships, and maybe even attacking them directly.

The War Zone – Recent events in the Red Sea again raise questions about whether 32 vertical launch cells is adequate for the Constellation class frigates.

The War Zone – For the first time since they began swatting down Houthi missiles and drones fired into the Red Sea region, a U.S. warship had to use its Mark 15 Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (CIWS) against an incoming threat, CNN reported. Taken at face value, this is a very unsettling revelation as Phalanx’s engagement envelope is very close to the ship and is seen as a ‘last ditch’ point defense system. How the missile managed to penetrate the Aegis destroyer’s defenses is unclear at this time.

USNI News – The U.S. military has taken the next step in building thousands of lethal sea-borne attack drones that could be key to deterring a Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

Defense News – The U.S. Navy is working on a new wartime response plan that would affect how ships and crews prepare and deploy for combat, according to the head of U.S. Fleet Forces Command.

Covert Shores – A mysterious vessel observed in San Diego harbor appears to be a prototype low-profile transport drone (USV – uncrewed surface vessel). The design is strongly reminiscent of many so-called “narco submarines”. Like so much in this field, most of it is hidden below the surface.

(Thanks to Alain)

National Interest – James Holmes says it’s all “warfighting,” all the time, for the next four years while Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the newly installed chief of naval operations (CNO) or top-ranked U.S. naval officer, presides over the U.S. Navy. It seems Admiral Franchetti is a one-note instrument. Combat readiness is the note—and it’s the right note. 

Defense News –

The head of U.S. Naval Surface Forces and other brass have praised the work of Navy destroyers operating in the Red Sea, where they have since October shot down scores of attack drones and missiles fired by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. But applause from Vice Adm. Brendan McLane and other leaders has been paired with frustrations that warships like the Carney, Gravely, Mason, Laboon and Thomas Hudner are fighting without a potential key asset: the long-planned and ever-elusive laser.

Defense News – While it remains to be seen whether last week’s U.S.-led bombing of Houthi sites in Yemen will cause the rebels to meaningfully relent, current Navy leaders and analysts agree: The volume of intercepts in the Red Sea is without modern precedent for the Navy, and the surface fleet is quickly learning from the encounters.

Center for Maritime Strategy – Twenty months. The upper limit of time remaining for the U.S. military to make good on Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks’s commitment to field “attritable autonomous systems at scale of multiple thousands, in multiple domains” to check the PRC. Formally unveiled last August, the Replicator initiative was further defined by Hicks in September and its potential permutations within DoD have been the subject of much thoughtful commentary since (see the Brookings Institution’s assessment of what Replicator means for Army modernization). But looking ahead, the most urgent – and consequential – expression of the initiative lies with the naval service.

War Zone – An unprecedented amount of real-world data has come out of the shoot-downs around the Red Sea, but adversaries are also watching.

Defense News – Revitalizing in-theater expeditionary ship repair capabilities can harness the agility, mobility and scalability that are hallmark advantages of naval power so that if called upon, our ships can sail to the battle line — and stay there.

USNI News – U.S. forces destroyed four Houthi anti-ship ballistic missiles the ground in Tuesday morning.

Defense News –  The U.S. Navy completed its first deployment of four unmanned ships, which spent five months in the Pacific testing concepts for how to integrate their capabilities into crewed fleet operations.

Breaking Defense – US Central Command today revealed that for the first time since Yemen-based Houthi began attacks on ships in the Red Sea in November, US forces seized “lethal, Iranian-supplied” arms heading to the militant group, including missile components. Two Navy SEALs, however, remain missing after the Jan. 11 operation.

War on the Rocks – The United States appears unwilling to embrace a collective approach to naval shipbuilding and sustainment with its allies and partners to compete with China. Decades-old protectionist legislation, “buy American” quotas, and technology transfer restrictions continue to limit meaningful industrial cooperation with allies. Whether and how the United States resolves this dilemma will determine the outcome of U.S.-Chinese naval competition, and with it the future of the United States in the Indo-Pacific.

Naval News – Austal USA, for the first time, showcased a T-AGOS 25 class undersea surveillance ship scale model.

Naval News – With over a third of the fleet projected to be unmanned by 2050, the Navy continues to develop and experiment with unmanned surface vessels.

Naval News – The US Navy is preparing for at-sea trials in 2024 of a capability to enable missiles to be re-loaded onboard surface ships deployed at sea. This capability will change the game in surface warfare operations, and would provide capability with relevance for current operations including those being conducted by USN destroyers in the Red Sea, according to the Secretary of the Navy.

Breaking Defense – There’s no lack of excitement in the Navy about the idea of an operational laser on a ship underway, but the service must be more “intellectually honest” about what’s possible, Rear Adm. Fred Pyle said at the Surface Navy Association’s annual symposium.

War Zone – Mod 2.0 Arleigh Burke destroyers will get new radar, electronic warfare, and other capabilities as part of larger modernization push.

Defense News – The U.S. Navy’s first Constellation-class guided-missile frigate will arrive late amid workforce shortages, a program official said Thursday.

USNI News – The U.S. and the United Kingdom conducted a series of strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen Thursday in retaliation for nearly three months of attacks on commercial shipping in the Middle East.