CNN – It’s a growing problem that has United States naval commanders scratching their heads: How to keep up with China’s ever-expanding fleet of warships.

A potential solution is within reach, if the US is prepared to think outside the box.

Allies in South Korea and Japan are building some of the highest spec – and affordable – naval hardware on the oceans. 

Buying ships from these countries, or even building US-designed vessels in their shipyards, could be a cost-effective way of closing the gap with China. 

Barents Observer – The world’s largest aircraft carrier will after a short visit to Oslo sail north simultaneously as Europe’s largest fighter jet drill kicks off in the skies above Norway, Sweden and Finland.

CIMSEC – Assigning permanent vessels to SOUTHCOM will require special funding so the combatant command can shoulder the burden of funding ships the Navy may not want to pay for. This funding is not only needed for fuel and maintenance of the ships, but also increased manning at Fourth Fleet and logistical support in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Navy, Department of Defense, and Congress need to take appropriate budgetary considerations in the upcoming fiscal years so the LCS(s) can operate under SOUTHCOM as permanently assigned assets. With its extremely limited resources, SOUTHCOM bolsters U.S. interests and supports U.S. allies across Latin America and the Caribbean. While no other combatant commands (or the Navy in general) appears that interested in the LCSs, imagine the outsized impact SOUTHCOM could reap with these permanently-assigned ships.

USNI News – The Navy’s new class of expeditionary medical ships will be named after a Maryland military medical center.

USNI News – After several years of delays, the Navy’s mine countermeasures mission package for the Littoral Combat Ship has finally reached its initial operating capability.

USNI News – Since 2017, junior sailors assigned to aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73) were subject to some of the toughest living conditions in the military, according to a new Navy investigation. Sailors assigned to the carrier over its almost six-year-long maintenance period at HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding experienced poor living conditions, up to three-hour commutes and isolation from their families and peers as part of life in the shipyard. Complaints about the life as a George Washington sailor, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, fell on deaf ears within Navy leadership, according to the quality of life investigation. While Washington has been in the middle of its midlife overhaul and refueling at Newport News Shipbuilding, nine sailors died by suicide, according to Navy records reviewed by USNI News.

Breaking Defense – The Pentagon awarded Austal USA a contract to build the lead ship in what’s envisioned as the first of seven next-generation oceanic surveillance ships — in all a potential $3 billion program.

Defense News – The U.S. Navy may begin investing in life extensions for some Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines earlier than expected, with the service secretary telling a crowd that spending could begin in fiscal 2025.

USNI Proceedings – China aspires to dominate the Indo-Pacific region—the impact of which would dramatically undermine Americans’ security, freedom, and prosperity. The only workable strategy is to deny China this goal. The naval services will play a central role. 

CIMSEC – In Part One we shared our experience and gave some interpretations of the data. In this part we will finish that discussion and proceed to a set of recommendations. In the spirit of the discussion, it is important to understand that the trends are all heading in the wrong direction, indicating that policy and procedure changes are not enough. A culture change is required, starting at the unit level, if these trends are to be reversed.

CIMSEC – This article is a collaboration between two authors with very different experiences, in the hopes that some combination of their views – one as a former Commanding Officer and the other as a federal agency chief counsel with 30-plus years of Sexual Assault/Harassment (SASH) experience – will resonate and drive tough conversations among mid-grade leaders. The Department of Defense has received over 65,000 reports of sexual assault since 2010 and each of us has a role in holding individuals who commit sexual assault and sexual harassment accountable for past crimes and creating an environment where sexual assault and sexual harassment are not tolerated.

Defense News – The head of U.S. Fleet Forces Command operates a fleet smaller than the Navy planned, due to delays in ship and submarine construction and maintenance. But Adm. Daryl Caudle said reducing operations isn’t an option, as Navy forces routinely find themselves in contact with their Russian and Chinese counterparts and demand for their presence is on the rise. So the admiral has put together a four-part plan meant to maximize the fleet’s usefulness.

Breaking Defense – The Navy has given the official green light for its package of capabilities focused on defeating undersea mines to begin operations in the fleet.

War on the Rocks –  With the advent and adversary deployment of long-range cruise and ballistic missiles, the distances across which belligerents can attack United States and allied forces has grown considerably. We believe that the era of short-ranged ordnance expended in near-peer conflict above the waterline is all but over. 

USNI News – Without a carrier strike group or amphibious readiness group currently operating in the Middle East, the U.S. Navy has dispatched two little-known ship classes to help the State Department evacuate people from Sudan.

Business Insider – The US Navy rarely reveals where its submarines are, but it is making those subs more visible in the North Atlantic, demonstrating their presence as US officials warn that Russian submarines are more active and carrying new weapons closer to US shores.

War Zone – The U.S. Navy plans to make six Littoral Combat Ships (LCSs), two Independence class vessels and four Freedom class vessels, available for sale through its Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program in the next two years. The oldest and youngest of the ships intended to be sold have been in service for just under eight years and just under three years, respectively.

Defense News – When there is talk of flat budgets and ship reductions, the U.S. Navy inevitably suggests the retirement of its dedicated command ships.

War Zone – The U.S. Navy’s Expeditionary Sea Base ship USS Lewis B. Puller is on its way to take up a position off the coast of Sudan where it could support evacuation efforts if required. 

1945 – James Holmes says it is sad to say, but rhetoric alone is not enough. It seems things must get worse in the commercial world before they get better for a U.S. naval buildup. 

War Zone – The last of the Navy’s heavily in demand Ohio guided missile submarines in just five years with replacements decades away.

Naval News – The USS Jimmy Carter is widely regarded as the most secretive submarine in the U.S. Navy. It is especially equipped for Seabed Warfare, unreported missions deep below the waves. Now a new seabed warfare submarine, using a Virginia Class hull, is planned.

Defense News – The U.S. Navy’s fleet would never reach the statutorily required 355 ships under two of the three scenarios outlined in the service’s latest long-range shipbuilding plan.

CIMSEC – The aircraft carrier has been the main striking arm of the U.S. Navy for decades, but distributed warfighting demands something new. Anti-ship missile firepower is proliferating across the force structure of both friendly and competitor forces, creating larger demands for the tactical information required to leverage these long-range weapons. Massed fires heavily depend on information to work, and air superiority is a powerful enabler of information superiority. By focusing on a set of critical information functions and fleet air defense, the aircraft carrier can serve as a powerful enabler and force multiplier for distributed fleets and massed fires. These roles foreshadow how nations who engage in naval salvo warfare without naval aviation will be at a sore disadvantage.

Defense News – U.S. Navy and Marine Corps leaders are pushing to make Live, Virtual and Constructive training environments more realistic because, they say, lives are at stake.