War Zone – A veteran submarine hunter explains how the proliferation of ever more capable diesel-electric submarines is a major problem for the U.S. Navy.

War on the Rocks – The final assessment of the USS Bonhomme Richard fire reveals that the U.S. Navy is hobbled by questionable training, a shortage of personnel, and a general unpreparedness to fight and prevail in a war. If they are to play a meaningful role in a cross-strait conflict, U.S. ships must be able to fight in range of Chinese missiles. The Bonhomme Richard disaster, a fire in the port of San Diego, might not seem relevant here, but it is: It demonstrates the Navy’s egregious damage-control inadequacies. If these are left unaddressed, the Navy will face a serious erosion of its combat power after only a handful of Chinese missile barrages.

USNI News – Investigators have determined USS Connecticut (SSN-22) hit an uncharted seamount that grounded the nuclear attack submarine on the underwater feature in the South China Sea Navy

US Navy – The following is the Navy Aviation Vision 2030-2035 released this week by the Navy.

USNI Proceedings – A periscope can be a fine stand-in for a sextant.

The Hill – James Holmes says the US Navy must fix its problems — and burnish its good name for seamanship and tactical acumen.

Naval News – Aircraft carriers are at the vanguard of China’s incredible naval expansion A new, larger super-carrier is being built near Shanghai. Analysis of radar satellite imagery shows that it is as large as China’s new bases allow.

Nikkei Asia – White House and admirals can’t agree on how to deter China.

CIMSEC – In parts one and two of this series of articles I discussed the factors that would influence the content of a new maritime strategy. In this article I will discuss the process of strategy, focused on the Navy’s case.

Defense News – When the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard caught fire last summer while undergoing maintenance and then burned for nearly a week, those inside and outside the fleet wondered how such a peacetime loss of a warship could ever happen. But according to a Big Navy review of ship fires released last week, the threat of such a catastrophe has smoldered inside the sea service’s public and private shipyards for years.

CIMSEC – America should reconceive how it leverages and secures its territorial waters, trade routes, and the high seas. The history of America’s tangled maritime bureaucracy offers insight to how it can answer China’s challenge.

War Zone – The ability to fight and win in the high-stakes game of undersea warfare is all about the art of listening. Here’s how it’s done.

Naval News – The United States Navy’s future build of the Large Unmanned Surface Vessel (LUSV) opens up new possibilities for add-on modular armament options and specialized roles that no other U.S. Navy warship can perform. Granted, the LUSV is not a truly designed combat warship in the strategic and tactical sense, but through the Author’s speculative concept imagination and innovation, the LUSV’s long open cargo deck can provide the U.S. Navy with LUSV role possibilities unseen of, unheard of, and unfit for any other U.S. naval warship, manned or unmanned. Naval News will explore in four parts possible future roles and armament options for: Part 1: LUSV as a Deep Strike Platform.

War Zone – The chosen trainer would be expected to offer fighter-like qualities and take the strain off the frontline combat fleet.

USNI News – The Navy’s ability to defend the nation’s vital security interests is “marginal,” – with the caveat that its score is trending to “weak” in capability and readiness – while the Marine Corps’ ability is graded as “strong,” according to a think tank’s latest survey of United States military power.

USNI News – Three Littoral Combat Ships deployed in the Indo-Pacific – USS Jackson (LCS-6), USS Tulsa (LCS-16) and USS Charleston (LCS-18) – have been operating on a high tempo across the region.

CIMSEC – A new strategy must first deal with how to defeat a Chinese attack in the short term and then how to deal with a protracted war in the long term, all the while maintaining and exercising global command of the sea.

USNI News – A cascade of failures – from a junior enlisted sailor not recognizing a fire at the end of their duty watch to fundamental problems with how the U.S. Navy trains sailors to fight fires in shipyards – are responsible for the five-day blaze that cost the service an amphibious warship, according to an investigation into the July 2020 USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) fire.

USNI News – The U.S. Navy on Friday refuted Russian claims that it prevented a U.S. destroyer from crossing into its territorial waters in the Sea of Japan.

Foreign Policy – History reveals a country’s rise and decline are directly related to the heft of its navy. So why is the United States intent on downsizing?

CIMSEC – In this article Robert Rubel will highlight potential issues with strategy development so that Navy leadership can determine an effective naval strategy.

Forbes – The Navy’s lack of ship repair support in the central Pacific is a serious matter. 

War Zone – A veteran submariner explains the challenges crews face navigating complex undersea environments that they can’t even see.

AP – A Navy nuclear engineer with access to military secrets has been charged with trying to pass information about the design of American nuclear-powered submarines to someone he thought was a representative of a foreign government but who turned out to be an undercover FBI agent

USNI News – Last week, USNI News spoke with First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff Adm. Tony Radakin  about the ongoing deployment of Queen Elizabeth, the AUKUS deal in which the U.K. and U.S. will work with Australia to build a new class of nuclear-powered submarines, and less restrictive“come as you are” naval operations could be the future of maritime alliances.