USNI Proceedings – The Navy recovered and rebuilt after the Vietnam War—a low point similar to the situation today. How it regained its position as the dominant navy in the world is an interesting and instructive tale.

War Zone – Lasers dominate discussions about U.S. Navy directed energy weapons, but the service formed a new office devoted to systems that fire microwave beams.

Navy Times – The U.S. Navy says it has worked to ensure submarine safety following revelations late last year that a Washington state metallurgist spent decades faking the strength tests results for steel used to make subs.

Defense News – This fiscal year was expected to be the first in which the U.S. Navy dipped into a “trough” in its submarine force, falling below the previous requirement for 48 attack subs and facing two decades of reduced numbers, with as few as 41 at times. Instead, the Navy is holding steady at 50 and plans to only grow the fleet, thanks to efforts to extend the lives of many aging Los Angeles-class SSNs by about three years each and to refuel five of them altogether for additional years of operations.

War on the Rocks – The LCS program promised to do more and cost less. It ended up doing less and costing more, precisely because its operational premise did not appreciate the human element enough. Sailors are an organic part of a ship, not a cost burden. Until equipment can learn on its own, and repair itself, that will remain the case.

The Hill – James Holmes says the US needs to keep calm and carry on with the competition.

USNI Proceedings – The Navy must broaden its message to educate American taxpayers on the importance of sea power.

Naval News – Austal USA was awarded a contract to perform design studies for the U.S. Navy’s Next Generation Logistics Ship (NGLS) program.

Breaking Defense – The Navy has completed the first operational demonstrations of an MQ-25 Stingray onboard the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), the service announced today, marking a major milestone for the highly-anticipated unmanned tanker program.

USNI Proceedings – With a smaller naval force, forward deployment must be managed on a global basis.

USNI News – Iran’s drive for naval modernization and self-sufficiency has had another recent setback the when Iranian Navy’s newest frigate capsized in its dry dock. Last week, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps showed off more than 100 of their latest homegrown fast attack craft – new types of missile boats, unique torpedo boats and other craft – in Bandar Abbas.

Defense News – One of two U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton unmanned aerial vehicles operating in the Pacific for the last two years has returned home, allowing the service to move forward with Triton development and fielding.

Defense News – The Littoral Combat Ship Squadron 2 (LCSRON 2) is, in one way, coming off a rough patch: Two of its Freedom-variant LCSs suffered major engineering failures at sea in 2020 and had to limp home from deployments to U.S. Southern Command. As the U.S. Navy realized the severity of a combining gear flaw in the propulsion system, it stopped accepting deliveries of new ships from Lockheed Martin early this year and imposed operating restrictions on the ships already in the fleet to avoid another at-sea breakdown.

AP – The U.S. Navy announced Wednesday it tested a laser weapon and destroyed a floating target in the Mideast, a system that could be used to counter bomb-laden drone boats deployed by Yemen’s Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.

War Zone – The sailboat test is part of an effort to learn how unmanned platforms can help in the Middle East and, eventually, globally.

USNI Proceedings – The forward presence mission is taking a toll on the fleet and the force.

Defense News – After making do for so long — including spending 20 years on a series of mini-projects to consolidate work — the yard, which now specializes in repairing and modernizing Los Angeles- and Virginia-class attack submarines, is finally getting a chance to more thoroughly revamp how people and materials flow through it. The service will undertake the effort through its Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program, dubbed SIOP.

War on the Rocks – The U.S. Navy is moving forward with its plans for a more distributed fleet in which intelligent unmanned or autonomous platforms will play a significant role. Unfortunately, many of the details about these novel systems are left to the imagination — often a poor substitute for filling in the blanks. 

CIMSEC – According to the services’ operating concepts, the Navy and Marine Corps intend to operate together seamlessly in a future naval campaign. Since one of the main arguments for these concepts is the creation of a network of sensors to inform decision-makers, the services’ intelligence and information warfare communities are vital to this effort—these communities can lead through deliberate structural change to involve the other service in its enterprise. 

War on the Rocks – Claude Berube asks the question…

CIMSEC – While SSN(X) will carry both unmanned aircraft and unmanned undersea vehicles (UUV), it is assumed that UUV optimization will lead the unmanned priority list. Acting as a mothership, SSN(X) will be able to deploy these UUVs to perform a variety of tasks, including gaining a greater awareness of the battlespace, targeting, active deception and other classified missions. To fulfill its destiny, UUV employment must be a consideration in every frame of SSN(X) and subjected to rigorous analysis.

CIMSEC – In his book Fleet Tactics and Naval Operations, Capt.(ret) Wayne Hughes states: “At sea the essence of tactical success has been the first application of effective offensive force.” Capt. Hughes’ warfighting axiom – applying offensive force first – is the distinct advantage information warfare intends to deliver, and it is predicated on sound battlespace awareness. Given the advances in the speed, precision, and destructive power of modern naval weapons, finding and fixing the adversary remains indispensable.

Breaking Defense – Upgrading the P-8’s offensive capabilities could add confusion to any Chinese planning, but the Pentagon has struggled to integrate LRASM onto other aircraft.

USNI Proceedings – To execute flexible deterrence and limited war, options must range from diplomacy to military power—necessitating command of the seas.

USNI News – The next U.S. nuclear attack submarine must require less maintenance, be fast, quiet and packed with torpedoes.