– US Naval War College Review – Many examples of task automation using artificial intelligence exist in private industry. The U.S. military has a great opportunity to exploit these developments and adapt them for use throughout the force, particularly in areas such as logistics and administration, freeing up man-hours and resources for other, more-complex activities.

– USNI Proceedings – Align the Commandant’s planning guidance and the Navy’s strategic vision.

– US Naval War College Review – By now, the challenge and threat of a rising and contentious China and an increasingly hostile Russia have penetrated the Navy’s corporate consciousness, and current leaders are taking steps to shift the service from a purely power- projection posture to one that focuses again on defending American command of the sea. The Navy is initiating adjustments to fleet design and architecture as well as a rebirth of fleet experimentation. While perhaps late in coming, these responses to the emergent challenges of our time are encouraging.

– Defense News – The US Navy has put forward a proposal to decommission the first four littoral combat ships in 2021 as part of a cost-savings measure, according to a memorandum from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget to the Defense Department.

– Defense News – The Department of Defense has sent a plan to the White House that would cut the construction of more than 40 percent of its planed Flight III Arleigh Burke destroyers in in fiscal years 2021 through 2025.

– National Interest – Could this be one way to respond to Kim’s supposed ‘Christmas gift’?

– War Zone – Changes in official definitions could create an easier path to the goal of a 355-ship fleet and reflects a growing interest in drone ships and subs.

– ProPublica – When the USS John S. McCain crashed in the Pacific, the Navy blamed the destroyer’s crew for the loss of 10 sailors. The truth is the Navy’s flawed technology set the McCain up for disaster.

– Defense News – As questions continue to swirl about the vulnerability and reach of aircraft carriers, Congress has gutted funding for the U.S. Navy’s research effort into a next-generation fighter to replace the relatively limited range F/A-18 Super Hornet, an effort experts say could decide the continued relevance of the aircraft carrier in the 21st century.

– Defense News – So, what did the Navy get for the holidays this year?

– Defense News – The U.S. Navy will get its two Large Unmanned Surface Vessels in 2020 after all, but lawmakers want the service to proceed with caution.

– Breaking Defense – The Navy will buy a dozen fewer ships, slash its shipbuilding budget, and possibly decommission 12 more hulls over the next four years as part of a bold cost-cutting proposal submitted to the White House for its fiscal 2021 budget. The proposals would not move the service any closer to its goal of having 355 ships by 2034, as the fleet would actually end up slightly smaller in five years than it is today.

– USNI Blog – Manning matters. That’s the basic conclusion of a pair of Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) studies that were directed by the 2017 Comprehensive Review of Surface Force Incidents (CR).

– Defense News – The U.S. Navy is gearing up to peel back the onion on years of delays and tens of thousands of operational days lost with ships languishing in shipyards.

– USNI News – The next-generation Long-Range Anti-Ship Missiles (LRASM) achieved early operational capability (EOC) with the F/A-18E/F last month, bringing new capabilities to U.S. naval aviation.

– Defense News – The U.S. Navy’s littoral combat ship program endured another round of budget cuts this year to its mission modules, but all is not gloom for the Navy’s small surface combatants.

– USNI News – As Russia continues to increase its submarine activity in the Mediterranean, Arctic and Atlantic, the U.S. Navy has made organizational changes to be more responsive but should invest in unmanned systems to support forces in the European theater, the four-star admiral who leads Naval Forces Europe said.

– Hudson Institute – There is a current lack of appreciation for the critical role of intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting (ISR/T) capabilities in naval combat success. This operational blind spot has concrete ramifications for the balance of power in the Western Pacific and the ability of the United States to force a political settlement without conflict.

– USNI News – Developing updated unmanned scout planes is the best way for the U.S. to have eyes on China’s military actions in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, according to findings in a new Hudson Institute report.

– USNI News – Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Ross (DDG-71) arrived in Constanta, Romania, Monday morning, after entering the Black Sea on Friday while being tailed by a Russian corvette.

– USNI News – The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is now in the Indian Ocean after a seven-month stint in the Middle East in parallel with the U.S. maximum pressure campaign targeting Iran.

– Second Line of Defense – An interview with Rear Admiral Pete Garvin in his office in Norfolk Virginia to discuss the way ahead with the US Navy’s Patrol and Reconnaissance Force (MPRF).

– USNI News – A Navy surveillance drone suffered major damage during a takeoff attempt while operating in the Middle East.

– USNI News – Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly has made a bold call: the Navy should reach a fleet of 355 ships – both manned and unmanned – within a decade.

– Defense News – The U.S. Navy’s newfound zeal for unmanned surface vessels has been met by skepticism in Congress.