– War Zone – The laser represents a large leap in power output over previous systems and is hardened to operate in the harsh maritime environment.

– War Zone – He also talked about the possibility of deploying those manned and unmanned aircraft on ships beyond traditional aircraft carriers.

– Defense News – David Larter says a wind of change is blowing through the Navy right now. It has to do with a new force structure assessment that’s ongoing that keen observers of the Navy believe may set the service on a very different course than the one its on. And there is no keener observer over the Navy than the Congressional Research Service’s Ron O’Rourke…

– Defense News – The U.S. Navy inked a deal with General Dynamics Electric Boat on Dec. 2 to be the lead contractor for the newest iteration of the Virginia-class attack submarine.

– Navy Times – Just because China might be able to hit U.S. Navy aircraft carriers with long-range anti-ship missiles doesn’t mean carriers are worthless. The chorus of doom and gloom over China’s anti-access weapons is too simplistic, but that doesn’t mean the Navy should refrain from adjusting the way it fights.

– Defense News – The U.S. Navy and Air Force are teaming up to rapidly develop a battle network that can link together Air Force and Navy assets, an effort the Navy’s top officer compared to the 1940s program to develop an atomic bomb.

– USNI News – The Navy and industry are still facing a lot of unknowns during a “dynamic” conversation about what ships to build and how to best support future operations.

– Defense News – The U.S. Navy’s top officer released his first planning guidance Wednesday, the first major document released since ascending to the office earlier this year.

– Navy Times – A Navy warship has seized a “significant cache” of suspected Iranian guided missile parts headed to rebels in Yemen, U.S. officials said Wednesday, marking the first time that such sophisticated components have been taken en route to the war there.

– Forbes – The U.S. Navy’s 2021 budget proposal apparently will request no new money to purchase the service’s only long-range anti-submarine aircraft, despite a growing undersea threat and a shortfall in aircraft designed to cope with that threat.

– CIMSEC – Robert Rubel asks what is it that the air wing, irrespective of the range of its aircraft, is supposed to do? That is a function of the ability of aircraft to penetrate to a launch point, and the ability of the weapons they deliver to achieve the effects needed. A valid discussion of those factors involves much more than just “bombs on target.”

– Defense News – The U.S. Navy on Monday awarded its largest-ever shipbuilding contract to General Dynamics Electric Boat for construction of nine Virginia-class attack submarines, eight of which will have 84-foot section that boosts the boat’s strike missile capacity.

– USNI Blog – A new breed of strategic underwater weapons unmanned has the potential to re-shape not just mining but also anti-submarine and surface warfare.

– USNI News – USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) crossed into the eastern Atlantic Ocean on Sunday, entering the U.S. 6th Fleet area of responsibility as part of a deployment widely believed to include relieving USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) in the Middle East.

– Defense News – Last week’s ouster of Secretary of the Navy Richard Spencer marked the latest in a string of leadership disasters for a beleaguered service, one that has seen a slew of admirals and senior captains reprimanded, fired or had their careers cut short for everything from ethics violations to poor performance on their watch.

– USNI News – The Navy pays a steep price keeping an aircraft carrier with escorts on station to deter attacks on oil tanker traffic operating in and around the Persian Gulf as part of the United States’ “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran.

– Defense News – The U.S. Navy lacks the necessary intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets to support a force plans to operate more spread out and fight at longer ranges.

Read the full report from the Hudson Institute here.

– USNI News – Navy ship-driving skills of its junior officers have seen modest improvements over last the two years since the fatal collisions in the Western Pacific that resulted in the death of 17 sailors.

– War Zone – The four converted ballistic missile submarines are so much more than Tomahawk slingers and transports for Navy SEALs.

– BBC – US Navy chief Richard Spencer has been fired over his handling of the case of a Navy Seal demoted for misconduct.

– ProPublica – Navy Cmdr. Bryce Benson accepted responsibility for the deadly crash of the USS Fitzgerald and was told, “That’s done now.” But when another ship crashed, the Navy decided it wasn’t through with him. Its pursuit nearly destroyed him and his family.

– South China Morning Post – The US Navy is strengthening its presence in the South China Sea by deploying two Independence-class ships specialising in nearshore operations.

– USNI Proceedings – Infrared, radar, acoustic, and optical stealth are the new frontier in low-observability, and the winner of the metamaterial competition will have an enormous advantage in the next fight.

– National Interest – James Holmes writes that today the time has come to expand and deepen the transpacific relationship beyond periodic U.S. Marine deployments and air-force exercises.

– USNI News – The Navy is already making hard decisions – curtailing training for air wings not imminently deploying, canceling planned ship maintenance availabilities – as the specter of a full-year continuing resolution looms.