– War Zone – The U.S. and Russian Navies had a similar near-collision in the Pacific last year and this incident comes during a very tense time in this region.

– USNI Blog – One of the strangest mysteries of the modern U.S. Navy is a series of events that played out in 2004 and 2014–15, on each coast, involving what the Pentagon now calls “unexplained aerial phenomena” (UAP).

– Defense News – The U.S. Navy’s surface fleet is completely misaligned to meet the threats the military says it must counter in the 21st century, and it’s not correctly constructed to pursue its own strategy of “distributed maritime operations,” according to new study from the Center or Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.

Read the report: Taking Back the Seas: Transforming the U.S. Surface Fleet for Decision-Centric Warfare

– CIMSEC – The challenge of spectrum management and control will be acute for militaries, which depend almost entirely on the EMS for sensing and communications.

– CIMSEC – CIMSEC had the opportunity to discuss the growth and evolution of the U.S. Surface Navy’s lethality with Rear Admiral Scott Robertson, commander of the Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center (SMWDC).

– Defense News – Despite causing a political firestorm earlier this year and forcing President Donald Trump to publicly reverse his administration’s position on the matter, the U.S. military again tried to push a plan that would lead to the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman retiring 25 years early and would defund a carrier air wing.

– USNI News – The Navy’s fleet created to beef up its Atlantic presence against Russia is now fully operational.

– Breaking Defense – The 2nd Fleet says it’s ready to hunt Russian subs and start pushing into the Arctic. But it can only do that if the Navy can spare the ships.

– Defense News – The head of the U.S. Navy’s Fleet Forces Command has ordered the service’s surface force to develop a concept of operations for both the large and medium unmanned surface vessels in development.

– Defense News – A sweeping series of proposed cuts to the U.S. Navy’s shipbuilding programs and force structure could herald a new strategy for a slimmed-down fleet, or could fizzle out in the budgetary process. But the fact that such a proposal is on the table in the first place shows the pressure under which the Defense Department is working as it anticipates a flat budget and a stack of modernization bills to pay, experts say.

– USNI Blog – With the release of the Presidential Budget that outlines unmanned and autonomous systems as the investment priority for the Department of Defense, it is clear to most in the mine warfare community that the U.S. Navy is stepping away from legacy mine countermeasures (MCM) platforms and toward the littoral combat ship (LCS) and the development of the MCM mission package. This shift will introduce capability and capacity gaps within the mission area, and while I don’t argue that many gaps exist, I believe the second- and third-order effects from operating MCM systems from mainstream platforms present an opportunity for the force to be optimistic about the future.

– War Zone – The propeller is increasingly giving way to the more complex pump-jet propulsor on larger submarines. Here’s why.

– USNI Proceedings – The traditional ballistic missile defense mission is too narrow and operationally limiting.

– Defense News – A small but potentially substantial change in the Pentagon’s five-year budget projection slows down the buying profile for the U.S. Navy’s new frigate, which is expected to be awarded in 2020.

– 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.