– Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments – In this report, the authors propose a strategy of maritime pressure to erode the Chinese leadership’s confidence in its ability to present the United States and its allies with a fait accompli. The strategy, implemented in a new operational concept dubbed “Inside-Out,” entails fielding precision-strike networks – particularly land-based anti-ship and anti-air capabilities – along the First Island Chain inside China’s anti-access/area denial network, supported by air and naval forces outside it.

– War Zone – A major upgrade in fighter jet radar tech seems to have been key in detecting and tracking bizarre objects flying in military training airspace.

– USNI News – Lockheed Martin won’t submit a bid to compete in the design of the Navy’s next-generation guided-missile (FFG(X)) frigate competition.

– USNI Blog – The Black Sea is a challenging operational environment for the U.S. military because of its confining geographical features, Russia’s established military dominance in the region, and the restrictions placed on the U.S. Navy as a non-Black Sea nation by the Montreux Convention of 1936. Overcoming these challenges and developing a strategy to deter and, if required, defeat, Russia in this region requires a new approach to U.S. thinking about naval strategy.

– Defense News – The U.S. Navy’s Director of Surface Warfare is ready to bet the farm on using lasers to shoot down missiles.

– USNI News – The Navy won’t pursue the development of a lethal carrier-based unmanned aircraft before it fields its unmanned MQ-25A Stingray tanker sometime in the 2020s.

– USNI Proceedings – In preparation for future war, the Navy must wean itself from the constant flow of data and trust subordinates to lead in battle.

– USNI News – The Navy is struggling to find support to buy new logistics ships, even as a new study finds the Navy’s current plans to recapitalize that logistics fleet are insufficient to support distributed operations in a high-end fight against China or Russia.

– USNI News – The Navy has tightly coupled early prototyping efforts and future acquisition efforts for medium and large unmanned surface vehicles, to speed up the time it will take to experiment with the vessels and get them fielded to fleet commanders.

– Breaking Defense – The Navy is adding more ships as quickly as possible, even as it grapples with how it’s going to pay the costs to keep them afloat once it gets them.

– CIMSEC – This article is not intended to support or speak out against the U.S. military’s efforts to prepare for a war against China and it is not to discuss the wisdom of my nation’s military decisions. It is only written with one purpose. That purpose is to acknowledge two absolute facts today: that the U.S. Military is preparing for war and I, an American merchant ship captain, am not ready.

– USNI News – The Pentagon is sending amphibious warship USS Arlington (LPD-24) and elements of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit to join the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group as a hedge against Iran.

– CIMSEC – While it is encouraging to see Navy plans to move quickly to bring initial Medium and Large USVs into the fleet, other unmanned platforms are equally ready for such an approach. Innovation is the key to shaping tomorrow’s Navy, and getting USVs of all shapes and sizes to the fleet for Sailors to try out is the best approach to achieving it.

– USNI News – The Lincoln Carrier Strike Group left the Mediterranean and transited the Suez Canal, officially entering U.S. 5th Fleet and U.S. Central Command.

– CIMSEC – As the Navy continues to experiment with new roles and missions for unmanned systems, unmanned force protection and missile defense is an ideal mission.

– Defense News – Prior to the accidents, ships in Japan were routinely operating under waivers for lapsed certifications in warfare areas such as damage control, navigation and flight deck operations. In this new model, ships don’t go on missions until they are trained and certified to perform them.

– Defense News – The U.S. Navy is racing to field unmanned systems, and while much work remains for distributed, unmanned sensors and missile shooters, one area of unmanned warfare is seeing success: hunting and destroying mines.

– USNI News – Executing a submarine rescue is a race against time to reach a trapped crew before a dwindling oxygen supply runs out, and when the most recent request came for help, the U.S. Navy found mobilizing personnel and equipment took too long.

– CIMSEC – Basing a support and sustainment model for Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) on 21st century tenders would both fulfill the unique support needs of USVs and help build the ability to fight and deter a war in the Pacific. This analysis will briefly discuss the role tenders played in the Pacific War, why tenders are the ideal model for sustaining USV units, then turn to what modern USV tenders should look like.

– USNI News – The Maritime Administration’s Ready Reserve Force is still as small and perhaps less ready than this time last year, when a top MARAD official said the RRF was “on the ragged edge” of readiness.

– CIMSEC – We call for the Navy to accelerating standing up a dedicated experimental squadron with the purpose of exploring advanced tactics for employing unmanned systems in a series of tactically challenging, objective-based exercises.

– Defense News – The U.S. Navy’s top surface warfare officer is changing how his crews prepare for deployment with an eye toward more quickly certifying ships and freeing up schedules so ships’ commanders can spend more time participating in customized training.

– Defense News – The U.S. Navy is on the brink of an explosion in research and development funding for its next-generation fighter program — an effort that could make or break the mainstay of the fleet’s powerful strike arm.

– Defense News – The accidents led to wholesale changes in leadership for the 7th Fleet based in the region, including a new commander, Vice Adm. Phil Sawyer, who was tasked with returning his fleet to a high state of readiness in the world’s most dangerous seas.

– Breaking Defense – The Navy has created a new fleet, and is sending it straight into the Baltic Sea to test new ways of doing business.