CIMSEC – There are two key areas that, if addressed strategically, can enhance the effectiveness of our Navy – empowerment of division officers and stability for our sailors.
Haikun: Taiwan unveils new submarine to fend off China
BBC – Taiwan has unveiled its first domestically-made submarine as it bolsters its defences against a possible Chinese attack.
U.S. revives Cold War submarine spy program to counter China
Reuters – The U.S. Navy is carrying out the biggest overhaul of its top-secret undersea surveillance network since the 1950s as China’s naval power surges and new technologies are fast reshaping maritime warfare. Beijing has similar plans of its own.
Key details behind Nord Stream pipeline blasts revealed by scientists
Guardian – Researchers in Norway reveal further analysis of 2022 explosions as well as a detailed timeline of events
Focus on Culture for Success in the AI Era
CIMSEC – The ability to harness and use AI is critical, but Navy culture must change to realize its potential. Military members must remain the masters – never the servants – of technology.
The battle-hardened ARC “Pijao” sailed with bow to the DESI operation
El Snorkel – The ARC “Pijao” Submarine of the Colombian Navy will participate in the thirteenth version of the Diesel Electric Submarine Initiative operation. (In Spanish)
(Thanks to Alain)
Ukraine’s Magura V5 USV On The Stage At DSEI 2023
Naval News – Ukraine’s Magura V5 unmanned surface vessel which was used for kamikaze attacks against Russia during the ongoing war, was showcased at DSEI 2023 exhibition in London.
Beijing Protests Removal of Scarborough Shoal Barrier, Warns Manilla ‘Not to Stir Up Trouble’
USNI News – Beijing is protesting the Philippine Armed Forces’ removal of a floating barrier installed by Chinese forces to block access to the contested Scarborough Shoal.
Dusting Off the Z-Gram: Getting Real With Retention and Recruiting
CIMSEC – Despite enlistment bonuses, recruiter rodeos, a renewed focus on influencers, and modest policy changes from PERS, the U.S. Navy continuously fails to keep Sailors from walking out the door and to convince would-be recruits from stepping in. This problem has gotten so severe that the Navy is on target to miss recruiting goals by over 7,000 personnel for FY23, and gapped billets at-sea continue to exceed 750. This shortage will continue as overworked enlisted Sailors leave, refusing the possibility of being sent TAD on additional deployments, and officers resign, rejecting uncertain billet assignments.
German Navy completes successful sea trials of 100-kW laser weapon
New Atlas – Laser weapons have begun to spread throughout NATO, as the German Navy has completed a year-long trial under realistic sea conditions of a 20-kW MBDA Deutschland/Rheinmetall Laser Weapon Demonstrator. It was installed aboard the 5,800-tonne (6,393-ton) frigate Sachsen.
(Thanks to Alain)
Russian Forces Are Bolting Old Anti-Submarine Rocket-Launchers On Equally Old Armored Tractors
Forbes – The longer Russia’s wider war on Ukraine grinds on, the more desperate Russian forces get for replacement combat vehicles—and the weirder those vehicles become.
(Thanks to Alain)
PLAN Special Mission Aviation Air Base Renovation and Expansion Activities
China Aerospace Studies Institute – The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Naval Aviation forces have been undergoing a large scale divestment of its shore based aviation capabilities through 2023. However, since then, PLAN Aviation has clearly sought to retain not only is fixed wing anti-submarine warfare (ASW) assets, but also its other shore based special mission aircraft (SMA), notably its intelligence collection aircraft and airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) fleet of KJ-200s and KJ-500s. These aircraft enable the PLAN to conduct modern combined arms tasks such as ASW, supplement a currently non-operational carrier based fixed wing AEW capability, continue to collect electronics intelligence (ELINT) and signals intelligence (SIGINT), and enable further range and jointness when fulfilling air defense and domain awareness tasks in the last PLAN controlled air defense area, the South China Sea. Given the importance of these capabilities, the PLA has been undertaking an effort to expand the land-based facilities which support these aircraft to allow for more airframes to operate from these bases. Since 2021, airfields supporting PLAN SMA in the Eastern Theater Command (ETC) and Northern Theater Command (NTC) have completed or started renovations of their runways or expansions of apron space to enable airfields to house more aircraft or to otherwise continue to generate sorties. Southern Theater Navy (STN) subordinate airfields supporting this type of aviation do not appear to have started renovations within this time frame targeted at supporting SMA.
Create a New Doctrine For Applying Learning Strategies to Warfighting Challenges
CIMSEC – The Get Real Get Better initiative has been a near-term effort to increase the effectiveness of how Sailors do things, to include problem-solving – which could be described as the science of warfighting. To holistically improve Sailors, the “Navy-wide culture renovation” must also inculcate learning strategies – the art of warfighting. A supplement or revision to NDP-1, tentatively entitled Naval Warfighting, would accomplish this by integrating the art and science of warfighting into an enduring doctrine on learning strategies.
Our Best Look At Ukraine’s ‘Marichka’ Submarine Drone
War Zone – Marichka is envisioned as being able to attack naval targets over great distance and even run clandestine resupply missions.
The United States Navy Needs an Operational Level of War Strategy to Inform Fleet Design
CIMSEC – The U.S. Navy is now at a force design and readiness crisis point not seen since Admiral Elmo Zumwalt took the helm in 1970. Admiral Lisa Franchetti should take the initiative to develop a comprehensive, operational level of war maritime strategy that will determine fleet missions, which will subsequently inform a specific fleet size and force design.
Philippines to remove barrier placed by China in South China Sea
Reuters – The Philippines will take “all appropriate actions to cause the removal of barriers” in a disputed area of the South China Sea, the country’s national security advisor said on Monday. The Philippines on Sunday shared images of a floating barrier blocking fishing vessel access in the Scarborough Shoal with Chinese coast guard ships nearby, and said it would protect the rights of its fishermen.
South Korea To Develop New VLS And SLBM For Its Submarines
Naval News – According to the request for proposal posted by the South Korean Agency for Defense Development, the new VLS prototype’s Required Operational Capability involves delivering a submarine launched ballistic missile with an ejection weight of at least 10 tons.
The shadowy Chinese firm that owns chunks of Cambodia
BBC – Fifteen years after it began, there is still not much to see of the Dara Sakor Seashore Resort in southern Cambodia.
Greyzone Lawfare: Russia and the Voyages of the SPARTA IV
RUSI – Russia’s likely use of the SPARTA IV, an alleged civilian vessel, to transport military materiel from Tartus, Syria to its port in Novorossiysk is yet another example of Moscow’s penchant for manipulating international law to satisfy its wartime agenda.
Navy Destroyer Looks Significantly Different After Major Upgrade
War Zone – The SEWIP Block III alters the Arleigh Burke destroyer’s appearance fairly dramatically via huge new extensions onto its superstructure.
Royal Navy nuclear deterrent submarines conducting increasingly long patrols
Navy Lookout – On 11th September a Vanguard-class submarine returned home to Faslane following a patrol lasting 195 days. Here we look at the background and implications of these extended periods at sea.
Ukraine Strikes Russian Navy Black Sea Fleet HQ in Latest Attack on Crimea
USNI News – Ukrainian forces attacked Sevastapol, Crimea, Friday, damaging the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
Navy brings unmanned vessels to Japan to bolster fleet integration
Defense News – Four unmanned ships are now operating out of Japan for the first time, as part of the U.S. Navy’s Integrated Battle Problem 23.2 exercise aimed at folding these unmanned vessels into routine fleet operations.
The corvette “The sharp” was put into operation
BMPD – On September 14, 2023, a solemn ceremony of raising the flag of the Russian Navy was held in Vladivostok on the corvette “The Sharp” of the modified project 20380 (plant number 2104), built by PJSC “Amur Shipyard” (ASZ, part of JSC “United Shipbuilding Corporation”) in Komsomolsk-on-Amur. This is the fourth corvette of project 20380 built on the ASH for the Pacific Fleet. (In Russian)
(Thanks to Alain)
PLA conducts blitz drill led by aircraft carrier Shandong around Taiwan island
Global Times – With the return of the Shandong aircraft carrier group and other warships, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has seemingly wrapped up its five-day blitz exercise around the island of Taiwan, which analysts said on Saturday was characterized by its large scale, joint operations and short duration in what could be a new tactic.
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