RUSI – With the region’s importance set to be amplified by the green transition, North Sea states and stakeholders must develop new ideas and strategies to ensure its future security.
French Destroyer Presence In South China Sea Shows France’ Support For Liberty Of Navigation
Naval News – France has assured nations with territorial claims in the South China Sea they will not get involved to fuel the situation, citing the deployment of the newest ship in the Marine Nationale is not an aggressive and provocative action, France’s military operations chief in the Asia-Pacific region said Wednesday.
Pressed to prove value of amphibious ships, Marines seek to add drones
Defense News – A June update to Force Design 2030 calls, in part, for a “holistic mothership experimentation campaign plan” that addresses how the Corps’ prized amphibious ships might house and launch unmanned aircraft and vessels, along with an undefined array of other warfighting technology.
To sharpen the ‘stand-in force,’ Marines honing in on mobile recon battalions, ‘family of vehicles’
Breaking Defense – In the year and a half since the Marine Corps published its “Concept for Stand-In Forces,” senior leadership say the service’s reconnaissance capabilities, and particularly the need for a family of vehicles, is “getting the most attention.”
China’s Imperialist Foreign Policy
1945 – Do all of this, writes James Holmes, and we might blunt the worst excesses of China’s imperial foreign policy—and spoil the Chinese Dream.
US Marine Corps wants to further speed up Force Design overhaul plans
Defense News – The presumed future commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps wants to accelerate the service’s implementation of its Force Design 2030 modernization effort.
Countering the threat from autonomous underwater vehicles
Navy Lookout – In this guest article, Kamil Sadowski considers how navies may employ surface platforms to counter the evolving threat from UUVs.
Philippines To Acquire HIMARS, More BrahMos Missiles In Coming Years
Naval News – The Philippine Army looks to American and Indian firepower amid its shift to territorial defense operations.
US Marine Corps begins developing smaller pre-positioning ship
Defense News – The U.S. Marine Corps is taking the first step to define its next-generation maritime pre-positioning ship, which will be smaller than the vessels currently serving that purpose, but still able to support distributed maritime operations.
First Australian Submariners Set To Graduate From U.S. Navy’s Nuke School
War Zone – The first group of Australian submariners to attend the U.S. Navy’s Nuclear Power School is set to graduate next week.
Third Chinese polar icebreaker will carry deep-sea submersibles
Barents Observer – The icebreaking multifunctional research ship is expected to be delivered in 2025 and will sail both Arctic and Antarctica
China’s undersea capability: Meeting the challenge
Council on Geostrategy – This article, the second of a series on underwater warfare, explores how the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is evolving as an underwater power. Specifically, it will identify how the PLAN’s submarine capabilities will affect the strategic environment in the Indo-Pacific and how British interests might be challenged as the PLAN becomes more able to assert itself regionally and beyond.
Bear underwater: Russia’s undersea capabilities
Council on Geostrategy – As Vladimir Putin’s disastrous and ill-advised aggression against Ukraine continues to chew away at Russia’s ground forces, with no likelihood of rapid force reconstitution even when the war eventually ends, it is easy to see Russia’s military capabilities as wholly degraded. However, not only does Russia retain its strategic arsenal but, beyond some embarrassing losses in the Black Sea, its navy is almost wholly intact.
It’s Time to Bring Back Conventional Deterrence Patrols
War on the Rocks – The conventional deterrence patrol is an operational concept for an alert model that makes the joint force’s most advanced anti-ship munitions available for employment at a moment’s notice during a crisis. Conventional deterrence patrols would provide significant, flexible combat power for the joint force by keeping strike aircraft airborne within range of the battlespace but at the edges of China’s reach.
A Look At Naval Group’s Philippine Navy Submarine Offer
Naval News – With interest rising on the potential for the Philippines to acquire submarines, Naval News takes a look at one of the top contenders for the program.
Formidable patrol boats are giving Ukraine the edge along the Dnipro River
CNN – The 34-foot vessel speeds along Ukraine’s Dnipro River at maximum velocity, before its captain shouts: “Hold!” It does a snap turn and then smoothly moves on, in a seamless motion, barely slowing down. With little armor, the US-donated Dauntless Sea Ark patrol boat relies on speed to evade attacks, and its impressive maneuverability is a key asset for Ukraine’s recently established river fleet.
Tackling Maritime Security Requires a Revised Inso-Pacific Strategy
War on the Rocks – To tackle maritime security comprehensively, however, China should not be the sole focus of U.S. policy in the region. The United States should recognize that nontraditional maritime security threats remain significant barriers to a free, safe, and prosperous maritime domain in the Indo-Pacific. As maritime piracy has declined globally, there has been an increased focus on the role illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing plays in marine ecosystem destruction as well as a gateway to other maritime criminal activity. Illegal foreign fishing has been long believed to drive sea piracy. This narrative is clear when it comes to Somali piracy in the greater Gulf of Aden. While foreign industrial trawlers can sometimes push local anglers into maritime crime, the relationship is more nuanced and localized than previously thought.
No Longer on Defense: Building the Offensive Destroyer Squadron
CIMSEC – For generations, the primarily defensive roles of the surface fleet and the lack of long-range anti-ship weapons have sapped the offensive spirit of the Surface Warfare Officer community. As ships begin to utilize the SM-6 in anti-surface mode, an offensive spirit is beginning to build. The surface warfare enterprise needs to continue to invest in longer-range weapons to put the enemy on the defensive and to put our own ships on offense.
Professionals talk logistics: Who will fix Pacific lift?
Breaking Defense – It’s 10,000 kilometers from L.A. to Taipei. How will supplies cross that vast distance in event of war with China? Two RAND experts argue only Congress can force the services to work together.
Royal Navy’s Sea Venom light anti-ship missile full operating capability delayed until 2026
Navy Lookout – In a Parliamentary answer, it was revealed this week that the RN’s Wildcat helicopter will not be certified to launch the Sea Venom missile until 2026.
US, Papua New Guinea boost defense ties in wake of Solomon Islands deal with China
Defense News – A Coast Guard spokeswoman noted that being turned away from the Solomons “allowed for increased partnership with Papua New Guinea, supporting strategic objectives and strengthening regional relationships.”
China Maritime Report No. 28: Bitterness Ends, Sweetness Begins: Organizational Changes to the PLAN Submarine Force Since 2015
China Maritime Studies Institute – “Above-the-neck” reforms in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) that began in 2015 directed the development of a new joint operational command system that resulted in commensurate changes to PLA Navy submarine force command and control. Additional changes to tactical submarine command and control were driven by the evolution and expansion of PLA Navy surface and airborne capabilities and the introduction of new longer-range submarine weapons. Follow-on “below-theneck” reforms inspired significant organizational change across most of China’s military services. However, the PLA Navy submarine force, for its part, did not reorganize its command structure but instead focused on significant improvements to the composition and quality of its force. Between 2017 and 2023, the PLA Navy submarine force engaged in a notable transformation, shuffling personnel and crews among twenty-six submarines—eleven newly commissioned and fifteen since retired—relocating in-service submarines to ensure an equitable distribution of newer, more capable submarines across the fleet. Observations of infrastructure improvements at PLA Navy submarine bases portend even more changes to submarine force structure in the coming years.
Titanic sub search: US Navy detected implosion sounds after sub lost contact
BBC – The US Navy detected sounds “consistent with an implosion” shortly after OceanGate’s Titan submersible lost contact, a navy official has said.
Littoral Combat Ship USS Charleston Completes 26-Month Deployment to Western Pacific
USNI News – As maiden deployments go, the one USS Charleston (LCS-18) just wrapped is one for the record books. The Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship returned to its San Diego, Calif., homeport last week, closing out a 26-month rotational deployment overseas. During that time, the ship operated across the U.S. 7th Fleet and 3rd Fleet regions with five rotations of its two crews, with the gold crew completing three rotations and the alternative with the blue crew, which did two.
Russian Navy Attempts To Disguise Its Most Powerful Warship In Black Sea
Naval News – The Russian Navy is applying a radical new approach to protecting its most valuable warships from Ukrainian attacks. A deceptive camouflage scheme has been applied to the frigate Admiral Essen. This tries to confuse Ukrainian drone operators into mistaking their target. How well it will work is open to question.
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