USNI News – The Navy is rethinking its planned portfolio of unmanned surface vehicles following testing of a variety of USVs in the Middle East, the service’s top officer said on Thursday.
UK to purchase at least 74 F-35 jets
Navy Lookout – It was revealed yesterday that the MoD is in negotiations with the F-35 Joint Project Office to buy another tranche of F-35 jets. This second batch will consist of 26 aircraft, in addition to the 48 already under contract.
Trained Russian Navy Dolphins are Protecting Black Sea Naval Base
USNI News – Russia has deployed trained dolphins during its invasion of Ukraine to protect a Black Sea naval base.
Navy Will Endure Strike Fighter Gaps Until 2031, Lawmakers Say
USNI News – Despite recent projections that it would eliminate strike fighter gaps in the next three years, the Navy now won’t have enough jets to train and deploy efficiently until 2031, two lawmakers said today.
Marines Couldn’t Meet Request to Surge to Europe Due to Strain on Amphibious Fleet
USNI News – As Russia prepared to invade Ukraine, the head of U.S. European Command asked for a Marine Expeditionary Unit and Amphibious Ready Group to deploy early to Europe as a hedge against the conflict expanding. But the Marine Corps couldn’t meet the request.
China Maritime Report No. 20: The PLA Army Amphibious Force
China Maritime Studies Institute – The PLA Army’s (PLAA) amphibious units would serve as the core of any joint force charged with invading Taiwan. As a result of the 2017 reforms, the PLAA now possesses six amphibious combined arms brigades distributed across three group armies (the 72nd, 73rd, and 74th). During a cross-strait invasion, these brigades would likely receive support from other elements of the group armies to which they belong. This could include fire support, air defense, air transport, aerial fire support, and electronic warfare/cyber-attack.
No additional resources for the Royal Navy’s contribution to the ‘High North strategy’
Navy Lookout – On 29th March the MoD published a new document ‘The UK’s Defence Contribution in the High North’. Here we look at the strategy and the contribution that the RN is expected to make in support of UK Arctic interests.
Navy Wants To Send 25 EA-18G Growlers To The Boneyard
War Zone – The puzzling move to shutter the EA-18G expeditionary squadrons that only fly from land may point to new capabilities waiting in the wings.
South Korea Conducts Second SLBM Test From KSS-III Submarine
Naval News – The Republic of Korea Navy conducted a second successful test-firing of South Korea’s domestically designed submarine-launched ballistic missile from the KSS-III submarine ROKS Dosan Ahn Changho (SS-083).
In the Shadow of Warships
Center for Strategic and International Studies – How foreign companies help modernize China’s navy.
U.S. Army Japan’s LCU Vessel Masters Discuss U.S. Navy LAW
Navy News – The U.S. Navy’s upcoming Light Amphibious Warship (LAW) is one of the top acquisition priorities for the U.S. Marine Corps in their strategy to counter China’s Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2AD) in the Indian Pacific Command (INDO-PACOM) region. The LAW is meant to patrol the INDO-PACOM region, transporting around 75 U.S. Marines and their vehicles and equipment for about a 30-day tour as part of Force Design 2030, the U.S. Marine Corps’ Commandant General David Berger’s concept strategy of utilizing lighter, faster, more mobile and deployable assets in the Asian Pacific Rim to counter peer nations’ vast arsenal of tactical ballistic, cruise, supersonic, and hypersonic (Anti-Ship) missiles. The LAW is still in the preliminary design stages, but the U.S. Army has ample experience transporting heavy armored tracked fighting vehicles and tactical trucks around the INDO-PACOM region using their own large Landing Craft Utility (LCU) ships.
Russia’s 110-Year-Old Salvage Ship Deploying To Moskva Wreck
War Zone – Kommuna, an antique Russian Navy salvage ship, has embarked on a mission to investigate a potential salvage operation for the Moskva wreck.
After a Decade of Debate, Cruisers Set to Exit Fleet in 5 Years
USNI News – Should Congress allow the Navy to move forward with its plan, the service would decommission 10 cruisers in two years, bringing the cruiser inventory down from 22 ships to 12 by the end of Fiscal Year 2023.
The Russo-Ukranian War at Sea: Retrospect and Prospect
War on the Rocks – When examining the maritime elements of the war, three points of analysis are worth consideration: first, the nature of conflict at sea and its existence out of sight of land and in a different domain which confounds our understanding; second, how the Russian navy pursued the basic elements of naval strategy reflects their continued relevance in this century; and third, the ways in which Ukraine has adapted to the conflict, and how it might make future adjustments, requires understanding of the naval past and creative thinking about the naval future.
Mysterious New Missile Launched By China’s Giant Type 055 Destroyer
War Zone – This appears to be our first glimpse of China’s anti-ship ballistic missile tailored to be fired from its most advanced warships.
Navy Could Extend the Oldest Nimitz-class Carriers, Decision in Next Budget
USNI News – Some Nimitz-class aircraft carriers could remain in the fleet longer than previously anticipated.
HMS Talent retired. Royal Navy down to just 5 attack submarines
Navy Lookout – Reliable sources say that HMS Talent is being prepared for disposal with a formal decommissioning ceremony planned for sometime in May. This leaves the RN down to just 5 SSNs in service for at least the next year or more.
The “Moscow” is on the bottom of the Black Sea, but on the shores of the White Sea awaits a new cruiser
The Barents Observer – The “Admiral Nakhimov” will be the most powerful surface vessel in the Russian Navy when reconstruction is completed presumably in 2023.
This Is Our Best Look Yet At China’s Air-Launched ‘Carrier Killer’ Missile
War Zone – China’s mysterious air-launched anti-ship ballistic missile just made its latest appearance.
Navy plans to sink large undersea drone program
Breaking Defense – The Navy plans to cancel the Snakehead high-profile unmanned undersea drone research program following missteps during the design and procurement phases.
New Navy Long Range Shipbuilding Plan Calls for Decommissioning More Cruisers, Littoral Combat Ships
USNI News – The Department of the Navy’s first long-range shipbuilding plan in three years proposes multiple fleet procurement schemes for the Navy.
Remote island ramps up defenses as tensions rise between Japan and China
CNN – On most days, fisherman Kazushi Kinjo leaves port on the Japanese island of Yonaguni to catch deep sea red snapper in waters to the north. There, fish are plentiful — and increasingly, so are Chinese Coast Guard ships.
How China Would Wage War Against The ‘Great Wall In Reverse’
1945 – Suppose General David Berger, the commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, gets his way and transforms the corps into an island-hopping, missile-toting force able to transmute the first island chain into a “Great Wall in reverse”—a barricade against sea and air movement between the China seas and the Western Pacific. Chinese Communist Party magnates might be deterred for a time from misadventures in the South China Sea, Taiwan Strait, or East China Sea, but they would not meekly acquiesce in their imprisonment within coastal waters.
Navy bolsters submarine force in Guam to support Indo-Pacific missions
Navy Times – The Navy now has five submarines homeported in Guam — up from two the service had based there as of November 2021.
Pentagon Posts Rare Photo Of Navy SEAL-Laden Special Ops Sea Base
War Zone – Just days after The War Zone published a deep dive into the fascinating ship and its murky future, it has appeared executing its mission in official images.
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