Navy Lookout – NATO Exercise Cold Response 2022 (CR22), the largest cold-weather exercise in Norway since the 1980s began this week.
Navy Pilots Flying Dozens of Daily Russian Deterrence Missions from USS Harry S. Truman
USNI News – Since December, the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group, Carrier Air Wing 1 and its escorts have been operating in the Adriatic and Ionian seas launching 80 to 90 sorties a day as far north as Lithuania for a variety of missions with NATO-allied aircraft from Romania, France and Italy. Some fighters launched from Truman are training, while some are set to police NATO’s airspace and prevent Russian aircraft from violating those borders.
Marines To Test Lightning Carrier Concept With 20 F-35Bs Aboard USS Tripoli This April
War Zone – Early this coming April, United States Marine Corps F-35Bs from three squadrons will converge aboard the USS Tripoli (LHD-7) to fully test the ‘Lightning Carrier’ concept. The idea to basically turn big-deck “Gator Navy” amphibious assault ships into light aircraft carriers packed with F-35Bs first emerged five years ago, but it has its roots in AV-8 Harrier operations going back decades. A whopping 20 F-35Bs will be conducting sustained operations followed by surge operations from the USS Tripoli. The event will test the ability of the Marines to operate two full F-35B squadrons from one ship at one time and could have major impacts on what the stealthy jets, and the ships they deploy on, can bring to the fight in the future.
Japan Spotted Loaded-Up Russian Amphibious Warships That May Be Headed To Ukraine
War Zone – According to the Japanese Ministry of Defense, four heavily laden Russian amphibious warships recently sailed by the country’s Home Islands and were heading west. The idea here is that they may be headed to Europe to bolster Russia’s struggling invasion operation in Ukraine. The Japan MoD released an image of one of the ships showing it packed with military vehicles on its deck.
Littoral Disaster: Navy Wants To Retire 10 Littoral Combat Ships According To Report
War Zone – The U.S. Navy will reportedly seek to decommission between eight and 10 Freedom class Littoral Combat Ships, or LCSs, as part of its budget proposal for the 2023 Fiscal Year. This would despite the oldest example still on active duty being only seven years old. Last year, the service admitted that it would take years to implement critical fixes to the propulsion systems on all of the Freedom class vessels it has acquired to date.
Manning the Unmanned Systems of SSN(X)
CIMSEC – The submarine force needs sailors with specialized skills to maintain, operate and integrate UUVs into SSN(X) operations. Because the submarine force and the United States Navy at large lack a documented, repeatable, and formalized process for training UUV operators and maintainers, the qualitative concept and computational model presented in this article offers a bridge to scaling multi-UUV operations. The Navy needs to develop codified training and manning requirements for UUV operations and the infrastructure, both physical and intellectual, to support unmanned systems operations. The recommendations discussed here are focused on the specific use case of UUVs deployed from manned submarines.
Russian Warships Shelling Towns Near Odesa as Naval Activity Increasers in Northern Black Sea
USNI News – Russian ships are shelling targets in the suburbs of Odesa as naval activity ticks up in the Black Sea.
General Anthony Zinni on Staying Honest With the Troops and Translating Experience
CIMSEC – This is the third part of our conversation series with General Anthony Zinni, USMC (ret.) on leadership, strategy, learning, and the art and science of warfighting.
Top Navy official says service needs a larger fleet and a larger share of the budget
Defense News – If you’re confused about the size of the future U.S. Navy fleet, you’re not alone.
As US Navy rethinks its fleet, Ingalls Shipbuilding faces uncertain future
Defense News – Over the past three years, the service has tightened its budget and changed its requirements, making the future look far less rosy for Ingalls Shipbuilding, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries.
The Betrayal
The Atlantic – America’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan added moral injury to military failure. But a group of soldiers, veterans, and ordinary citizens came together to try to save Afghan lives and salvage some American honor.
The Taliban Confront the Realities of Power
New Yorker – They fought for decades to retake Afghanistan, but promises of a new start are already colliding with internal divisions and external opposition.
‘Limited’ Wars Could Make a Bloody Return
USNI Proceedings – “Flexible response” plans can help prevent prolonged fighting and devastation.
Targeting super yachts owned by Russian oligarchs could hit a nerve in Moscow
CBC – With sanctions levied and financial assets seized, Russian oligarchs have been scrambling to get their super yachts out of Western ports in search of safer harbours.
Succeeding in Periods of Change
USNI Proceedings – The U.S. Navy’s “secret weapon” at Midway was a culture of learning and adaptation.
Japan Again Raises Concern Over 10 Warship Russian Navy Surface Group
USNI News – Japanese officials are raising concerns over a ten-ship Russian naval group that transited from the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan via the Tsugaru Strait between Honshu and Hokkaido on Thursday.
Show, don’t tell: Navy changes strategy to sell unmanned systems to skeptical Congress
Breaking Defense – The Navy’s pitch to Congress to embrace unmanned technology is changing, analysts say, to one that embraces the ‘evolutionary’ rather than the ‘revolutionary.’
Navy offers a new argument for decommissioning cruisers: They’re not safe
Defense News – The U.S. Navy has tried to convince Congress to let it decommission the cruiser fleet by making cost-based arguments. It’s tried readiness-based arguments, too, noting the drain on the ship repair industry. Now, the Navy is trying a new angle: the safety of the men and women onboard.
Transporting military hardware around the world – UK strategic sealift
Navy Lookout – A Private Finance Initiative provides the UK Ministry of Defence with four roll-on, roll-off (Ro-Ro) ships available to deliver military vehicles and other equipment around the globe. Here we look at these ships, plans to replace them and their tasks, including recent work to reinforce the British Army in Europe.
China Maritime Report No. 19: The PLA Airborne Corps in a Joint Island Landing Campaign
China Maritime Studies Institute – The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Airborne Corps would likely play an important role in a cross-strait invasion through operations behind enemy lines. During the landing campaign, the Corps would conduct paradrops or landing operations onto Taiwan, facilitated by PLA Air Force (PLAAF) aircraft. Once on island, airborne forces would seize and hold terrain and conduct a variety of operations to support the broader invasion. In recent years, the Corps has reorganized to improve its capability for mechanized maneuver and assault, leveraging the PLAAF’s larger inventories of transport aircraft, particularly the Y-20; improved the sophistication of its training at home; and gleaned insights from abroad via training with foreign militaries. Nevertheless, it is uncertain to what extent the Corps is able to overcome key challenges relevant to a cross-strait campaign. These include ensuring effective integration with similar ground force and marine units; carrying out operations in complex or degraded environments; transcending the Corps’ lack of relevant combat experience; and obtaining adequate air support.
Pakistan intercepts Indian Navy’s Kalvari-class submarine in its waters
NavalToday – Pakistan Navy has tracked and intercepted the Indian Navy’s Kalvari-class submarine.
(Thanks to Alain)
Japan’s first Taigei-class submarine enters service
NavalToday – Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) has revealed that the navy’s first Taigei-class submarine entered service.
(Thanks to Alain)
Poland strikes deal to buy British Type 31 Frigates
Forces.net – British defence giant, Babcock has struck a £1.4bn deal to supply Poland’s Navy with three frigates based on the Royal Navy’s Type 31 design. The warships will be built in Polish shipyards.
(Thanks to Alain)
Russian Patrol Ship Hit By Ukrainian Coastal Defenses
Maritime Executive – Ukraine’s military claims to have hit a Russian patrol ship with a shore-based rocket attack, marking the first reported casualty for a Russian Navy vessel since the start of the invasion in February. The vessel has been tentatively identified as the Vasily Bykov, the lead ship of the lightly-armed Project 22160 class of patrol vessels, and the extent of the damage is unknown.
(Thanks to Alain)
‘Controlled’ report paints rough picture for Navy’s unmanned mine-clearing vessel
Breaking Defense – UISS will be a key mine countermeasures asset for the Navy moving forward, but it experienced significant issues during testing last fall, according to new details initially hidden from public view.
NOSI - Naval Open Source Intelligence™ 
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