Learning the lessons – the loss the Norwegian frigate Helge Ingstad

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Navy Lookout – In 2021 the Accident Investigation Board – Norway (AIBN) published a detailed report covering the loss of HNoMS Helge Ingstad after she collided with an oil tanker in November 2018. There is much to be learned from this event that is applicable to the RN and global navies. In this in-depth, although far from exhaustive, article we describe the incident and look at some of the key lessons.

US Navy avoided a 2022 ‘trough’ in submarine fleet size, but industry challenges threaten future growth

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Defense News – This fiscal year was expected to be the first in which the U.S. Navy dipped into a “trough” in its submarine force, falling below the previous requirement for 48 attack subs and facing two decades of reduced numbers, with as few as 41 at times. Instead, the Navy is holding steady at 50 and plans to only grow the fleet, thanks to efforts to extend the lives of many aging Los Angeles-class SSNs by about three years each and to refuel five of them altogether for additional years of operations.

Water under the Bridge?—The Revival of New Zealand-United States Maritime Cooperation

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US Naval War College Review – The ongoing effective revival of ANZUS relations is vital to allowing the New Zealand Defence Force to fulfill the ever-increasing range of tasks expected of it. Impending capability-replacement decisions provide an opportunity to increase the capacity of the NZDF to operate with the United States in an environment that makes maritime cooperation especially important.

War Studies Primer

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We invite you to try War Studies Primer – an introductory course on the study of war and military history. Its purpose is to provide an introduction to the study of war.

War Studies Primer is presented as a lecture curriculum at the university level. It is a free, non-credit, self-study course that consists of 28 topics and over 1,900 slides and is updated on a yearly basis.

Look at slides 2 and 3 in the War Studies Primer for its Table of Contents, and then choose a lecture to read and enjoy.

2021 World Naval Operational News Highlights

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The ten most significant naval news stories / trends / themes this year included:

  • China building new naval shipbuilding yards while the US Navy struggles with figuring out how to update the old shipyards it has so that they may efficiently handle the work assigned to them. When will the US Navy get serious about maintaining the fleet it has?
  • The ever-widening operating sphere of the Chinese Navy as it seeks naval bases in Africa on the Atlantic Ocean. How soon until we see Chinese naval bases in Central or South America?
  • China’s progress in obtaining the amphibious lift necessary to realistically attempt an invasion of Taiwan, through traditional amphibious ships and the utilization of civilian ferries and RORO ships. Why can’t the US Navy be as creative in its thinking as the Chinese Navy seems to be?
  • China creating its own reality at Sansha City in the South China Sea, from which it is governing the contested areas of the South China Sea as if they were Chinese territory. Clearly China believes that possession is 9/10’s of the law. Meanwhile, Western powers keep stepping up their South China Sea FONOPS. Is it all in vain?
  • France’s commitment to the stability of the Indo-Pacific through the naval forces it bases in the Indo-Pacific and the naval forces it rotates through the Indo-Pacific. When will the rest of the Western world acknowledge France’s contributions and treat them with the respect and partnership they deserve?
  • France’s commitment to replace the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle with a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Is this fleet architecture sustainable for the French Navy and is it meaningful geopolitically?
  • The AUKUS agreement and the commitment of Australia to a future nuclear attack submarine force. Will this come to fruition in time to meaningfully contribute to the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific?
  • The deployment of the UK Carrier Strike Group around the world to Asia. Is this operationally sustainable for the Royal Navy on a regular basis and is it meaningful geopolitically?
  • While the US Navy’s surface and undersea warfare communities begin to honestly execute on their vision for Unmanned Surface Vehicles and Unmanned Underwater Vehicles in its future fleet by actively identifying and working to address the challenges these vehicles will face, the US Navy’s air warfare community pays minimal attention to unmanned aerial vehicles in its Naval Aviation Vision 2030-2035. How can they be so blind as to the role UAV’s should be playing in naval aviation by then?
  • Japan’s government’s public support for Taiwan’s independence and it’s public signaling that it would come to the defense of Taiwan if it is attacked. Are the Japanese people in agreement with their government on this issue?

Review Essay—Back to the Future? History, Energy, Climate, and the Fate of Nations: “The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations”

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US Naval War College Review – The geopolitics of the twenty-first century will look very different from that of the twentieth century, but does that mean that the lessons of the latter do not apply to the former? Will competition for oil be eclipsed by that for rare earth metals or lithium, such that the form but not the substance will change? Or does the possibility of achieving self-sufficiency in energy consumption through renewables offer an alternative to interstate resource competition or interdependence? Most importantly, does the challenge of climate change compel Americans to rethink their rivalry with China? Reading “The New Map” will stimulate thinking along these lines, but doing so is only the first step.