New Yorker – The Biden Administration faces a potential confrontation with a longtime rival that is better armed and more hard-line than at any time in its modern history.
Getting Back On Top: How to Rebuild the Navy
USNI Proceedings – The Navy recovered and rebuilt after the Vietnam War—a low point similar to the situation today. How it regained its position as the dominant navy in the world is an interesting and instructive tale.
UK military chief warns of Russian threat to vital undersea cables
The Guardian – Admiral Tony Radakin says any attempt by submarines at damage would be treated as ‘act of war’
The Navy Is Betting Big On High-Power Microwave Weapons
War Zone – Lasers dominate discussions about U.S. Navy directed energy weapons, but the service formed a new office devoted to systems that fire microwave beams.
Navy says it ensured sub safety after fake strength tests surfaced, but won’t detail how
Navy Times – The U.S. Navy says it has worked to ensure submarine safety following revelations late last year that a Washington state metallurgist spent decades faking the strength tests results for steel used to make subs.
French Navy’s 2021 Report On Global Maritime Security
Naval News – 317 acts of maritime piracy and robbery were recorded worldwide in 2021 by the MICA Center. A decrease compared to 2020 particularly in the Gulf of Guinea off West Africa. In 2021 the Caribbean and Singapore Strait were the most affected areas.
Russian Navy builds more icebreakers
Barents Observer – Both the Northern Fleet and the Pacific Fleet will over the next years get new powerful icebreaking vessels. They are needed for our “active development of the Arctic,” the Navy argues.
HMS Northumberland gets up close with a Russian submarine
Navy Lookout – The 3rd series of the Channel Five TV documentary Warship – Life at Sea, following HMS Northumberland on patrol inside the Arctic Circle, has revealed a Russian SSN collided with her towed array sonar. Here we take an overview of events and their context.
Marine F-35Cs Begin First Carrier Deployment, Type Could Take On Larger Role In The Service
War Zone – With the Marine Corps deeply overhauling its combat doctrine, the F-35C could become more relevant, leading to shifts in procurement.
PLAN In Motion: Chinese Navy’s Massive Ship Commissionings In 2021
Naval News – 2021 has been a fruitful year for the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN or Chinese Navy). At least eight Guided Missile Destroyers (DDG), two amphibious assault ships (LHD) and one nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) joined the PLAN fleet.
Chinese Navy Piracy Patrol Shepherds Fishing Fleet Through Gulf of Aden
USNI News – The People’s Liberation Army Navy 39th Escort Task Force carried out a three-day-long escort mission of Chinese fishing vessels through the Gulf of Aden.
Russian submarine hit Royal Navy warship in North Atlantic
BBC – A Russian submarine collided with a Royal Navy warship on patrol in the North Atlantic, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed.
Learning the lessons – the loss the Norwegian frigate Helge Ingstad
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.
Unmanned and on Guard: A New Approach to Coast Guard Operations
USNI Blog – Faced with increasingly challenging operational scenarios, the Coast Guard must embrace unmanned systems as tip of the spear technologies to maximize capabilities and maintain relevancy in an era of international and environmental uncertainty.
US Navy avoided a 2022 ‘trough’ in submarine fleet size, but industry challenges threaten future growth
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
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
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.
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The British and the Limitations of Maritime Maneuver
US Naval War College Review – Strategists who are turning to maritime maneuver to achieve their ends amid intensifying great-power competition should be aware that the British historical experience shows that—owing to its costs, challenges, and limitations—the approach most often has failed to deliver on its strategic promise.
South Korea’s Taiwan Conundrum
War on the Rocks – What would South Korea do if China attacked Taiwan?
Chinese Carrier Strike Group Liaoning Returns From Deployment
USNI News – The People’s Liberation Army Navy Liaoning carrier group returned to its homeport of Qingdao on Dec. 30 after a successful training deployment.
Japan Wants To Arm Its Submarines With Long-Range Cruise Missiles
War Zone – The missiles would offer land-attack and anti-ship capabilities and would be expected to serve as a deterrent to China and North Korea.
Russian Navy corvette Provorny may be restored in five years after shipyard fire
TASS – Russian Navy’s corvette Provorny may be restored in 2026 after it sustained damages in a fire ten days ago.
(Thanks to Alain)
2021 World Naval Operational News Highlights
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?
The ‘Caspian Sea Monster’ rises from the grave
CNN – While ground effect vehicles fell out of favor in the past few decades, the concept has been experiencing a resurgence of late.
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