Shephard – Additional USN vessels are to receive the AN/SEQ-4 Optical Dazzler Interdictor, Navy (ODIN) directed-energy weapon for C-UAS operations.
Shots fired from Turkish vessel at Cypriot coastguard: reports
EuroNews – A Turkish Coast Guard vessel fired warning shots at a Cypriot Coast Guard vessel that was on patrol near the port of Kato Pyrgos, on the northwest coast of the contested island.
(Thanks to Alain)
Marine UH-1Y Venom Helicopters Have Been Assisting In The Hunt For Submarines
War Zone – The adaptable UH-1Y Venom is now playing a role in the Marine Corps’ pivot toward the anti-submarine warfare mission.
Drone disguised as a manta ray will be deployed by Royal Marines to spy on warships and submarines with sleek design to avoid enemy radar and silent fish-like propulsion
Daily Mail – A near undetectable drone disguised as a manta ray will soon be deployed by the Royal Marines for surveillance of warships and submarines.
(Thanks to Alain)
Frigate Bayern in the Pacific: The Return of German Gunboat Diplomacy?
CIMSEC – The German government recently announced the deployment of the frigate Bayern to the South China Sea. With this deployment, Berlin is aiming to send a strong signal to its European and American allies. However, it is one that comes with an exit strategy of a kind that is unique to the use of naval forces. On one hand, Germany wants to be seen as standing up against unilateral Chinese appropriation of international waters. On the other hand, China’s potential counterreactions need to be closely monitored and dangerous escalation avoided, especially in light of China’s current conventional and nuclear capabilities, and Germany’s economic dependence on the Middle Kingdom.
Britain to permanently deploy two warships in Asian waters
Reuters – Britain said on Tuesday it would permanently deploy two warships in Asian waters after its Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier and escort ships sail to Japan in September through seas where China is vying for influence with the United States and Japan.
America’s Strategy in Oceania: Time For a Better Approach
War on the Rocks – Despite the Biden administration’s growing interest in Oceania, the U.S. government does not have a comprehensive strategy for the Pacific island nations, and time is running out.
Flattops from space: the once (and future?) meme of photographing aircraft carriers from orbit
The Space Review – In 1984, Samuel Loring Morison, an analyst at the Naval Intelligence Support Center outside of Washington, DC, picked three photos off the desk of a colleague. He clipped the security classification stamps off the sides of the photos and provided them to Jane’s Defence Weekly, which had only recently begun publishing. The photos were taken by a satellite of a Soviet Union military shipyard. Knowing that they had a real scoop, the editors at Jane’s put one of the photos on the cover of the magazine and featured the other two in a short article about the latest Soviet naval developments…
Ramping the Strait: Quick and Dirty Solutions to Boost Amphibious Lift
Jamestown Foundation – The apparent shortage of amphibious lift required to execute large-scale landing operations leaves many wondering whether China is serious about its threats against Taiwan. But the PLA may have other plans for transporting troops and equipment across the Strait: the growing capabilities of its merchant roll on-roll off (RO-RO) ships.
Two Iranian Warships Spotted Near English Channel
USNI News – Two Iranian warships are nearing the English Channel, according to satellite photographs reviewed by USNI News. The ships are thought to be headed to the Baltic Sea to represent Iran in a July 25 naval parade off the coast of St. Petersburg to commemorate the 325th anniversary of the Russian Navy.
The Navy Must Hide in Plain Sight
USNI Proceedings – China has been infiltrating U.S. networks for years. A comprehensive, preemptive cyber attack on the U.S. Navy is not hard to imagine.
A Toxic Brew Of Careerism And Fear: Why The Navy Could Lose A War To China
1945 – How do you change a culture? That question courses through a new congressionally mandated report from retired marine Lt. Gen. Robert Schmidle and retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery. The coauthors warn that failing to renovate the surface navy’s culture would court defeat against an increasingly well-equipped, increasingly rowdy Chinese navy.
U.S. Navy’s Virginia Class Submarines To Get 76% More Firepower
Naval News – Quantity has a quality all of its own. And when the quality relates to U.S. Navy missiles, having more of them is inevitably a massive increase in capabilities. The latest Block V Virginia Class submarine will greatly increase the number of missiles which can be carried. In effect this will make it a cruise missile submarine (SSGN). Yet it will not take away from this otherwise flexible anti-ship, anti-submarine, intelligence and special forces platform.
‘Sense Of Crisis’ On China-Taiwan: Japan Defense White Paper
Breaking Defense – Japan’s new Defense White Paper warns that China’s growing military muscle, overflights and naval incursions “have become a matter of grave concern to the region including Japan and the international community,” one which will require new capabilities and doctrine to counter.
Royal Canadian Navy to start process of replacing aging submarine fleet
Global News – The Royal Canadian Navy is launching its long-anticipated push to replace Canada‘s beleaguered submarine fleet, setting the stage for what will almost certainly be an extremely controversial debate around the need for such vessels.
Sailors, Sailors Everywhere and Not a Berth to Sleep: The Illusion of Forward Posture in the Western Pacific
War on the Rocks – Given the very real limitations on deploying additional personnel or platforms to existing forward bases or to aspirational new ones in the Western Pacific, Washington ought to adopt a more peripheral approach to conflict management in the region. An emphasis on platforms that do not require new basing rights would offer a more mobile and survivable posture.
PLA fighter bombers practice maritime mine blockade
Global Times – Fighter bombers of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy Aviation Forces recently held training exercises to practice setting up maritime blockades by airdropping sea mines.
New light-duty tank delivered to PLA Navy’s amphibious force
China Daily – China’s ZTQ-15 light tank has been delivered to the amphibious force of the People’s Liberation Army Navy.
US attempts to monitor PLA submarines with increased spy ship activities in S.China Sea
Global Times – A Beijing-based think tank is keeping an eye on an increase in close-range reconnaissance activities this year by US Navy ocean surveillance ships in the South China Sea, saying in a report released on Tuesday that the US is attempting to monitor Chinese submarine activities in the region and provide anti-submarine intelligence support.
An Alternative History for U.S. Navy Force Structure Development
CIMSEC – U.S. Navy and Department of Defense bureaucratic and acquisition practices have frustrated innovations promoted by Chiefs of Naval Operations and the CNO Strategic Studies Groups over the past several decades.1 The Navy could have capabilities better suited to meet today’s challenges and opportunities had it pursued many of these innovations. This alternative history presents what the Navy could have been in 2019 had the Navy and DoD accepted the kinds of risks faced during the development of nuclear-powered ships, used similar prototyping practices, and accepted near-term costs for longer-term returns on that investment.
On the Eve of Destruction
National Review – Jerry Hendrix on why a troubling new report on the Navy’s surface-warfare capabilities and culture matters.
Navy Adjusts F-35C Squadron Size to End Fighter Shortfall by 2025
USNI News – By 2025, the Navy will have solved its strike fighter shortfall in part by changing how it will field the F-35C Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter. Instead of two squadrons per air wing with 10 tails, the Navy will now field a single squadron with 14 tails.
Changing Taiwan ocean conditions could affect PLA’s submarines
South China Morning Post – The Chinese military has been warned that changes to the currents and temperatures off Taiwan’s east coast mean it will have to adapt its submarine warfare plans in the event of an invasion.
(Thanks to Alain)
Undersea Red: Captain Eric Sager on the Submarine Force’s New Aggressor Squadron
CIMSEC – CIMSEC shared questions with Captain Eric M. Sager to discuss the Submarine Force’s new Aggressor Squadron (AGGRON). In this conversation, Capt. Sager discusses what AGGRON is doing to enhance undersea lethality, the vital importance of connecting adversary doctrine to submarine force development, and how a dedicated Red team makes for much more realistic high-end combat training.
Here’s Our Best Look Yet At The Navy’s New Laser Dazzler System
War Zone – The Navy’s Optical Dazzling Interdictor, or ODIN, was photographed installed on the USS Stockdale during a replenishment in the Pacific.
NOSI - Naval Open Source Intelligence™ 
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