War on the Rocks – The Hollywood blockbuster “Top Gun” starring Tom Cruise was a potent recruiting advertisement for aviators. One of its most memorable scenes was of a chorus of pilots at the bar of an Officer’s Club singing “You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling” to a bemused Kelly McGillis…It is time to extend that “loving feeling” to submarine warfare — including, and perhaps especially, to the submarine forces of U.S. allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region.
Delivering a stronger Navy, faster
Australian Strategic Policy Institute – Serious risks are being realised in the Royal Australian Navy’s twin transitions in its surface combatant and submarine fleets. As Australia’s strategic circumstances become more dangerous, Defence needs to adopt hedging measures to actively address the capability risks in its acquisition plans.
(Thanks to Alain)
The Implications of Simultaneous Conflicts in South Korea and Taiwan
CIMSEC – Although the United States was able to deter China from invading Taiwan in 1950 despite its concurrent commitment of forces to defend South Korea against North Korean aggression, it may not be so successful today or in the near future given the current trend in the balance of military power.
Navy Deployed USS Hershel ‘Woody’ Williams Near Major African Drug Trafficking Routes
USNI News – The Navy is taking its sole ship assigned to U.S. Africa Command to places the service hasn’t been in almost a decade – including a key chokepoint that’s become a major opioid drug trafficking route.
The Navy Isn’t Prepared To Face The Growing Diesel Submarine Threat
War Zone – A veteran submarine hunter explains how the proliferation of ever more capable diesel-electric submarines is a major problem for the U.S. Navy.
More Than Just a Fire: The Bonnie Dick Reveals a Navy in Shambles
War on the Rocks – The final assessment of the USS Bonhomme Richard fire reveals that the U.S. Navy is hobbled by questionable training, a shortage of personnel, and a general unpreparedness to fight and prevail in a war. If they are to play a meaningful role in a cross-strait conflict, U.S. ships must be able to fight in range of Chinese missiles. The Bonhomme Richard disaster, a fire in the port of San Diego, might not seem relevant here, but it is: It demonstrates the Navy’s egregious damage-control inadequacies. If these are left unaddressed, the Navy will face a serious erosion of its combat power after only a handful of Chinese missile barrages.
New Stealth Fighters, Aircraft Carriers And UCAVs: Dissecting The Real State Of China’s Naval Aviation
The Aviationist – We interviewed Chinese military aviation expert Andreas Rupprecht to learn more about the progress of the PLAN Naval Aviation.
How War With China Begins
The Atlantic – A cold war is already under way. The question is whether Washington can deter Beijing from initiating a hot one.
Investigation Concludes USS Connecticut Grounded on Uncharted Seamount in South China Sea
USNI News – Investigators have determined USS Connecticut (SSN-22) hit an uncharted seamount that grounded the nuclear attack submarine on the underwater feature in the South China Sea Navy
Chinese Ferry Tales: The PLA’s Use of Civilian Shipping in Support of Over-the-Shore Logistics
Chinese Maritime Studies Institute – The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has long provided indications it will use civilian shipping in direct support of a cross-strait invasion of Taiwan. To date, however, there has been little effort to gauge the PLA’s actual ability to leverage China’s commercial fleet in the most challenging part of any such campaign—operations over-the-shore. Drawing from ship tracking data, satellite imagery, media reporting, and the writings of PLA experts, this report analyzes recent military-civil fusion exercises and training to assess current capabilities.
What’s At Stake In The Indo-Pacific
USNI Proceedings – What happens at sea will determine what happens on land across the region.
Don’t Trust China In The South China Sea
1945 – James Holmes writes that history has proved, time and again, that CCP commitments to lofty principles are perishable. The leadership honors them as long as it needs them, and discards them when it doesn’t.
‘Lightning Carriers’ Could Be Lightweights in an Asian War
War on the Rocks – Earlier this month, U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II fighters embarked on the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force ship JS Izumo as a capability validation…It is also a milestone on a path that is establishing smaller aircraft carriers equipped with the F-35B Lightning II, or “Lightning carriers,” as the new capital ships of Asia.
The unintended consequences of the AUKUS deal
Defense News – A semi-permanent marriage between Russia’s military design genius and China’s industrial production acumen on large projects may be the most concerning legacy of the AUKUS deal.
Navy Aviation Vision 2030-2035
US Navy – The following is the Navy Aviation Vision 2030-2035 released this week by the Navy.
China’s New Carrier-Based Stealth Fighter Makes First Flight
The Aviationist – China has flown the carrier variant of its FC-31 stealth fighter, possibly dubbed J-35 (and bearing some resemblance to the F-35C).
Navigate by the Stars—From Beneath the Waves
USNI Proceedings – A periscope can be a fine stand-in for a sextant.
Crucial mission: The United States must shore up its sea power
The Hill – James Holmes says the US Navy must fix its problems — and burnish its good name for seamanship and tactical acumen.
China’s Massive New Aircraft Carrier Is As Big As It Can Be
Naval News – Aircraft carriers are at the vanguard of China’s incredible naval expansion A new, larger super-carrier is being built near Shanghai. Analysis of radar satellite imagery shows that it is as large as China’s new bases allow.
Pentagon has a Pacific posture predicament
Nikkei Asia – White House and admirals can’t agree on how to deter China.
China’s Massive New Maritime Patrol Ship Looks Like A Cruise Ship Inside
War Zone – The Haixun 09, which displaces more than 10,000 tons, is remarkably ornate for a patrol ship and has some puzzling features.
A New Maritime Strategy, Part 3 – Process As Product
CIMSEC – In parts one and two of this series of articles I discussed the factors that would influence the content of a new maritime strategy. In this article I will discuss the process of strategy, focused on the Navy’s case.
Why didn’t the Navy see the USS Bonhomme Richard fire coming?
Defense News – When the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard caught fire last summer while undergoing maintenance and then burned for nearly a week, those inside and outside the fleet wondered how such a peacetime loss of a warship could ever happen. But according to a Big Navy review of ship fires released last week, the threat of such a catastrophe has smoldered inside the sea service’s public and private shipyards for years.
The Poison Frog – Preventing a Chinese Fait Accompli Against Taiwanese Islands
Centre for New American Security – A new report, which examines what might happen were China to seize outlying Taiwanese islands, whose results are based upon a wargame.
Beyond Defense: America’s Past and Future Interests at Sea
CIMSEC – America should reconceive how it leverages and secures its territorial waters, trade routes, and the high seas. The history of America’s tangled maritime bureaucracy offers insight to how it can answer China’s challenge.
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