Sieges, Containerships, and Ecosystems: Rethinking Maritime Cybersecurity

CIMSEC – The underpinnings of the global economy rely not on centralized control of a benevolent organization, but on the collective efforts of the global maritime ecosystem to take the necessary actions to ensure that the maritime commons remain credible and viable to transport the world’s goods. But the maritime industry must acknowledge that they are already under siege and act accordingly. 

Russia’s New Deep-Diving Drone Submarine with AIP

Covert Shores – Russia’s FPI (Advanced Research Foundation) recently revealed some details of a new uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) called Sarma. Although few details have emerged the associated graphic indicates a craft approximately in the Large-Displacement UUV category (LDUUV). This makes it roughly the same size as the existing Klavesin (Harpsichord) family.

Strategic Tradeoffs in U.S. Naval Force Structure – Rule the Waves or Wave the Flag?

War on the Rocks – What kind of navy should the United States build with its defense dollars? Does America want one that will win wars? Of course. How about one that deters other nations from starting a war in the first place? No doubt. Perhaps it is also useful to have a navy that can “show the flag” to generate diplomatic and economic influence, or to bolster the liberal international order? And wouldn’t it be nice if Americans could have more guns, and more butter, while also lowering their taxes?

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.

Distributed Manufacturing for Distributed Lethality

CIMSEC – Budget justifications portray Medium Unmanned Surface Vehicles (MUSV) as both “attritable assets if used in a peer or near-peer conflict” and “key enablers of the Navy’s Distributed Maritime Operations concept.” American industry must build these and other key enablers even faster than the enemy can attrite them, but where? To overcome the limited capacity of American shipyards in pursuit of this requirement, Congress should develop a distributed shipbuilding industrial base through a variety of structured incentives.

France’s New Submarine Will Be Even Quieter Than The Ocean

Naval News – The French Navy’s new strategic submarine, SNLE-3G is one of a new breed of Western ballistic missile submarines. Together with the U.S. Navy’s Columbia-class and the Royal Navy’s Dreadnought it will be particularly stealthy. Its noise levels will be lower than the surrounding ocean making it very hard to detect. Combined with a host of new technologies this should ensure its survivability against future threats.

F/A-18 Legacy Hornets Have Left The Navy’s Carrier Decks For The Last Time

War Zone – F/A-18C/D Hornets have ended their almost four-decade tenure aboard the aircraft carriers of the U.S. Navy. The final carrier deployment by the “Legacy Hornet” has officially concluded after the return of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323, or VMFA-323, the “Death Rattlers,” from its final cruise aboard the supercarrier USS Nimitz.

The Future is Unmanned: Why the Navy’s Next Generation Fighter Shouldn’t Have a Pilot

CIMSEC – The future of aviation is unmanned aircraft – whether remotely piloted, autonomously piloted, or a combination. There is simply no reason that a human needs to be in the cockpit of a modern, let alone next-generation aircraft. AI technology is progressing rapidly and consistently ahead of estimates. If the Navy waits to integrate AI into combat aircraft until it is mature, it will put naval aviation a decade or more behind.