Naval News – U.S. Marine Corps F-35Bs and U.S. Navy F-35Cs will mature with Block 4 software upgrades. But Full F-35 Production Waits for the Biden Administration to Make Key Production Decisions. Meanwhile, the number of foreign operators of F-35B is growing.
Here’s what we know about Turkey’s newly launched homemade frigate
Defense News – Turkey on Jan. 23 launched its first locally built frigate, the I-class TCG Istanbul, advancing a program that involves the production of four corvettes and four frigates.
The U.S. Needs an Official Sixth Fleet History, and the Europeans Do Too
CIMSEC – It is highly unlikely that this year, 75 years after the USS Missouri’s trip to Turkey for a show of force in the emerging post-World War II order, will be commemorated with a similar U.S. naval deployment – due to the absence of battleships in the American warship inventory, the raging pandemic, and the divide in Turkish-American and Turkish-NATO relations in the wake of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s politics. It should, however, signal the start to an honest effort conceptualizing American naval presence and seapower in Europe. It is as important for Americans as it is for Europeans.
The Beautiful Stability Of U.S. Foreign Policy
1945 – James Holmes writes that consensus on principles, change in how principles are put into practice: that seems to be the American way.
Here are the challenges involved in building the future US Navy
Defense News – The cost-management problem is best summarized by the replacement cost of the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard. Original cost in constant dollars is $1.3 billion. The Navy says that current replacement cost is $4.1 billion. This is a clear case of out-of-control requirements creep and manufacturing inefficiency at many levels.
LCS Sailors Will Lead the Fleet Forward
USNI Proceedings – Today’s Navy faces many challenges. One of these is finding the optimum application and purpose for the LCS.
Chinese Navy Faces Overseas Basing Weakness
USNI News – A major weakness “the largest navy in the world” has yet to solve is where Beijing will find skilled shipyard workers and modern facilities to maintain its fleet’s combat readiness far from its shores.
Flat tires and slow escape times plague Marine ACV initial operational test
Marine Times – The reviews are in for the Marine Corps’ newest amphibious vehicle and they are not good.
Reestablish First Fleet: Deterrence in the Indo-Pacific
USNI Blog – The U.S. Navy should consider reestablishing First Fleet in Singapore to provide strategic deterrence in the Indo-Pacific and reduce transit time to the area of responsibility (AOR) in the South China Sea.
Ingalls Eyeing LPD Cost Reductions, Capability Increases As Future Fleet Design Evolves
USNI News – As the Navy looks to smaller and cheaper manned and unmanned ships to fill out its future fleet, a larger amphibious warship program is positioning itself to remain in shipbuilding plans by highlighting the ability to continue bringing costs down – including through a potential first-ever multi-ship buy – and adding capability.
Chinese Ships Seen Mapping Strategic Seabed In Indian Ocean
Naval News – Chinese government ships have been carrying out a systematic survey in the eastern Indian ocean. Data gathered may be particularly relevant to submarine warfare.
The Tinderbox: Germany’s Naval Build-Up, the Great War of 1914, and the Balance of Power
CIMSEC – Arms races and military build-ups are a recurring phenomenon in global politics even today.
Japan To Greatly Extend Range Of Type 12 Anti-Ship Missiles, Modify It For F-15J
Naval News – On December 18, 2020, the Japanese government decided to extend the range of Type 12 surface-to-ship missiles (SSM) manufactured by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. What’s more: The missile could be modified into an air-launched variant for the F-15J fighters.
Marine Corps to Stand Up First Marine Littoral Regiment in FY 2022
USNI News – The Marine Corps plans to officially form the new unit designed to execute its island-hopping strategy in the Indo-Pacific next fiscal year.
How President Biden Should Support The U.S.-Japan Alliance
1945 – On this Inauguration Day, we spoke with Dr. Andrew Erickson, a professor of strategy in the U.S. Naval War College (NWC)’s China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI), to get his take on how President Biden should manage the U.S.-Japan Alliance amid security threats from China and North Korea.
Navy Working on Better Maintainability, Self-Sufficiency for LCS and Rest of Surface Fleet
USNI News – Navy officials in Washington and on the waterfront are trying to help the Littoral Combat Ships grow more reliable and maintainable, amid a surface navy-wide effort to focus on crew-level maintenance as a means of improving operational availability.
How China’s defence law changes pave the way for greater global military influence
South China Morning Post – By providing legal support for future overseas adventurism, the law underlines Beijing’s intent to be a more activist military power and expands the reasons it might project its power abroad – a change that could shake up global politics
China’s 3rd aircraft carrier expected to launch in 2021
Global Times – China’s third aircraft carrier, expected to be very different from the previous two with much larger displacement and featuring electromagnetic catapults, could be launched in 2021 and enter naval service around 2025, media reports predicted based on recent photos of the ship’s construction site.
US Navy halts deliveries of Freedom-class littoral combat ship
Defense News – The U.S. Navy has halted deliveries of Lockheed Martin’s Freedom-class littoral combat ship, citing a design flaw with the ship’s transmission.
Australia Reportedly Looking At An Alternative To Its Costly New French-Designed Submarines
War Zone – Australia’s plans to introduce 12 advanced new Attack class submarines may have hit a new snag. The huge cost of the French-designed conventional submarines, which will likely feature air-independent propulsionand other advanced technologies, means that officials may be examining whether they might instead replace the Royal Australian Navy’s six existing Collins class boats with an updated version of this same design.
US War Surge Production Too Slow, CSIS Finds
Breaking Defense – The United States could not make enough military equipment fast enough to sustain its military in the event of a major war. While much thought has been given to how a great power conflict might erupt or play out, far less has been written on how the U.S. industrial base could sustain U.S. wartime equipment losses in such a conflict.
Danes Prepare For New Role in A US Strike Group
Defense News – A large Danish frigate was again tucked into a berth at Fells Point in mid-November, an almost common sight. Four of Denmark’s five large frigates and command and support ships have visited this Maryland port in recent years. But this visit of the Peter Willemoes was different. This time, the Danes were in the US to train up with a US Navy carrier strike group and deploy as an integral part of a battle formation.
Lockheed Martin Progressing Towards LRASM Integration On F-35
Naval News – During the Surface Navy Association (SNA) 2021 Virtual Symposium held last week, Lockheed Martin was showcasing a new artist impression showing two LRASM fitted on a F-35 Lightning II.
Navy Integrating Littoral Combat Ships, Expeditionary Sea Base into New Operating Concepts
USNI News – Surface warfare leaders throughout the Navy last week mused about how to employ new classes of ships such as the Littoral Combat Ship and Expeditionary Sea Base, as the fleet transitions to a new type of operations against peer competitors.
Israeli Corvette Emerges With A Double Load Of Iron Dome Missiles As Potential Threats Grow
War Zone – Israel has tested Iron Dome on these ships before, but we’ve never seen two launchers on one of their decks, and the timing is also peculiar.
NOSI - Naval Open Source Intelligence™ 
You must be logged in to post a comment.