Naval News – The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) today commissioned its 12th and final Soryu-class diesel-electric attack submarine (SSK) in Kobe in Hyogo Prefecture.
Norway to buy four submarines from German Thyssenkrupp
Navy Recognition – Norway has agreed to order four submarines from Germany’s Thyssenkrupp. Norway and Germany, both NATO members, are jointly procuring identical submarines from Thyssenkrupp’s shipbuilding division.
(Thanks to Alain)
Egypt’s Suez Canal blocked by huge container ship
BBC – Dozens of vessels are stuck after a giant container ship became wedged across Egypt’s Suez Canal, one of the world’s busiest trade routes.
Marines Test Javelin Missile Teams In Rubber Rafts “Like Somali Pirates, But Better Armed”
War Zone – Defending against beach landings and ducking between islands in the dead of night, the Marines are looking to small boats to help fight big conflicts.
New Royal Navy ship to protect ‘critical’ undersea cables
BBC – A new Royal Navy surveillance ship is to be built to protect “critical” undersea cables.
Can the Quad Transform Into an Alliance to Contain China?
National Defense – James Holmes asks Whither the “Quad”? Is the Quad, or Quadrilateral Security Dialogue—a loose grouping of likeminded Indo-Pacific nations—a military coalition in the making?
Looking For a Non-Kinetic Win? Invest in a Public Affairs Paradigm Shift
CIMSEC – While the United States is not at war with Russia or China, the U.S. is in a persistent “shadow war” below armed conflict across the globe with these strategic adversaries.
A New Great Game Finds the South Atlantic
War on the Rocks – In March, the South Atlantic witnessed an unusual scene: a U.S. ship turning around and sailing for home, having been refused docking rights and services by the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From January to March, the U.S. Coast Guard deployed one of its newest cutters, the USCGC Stone, to the South Atlantic, with the mission to strengthen maritime security relations and help curb illegal fishing — predominately Chinese — off the South American coast. This was the Coast Guard’s first such regional deployment in over a decade, and its first three-quarters were a success, training and cooperating with the maritime forces of Guyana, Brazil, and Uruguay. In Argentina, however, the mission hit a snag when the government refused to provide the dock services that are routine for such a visit.The press paid little attention to this kerfuffle, but it was yet another sign that a tectonic shift is underway. In the South Atlantic, former U.S. security partners are building stronger ties with China, a shift that presents critical future risks for Washington and the inter-American community.
Peter Swartz on Defining the Maritime Strategy
CIMSEC – CIMSEC discussed the 1980s Maritime Strategy with Capt. Peter Swartz (ret.), who at the time served as a naval strategist on the OPNAV staff, and worked to refine and disseminate the Maritime Strategy. In this discussion, Swartz defines the contents of the strategy, its primary tenets, and how it maintained a remarkable degree of continuity across nearly a decade of naval leadership.
The State of (Deterrence by) Denial
War on the Rocks – America should act now to strengthen its Western Pacific forward posture. Neglecting it further raises the risk of war — and defeat.
Secretary John Lehman on Strategic Credibility and Leveraging Command of the Seas
CIMSEC – CIMSEC discussed the 1980s Maritime Strategy with Secretary John Lehman, who served as the 65th Secretary of the Navy in the Reagan Administration from 1981-1987. In this discussion, Secretary Lehman looks at how the Navy tied the Maritime Strategy to force structure goals, how it built credibility with Congress, and how the Navy could offensively leverage command of the seas in a major conflict today.
A Taiwan Crisis May Mark the End of the American Empire
Bloomberg – Niall Ferguson writes that America is a diplomatic fox, while Beijing is a hedgehog fixated on the big idea of reunification.
Maritime Strategy Series Kicks Off on CIMSEC
CIMSEC – This week CIMSEC is running an interview series on the U.S. Navy’s 1980s Maritime Strategy. Through discussions with those helped conceive and advocate for this historic strategy, important lessons on the maritime dimension of great power competition will emerge.
South China Sea: alarm in Philippines as 200 Chinese vessels gather at disputed reef
The Guardian – The Philippines’ defence chief has demanded more than 200 Chinese vessels he said were manned by militias leave a South China Sea reef claimed by Manila, saying their presence was a “provocative action of militarising the area.”
The U.S. Navy’s Loss of Command of the Seas to China and How to Regain It
Texas National Security Review – In 2005, a U.S. Navy plan was forwarded to Congress: It entailed reducing force structure and transforming to a capabilities-based forward force posture. However, the Navy continued to pursue unattainable force levels and, today, has lost command of the seas to China in the Western Pacific. China’s pace of war is the speed of light through cyberspace, leaving U.S. forces blind and deaf, while America’s is 30 knots, taking weeks to arrive at the fight. A fundamental shift in mindset needs to be made. The focus should no longer be on the number of hulls, but on a return to the plan for a capabilities-based, more forward force posture, primarily by commanding cyberspace in order to regain command of the seas.
Navy Wants Triple-Packed Hypersonic Missile Modules On Its Stealthy Zumwalt Destroyers
War Zone – The modules are too large for the ship’s existing vertical launch cells, so they would likely take the place of its all but abandoned deck guns.
PLA’s Type 055 destroyer enters Sea of Japan for 1st time
Global Times – A Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy flotilla led by the country’s first 10,000 ton-class Type 055 large destroyer sailed through the Tsushima Strait on Thursday and headed toward the Sea of Japan, a few days after US and Japanese foreign and defense ministers hyped the “China threat” in bilateral “2+2” talks in Tokyo.
Proposed US submarine-hunting plane prompts hand-wringing in Germany
Defense News – The U.S. government has cleared the sale of five P-8A maritime patrol aircraft to Germany, but Berlin is nowhere near ready to make a decision on the $1.8 billion purchase.
Bridging the Gaps of Mine Warfare
USNI Blog – The Navy must examine historical data to understand the effect of mines in prior conflicts and to develop new strategies to ensure U.s. success in countering the threats.
The US Navy’s shaky plan to save its shipyards is getting overhauled
Defense News – The U.S. Navy is reworking its tenuous plan to revitalize its public shipyards, where the fleet’s nuclear maintenance is done, as it has become clear that the facilities can’t meet the needs of the current fleet, let alone accommodate a growing fleet.
British Future Commando Force
StrategyPage – Britain is implementing a lot of their Future Commando Force modernization measures in 2021. These include new combat equipment, weapons, organizational concepts and tactics. One example of the new organizational concepts are two new commando units called Royal Marines Vanguard Strike Companies (VSC).
2nd Type 055 destroyer enters service
China Daily – The People’s Liberation Army Navy has recently commissioned its second Type 055 guided-missile destroyer and named it Lhasa, after the capital of the Tibet autonomous region.
The Longer Telegram – Toward a new American China strategy
Atlantic Council – Today the Atlantic Council publishes an extraordinary new strategy paper that offers one of the most insightful and rigorous examinations to date of Chinese geopolitical strategy and how an informed American strategy would address the challenges of China’s own strategic ambitions.
Massive New Chinese Military Heliport Taking Shape Right Across From Taiwan
War Zone – The coastal base is right across from Taiwan and even closer to other islands Taiwanese authorities control.
US Navy’s new unmanned plan has ‘buzzwords and platitudes’ but few answers
Defense News – The U.S. Navy released March 16 its long-discussed Unmanned Campaign Plan, intended to map the road ahead for the service’s unmanned systems. But the plan is short on details and measurable goals, which left key national security leaders wondering if the service had anything else to share.
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