USNI News – Officially Saviz is a merchant ship, but it is most likely a covert Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forward base. Several open-source reports over the last several years and officials with Saudi Arabia have accused the ship of being operated by the IRGC.
Australia no longer sending Navy to the Middle East, shifts focus to Asia-Pacific, China
ABC – A three-decades-long Australian naval presence in the Middle East will come to an abrupt end this year as the Federal Government grapples with an increasingly uncertain strategic environment closer to home.
Pakistani Navy confirms Brazilian jetliner will replace Orion patrol aircraft
Defense News – Pakistan’s Navy has selected the Embraer Lineage 1000 jetliner to replace its P-3C Orion long-range maritime patrol aircraft.
Force Structure Perspectives: Captain Trip Barber (ret). On Building a New Fleet
CIMSEC – In this conversation, Capt. Barber discusses the Navy’s longstanding resistance to new ship types, whether Battle Force 2045 can be afforded, and how to begin building this new fleet.
Tanker stowaways: ‘Hijacking’ ends after special forces storm ship
BBC – Sixteen members of the Special Boat Service (SBS) ended a 10-hour standoff which started when stowaways on board the Liberian-registered Nave Andromeda reportedly became violent.
PLA Navy’s anti-sub plane a star in Straits
China Daily – An anti-submarine aircraft operated by the PLA Navy has received a lot of publicity recently after a series of patrols along the Taiwan Straits.
Mine Warfare Needs a New Concept of Operations
USNI News – Automated unmanned systems technology is advanced enough to allow the Navy to design a new mine-warfare concept of operations.
Japanese F-35As Train With USS America As Tokyo Looks Toward Its Aircraft Carrier Future
War Zone – Land-based Japanese F-35As trained alongside the U.S. Navy’s first-in-class amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA-6) in the western Pacific during “advanced combined operations” earlier this week. The integrated air defense training involving Japanese and American forces comes as Japan works toward its own future carrier capability using the Joint Strike Fighter.
The Case for Big Aircraft Carriers
USNI Blog – Peer nations do not subscribe to the anti-CVN movement. The United Kingdom, China, and India have embraced aircraft carriers as a national priority despite advances in antiship missiles or price tags. China even has plans to develop four to six aircraft carriers by the 2030s with future variants approaching the size of Ford-class carriers with modern catapults, arresting gear, and nuclear propulsion.
As US Military Moves Into Palau, China Watches Intently
Breaking Defense – The United States is stepping up its military presence and activity in and around the small island nation of Palau in the Philippine Sea, a strategic location coveted by Pentagon planners as the US looks to expand its footprint in the region.
China Maritime Report No. 9: Organizing to Fight in the Far Seas, The Chinese Navy in an Era of Military Reform
China Maritime Studies Institute – The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has been laying the organizational groundwork for far seas operations for nearly two decades, developing logistical and command infrastructure to support a “near seas defense and far seas protection” strategy. In the context of such a strategy, the PLAN’s ability to project power into the far seas depends upon its ability to dominate the near seas, effectively constituting a “sword and shield” approach. Along with the rest of the PLA, the PLAN’s peacetime command structure has been brought into line with its wartime command structures, and in terms of near seas defense, those command structures have been streamlined and made joint. By contrast, the command arrangements for far seas operations have not been clearly delineated and no one organ or set of organs has been identified as responsible for them. While this is manageable in the context of China’s current, limited far seas operational presence, any meaningful increase in the size, scope, frequency, and intensity of far seas operations will require further structural reforms at the Central Military Commission and theater command levels in order to lay out clear command responsibilities.
SECNAV Braithwaite Visits Palau as U.S. Courts More Partners in the Western Pacific
USNI News – Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite visited Palau during a weeklong swing through the Pacific, making him the second high-ranking Defense Department official to visit to the small island nation in the last two months as the Second Island Chain is being eyed to play an even larger role in military plans and operations going forward.
Path to Install Hypersonic Weapons on Arleigh Burke Destroyers Unclear
USNI News – In order to accommodate the equivalent of an intermediate-range ballistic missile aboard the Navy’s current crop of destroyers, the service would need to undertake complex modifications to both the Zumwalt and Arleigh Burke classes of ships to install along-range hypersonic strike weapon on DDGs, as the national security advisor called for this week.
Battle Force 2045 could work — if defense leaders show some discipline
Defense News – Although some dismiss Esper’s Battle Force 2045 concept as a political ploy shortly before an election, it could lead to a more effective and affordable future fleet — as long as Navy and Department of Defense leaders can avoid loading it down with expensive options.
South Korea’s first training ship enters naval service
Defense News – South Korea’s Navy has received its first training ship, built with a reduced radar signature
The ‘Caspian Sea Monster’ rises from the grave
CNN – Beached on the western shores of the Caspian Sea, it looks like a colossal aquatic beast — a bizarre creation more at home in the deep than above the waves. It certainly doesn’t look like something that could ever fly. But fly it did — albeit a long time ago.
Italy’s Navy-Air Force tussle over the F-35 comes to a head
Defense News – A long-running tussle between Italy’s Air Force and Navy over the F35-B jet is coming to a head as deadlines approach for deciding who gets the next aircraft to roll off the production line and where it will be based.
Chinese military beefs up coastal forces as it prepares for possible invasion of Taiwan
South China Morning Post – Beijing is stepping up the militarisation of its southeast coast as it prepares for a possible invasion of Taiwan, military observers and sources have said.
Indonesia rejects US request to let spy planes land, avoiding taking sides in US-China tensions
South China Morning Post – Indonesia has never allowed foreign militaries to operate there, and analysts say Washington’s aggressive anti-China policy has unnerved the region
The Navy Just Sent A Drone To Deliver Cargo To One Of Its Ballistic Missile Submarines
War Zone – The Navy is exploring new options for replenishing its submarines out at sea, which could have broader impacts on how it resupplies all of its fleets.
France To Repair Fire-Damaged SSN Perle With Forward Section Of SSN Saphir
Naval News – French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly has declared that the Rubis-class SSN ‘Perle’ could be repaired and will be repaired.
Analysis: latest Russian Navy contracts offer development conclusions
Izvestia – The contracts signed at Army-2020 forum and exhibited models of warships provide conclusions on Navy development guidelines.
Naval Group Unveils The SMX31E New Full Electric “Concept Submarine”
Naval News – Naval Group unveils an evolution of its previous “concept submarine”, the SMX31E. This ambitious design merges all the new technologies that Naval Group is exploring. If such an innovative design won’t be operational before the 2040s (if ever), some of the proposed systems and technologies will likely be ready for operations in the following years or decades.
All US Navy destroyers will get hypersonic missiles, says Trump’s national security adviser
Breaking Defense – The U.S. Navy plans to put hypersonic missileson all Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, President Donald Trump’s top national security official said Wednesday.
Russian Navy Seen Escorting Iranian Tankers Bound for Syria
USNI News – Last week, the Iranian-flagged oil tanker Samah entered the Mediterranean Sea via the Suez Canal. After a few miles, the 900-foot-long ship stopped reporting its position and destination. Evidence suggests the ship sailed to Syria, escorted by two Russian Navy ships, including a destroyer.
NOSI - Naval Open Source Intelligence™ 
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