Grading the U.S. Air Force’s Arctic Strategy

National Interest – In a sense the U.S. military could take advantage of role reversal in the Arctic, making the theater a laboratory for anti-access American style. Hostile forces may operate off U.S. seacoasts and will need managing if so. Fielding armaments able to reach out from land in concert with seagoing forces, and devising and practicing the necessary joint tactics, could let U.S. commanders glimpse the methods deployed by red teams around the world. And getting in the red team’s mind is a crucial step toward defeating it.

People Win Wars: The PLA Enlisted Force, and Other Related Matters

War on the Rocks – The enlisted force has been the weakest link in China’s military modernization for decades, inhibiting unit readiness and operational capabilities. In the late 1990s, China’s senior military leadership decided to build a professional noncommissioned officer (NCO) corps. Yet, 40 years after the Chinese military began its long-term modernization process, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) remains a conscription-style army.

The Only Missile-Toting Ekranoplan Russia Ever Built Just Took Its Last Trip On The Caspian

War Zone – Russia’s only Project 903 Lun class ekranoplan, a type of wing-in-ground-effect craft, recently floated out onto the Caspian Sea for the first time in decades and probably for the last time ever. Designed by the Soviet Union during the latter stages of the Cold War as a high-speed anti-ship missile craft, it only saw very limited service and is now going on display at Patriot Park in the city of Derbent in Russia’s semi-autonomous republic of Dagestan.

Using Geospatial Data to Improve Maritime Domain Awareness in the Sulu and Celebes Seas

CIMSEC – Sprawling archipelagos and limited government resources make comprehensive maritime domain awareness (MDA) challenging in the Sulu and Celebes Seas. To improve their information gathering capabilities, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines have invested in advanced geospatial data acquisition technologies like unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and satellites. Integrating the resulting datasets into existing databases for an aggregate analysis greatly enhances regional MDA. Incorporating geospatial information provides authorities with a deeper understanding of the Sulu and Celebes Seas’ physical environment and how maleficent actors like insurgent groups, human smugglers, and arms traffickers threaten security. These information assets assist law enforcement agencies in prioritizing the deployment of their limited maritime assets and are some of the more critical capabilities in the regional toolkit for ocean governance.

Maritime Crime During the Pandemic: Unmasking Trends in the Caribbean

CIMSEC – Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic the Caribbean’s maritime domain has garnered widespread attention on three fronts: cruise ships stuck at sea, both with Covid-19 patients onboard and crew unable to be disembarked; a major increase in U.S. naval presence focused on countering narcotics trafficking, particularly via semi-submersible vessels; and shipments of sanctioned fuel and goods from Iran to Venezuela.

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.

Unusual Satellite Image Shows Russian Missile Launch In Arctic

Forbes – U.S. Navy submarines have spent years shadowing Russian warships, hoping to snap photographs of missile tests through the periscope. It is the stuff of Cold War legends, taking intelligence, skill, courage and patience. Now by pure chance, a commercial satellite flying 488 miles above the Earth has captured exactly that.

(Thanks to Alain)