– Naval News – The French Navy (Marine Nationale) Mistral-class LHD “Tonnerre” has sailed from Toulon to take part in operation Corymbe in the Gulf of Guinea.
Mission completed Chinese naval escort task group returns home
– China Military Online – The 34th Chinese naval escort task group returned to a naval port in Sanya, south China’s Hainan Province, on the morning of June 10, after successfully completing its mission.
Xi Jinping Is China’s Teddy Roosevelt
– USNI Proceedings – If Deng Xiaoping was China’s George Washington, Xi Jinping is China’s answer to Theodore Roosevelt. Investigating U.S. history could give a glimpse into Asia’s maritime future.
Guarding the Gates: Is International Control of the Bab Al Mandeb Feasible?
– CIMSEC – The security situation in the BAM does not look like it will be resolved any time soon; indeed, with the multiplying effects of pandemic, economic collapse and plunging oil prices, it is likely to get worse. International naval control of the BAM is possible, but only in coordination with regional states, with diplomatic and economic investment, and respect for international maritime law.
Developing Security in a White Water World: Preparing For The Arctic
– CIMSEC – The Arctic is changing physically and the security dimensions of the region are changing along with it. The region will not be ice-free overnight, and the United States is not without partners in addressing those changing strategic considerations. It behooves the United States to not pursue a hardline balancing arrangement against Russian militarization and instead pursue what it has been doing for some time, preparing for the potential of Arctic operations across all service branches. The pursuit of this policy perspective will signal American commitments to regional security without exacerbating the militarization of the Arctic into a full blown arms race, enabling an emerging littoral to be sufficiently addressed without intensifying competition within one of the most peaceful and cooperative regions of the world.
The U.S. Air Force’s Shiny, New Sea Power Presence
– National Interest – James Holmes writes that it will take more than a lone bomber mission from afar—no matter how impressive—to rattle Moscow’s complacency.
Trump memo demands new fleet of Arctic icebreakers to be ready by 2029
– Defense News – U.S. President Trump ordered a review of the country’s requirements for icebreaking capabilities in the Arctic and Antarctic, with the goal of getting a fleet in place by 2029, according to a memo released Tuesday.
Amid tensions with US, Iran builds fake aircraft carrier to attack
– Navy Times – As tensions remain high between Iran and the U.S., the Islamic Republic appears to have constructed a new mock-up of an aircraft carrier off its southern coast for potential live-fire drills.
Seeing the World Through Points
– CIMSEC – Strategic chokepoints and littorals are the arena of current and future power struggles. Great power competition is layered within these maritime and littoral domains. To a lesser extent, but still consequential, are the potential actions of regional and non-state actors capable of causing disruption along maritime chokepoints and littoral zones. The United States will be required to address multi-layered challenges to its maritime dominance in these areas while also fulfilling the role of humanitarian and the facilitator of free and open commerce.
USS Nimitz Aircraft Carrier Deploys With Powerful New Infrared Sensor System
– War Zone – The carrier just left on a cruise and it’s packing a new electro-optical and infrared sensor system that will enhance its situational awareness.
Philippines Freezes Pull-Out From Visiting U.S. Forces Agreement
– USNI News – The Philippine government is putting the brakes on its plan to end a critical aspect of its Mutual Defense Treaty with the U.S., but experts say it is too soon to tell whether this decision signals a warming relationship between the two allies.
Marines Look to Two New Ship Classes to Define Future of Amphibious Operations
– USNI News – The Navy and Marine Corps are looking to quickly overhaul their Cold War-era way of moving Marines around, with the services already agreeing on the basic requirements for a new Light Amphibious Warship (LAW) and in the early phases of looking at a separate small amphibious ship class.
Great power competition is racing to the Arctic
– The Hill – In all likelihood the coming years will see the top of the world become an arena for strategic competition.
Sink ‘Em All: Envisioning Marine Corps Maritime Interdiction
– CIMSEC – A fictional vignette which expands on some of the concepts described in Commandant Berger’s Planning Guidance to the US Marine Corps.
Greek Parliament Approved Several Programs For The Hellenic Navy
– Naval News – During a Greek parliamentary session on May 2, 2020, the special standing committee on armament programs and contracts validated several programs for the Hellenic Navy.
USSOCOM Reveals Dry Combat Submersible Entering Service Soon
– Naval News – The Dry Combat Submersible (DCS) is about a year from achieving Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for USSOCOM’s US Navy SEALs.
Because of COVID-19 pandemic Navy to start ‘safe haven’ ports of call for its ships
– ABC – The goal is to keep ships at sea as “Covid-free bubbles.”
The hunt for the fish pirates who exploit the sea
– BBC – For 10 years, a rogue fishing vessel and its crew plundered the world’s oceans, escaping repeated attempts of capture. Then a dramatic pursuit across the high seas finally netted the one that got away.
The “Indo” in the “Indo-Pacific”—An Indian View
– US Naval War College Review – While some security arrangements exist in the Indo-Pacific, there is no overall regional security architecture, geopolitical headwinds are causing existing arrangements to wobble, and loose groupings of countries are emerging either to strengthen or to weaken those arrangements. India’s strategic stakes are growing, but it faces capacity and capability issues that impose prioritization constraints.
Thinking Like a Pirate: Contesting Southeast Asia’s Chokepoints
– CIMSEC – The Marine Corps’ future method toward strategic chokepoints and littorals could be taking the pirate’s approach and ramping it up with new weaponry, ships, superior ISR, and tactical creativity.
Navy Lacks ‘Clear Theory of Victory’ Needed to Build New Fleet
– USNI News – The Navy and the Department of Defense haven’t finished their homework needed to inform how the Navy builds its future fleet, a panel of naval experts told a House panel on Thursday.
These Photos Of Ford And Nimitz Class Carriers Sailing Side-By-Side Offer Best Comparison Yet
– War Zone – Although they are both huge supercarriers, the futuristic-looking Ford class has major external differences from its iconic predecessor.
Marines Testing Regiment at Heart of Emerging Island-Hopping Future
– USNI News – The Marine Corps is starting to form and experiment with the littoral regiment at the heart of its modern-day island-hopping strategy.
Chiseled in Space: Temporary, Non-Geographic Chokepoints in the Battle of the Atlantic
– CIMSEC – Foreign Policy’s list of the “five top global choke points” includes the well-known maritime chokepoints of the Strait of Hormuz, the Strait of Malacca, and the Suez Canal, in addition to two-land based resource bottlenecks: the Abqaiq Oil Processing Facility and the Druzhba Pipeline. These chokepoints “potentially could play an outsized role in strategic competition.” Ultimately, the intent of identifying a chokepoint is to find an efficient shortcut to victory. As such, at times it can function as a kind of intellectual “silver bullet.”
The Strategic Littoral Geography of Southeast Asia
– CIMSEC – Military decision-makers instinctively think in geographic terms. Southeast Asia’s complex economic, military, political, legal, and environmental layers are best portrayed visually. By spatially portraying information, troops can work their way through geography to comprehend the interaction of these complex layers.
NOSI - Naval Open Source Intelligence™ 
You must be logged in to post a comment.