– USNI News – China is tightening its grip on disputed claims in the South China Sea by beefing up its military capability and planting the seeds of long-term habitability on the artificial islands at the core of its regional economic influence strategy.
Thanks To Coronavirus, Tensions Are Rising In The South China Sea
– National Interest – Isolating your opponent is a necessary precursor to waging limited war. It simplifies matters before a one-on-one fight, skews the balance of forces in your favor, and thus lifts your chances of a quick, clean triumph. The U.S.-Japan alliance has not fractured diplomatically, but Beijing might conclude that it has fractured militarily—albeit temporarily—as Japan’s ally battles the coronavirus and takes ships and aircraft offline.
An Emerging Strategic Geometry – Thawing Chokepoints and Littorals in the Arctic
– CIMSEC – The ongoing transformation of the Arctic from an inaccessible frozen wasteland to an accessible and untapped reserve creates not only a new contested space, but will create new strategic chokepoints and littoral operating environments. The United States, in concert with its allies, will need to invest in the ability to access and secure this environment in order to maintain sovereignty and security in this new world.
America’s Interest in Diego Garcia
– War on the Rocks – Diego Garcia is America’s major geostrategic and logistics support base in the Indian Ocean. Sovereignty over the island is increasingly being challenged by Mauritius, but it seems unlikely that Washington would be interested in doing a deal that would facilitate its transfer.
There Are No Strategic Chokepoints
– CIMSEC – Naval theorist Milan Vego opens a chapter on chokepoint control with a quote from British Admiral Sir John Fisher, who stated that there are “five keys to the world. The Strait of Dover, the Straits of Gibraltar, the Suez Canal, the Straits of Malacca, and the Cape of Good Hope. And every one one of these keys we hold.”1 Fisher spoke from an Anglo-centric view, but his point is evident that control of key chokepoints equated to control of national strategic interests. But a century later, with the technological advances in weapons and sensors, and the interconnectedness of the global economy, can such a claim be made today?
Tests of Israeli tactical missile LORA completed
– BMPD – Israel Aircraft Industries has officially published the successful completion of tests of the operational-tactical missile system with a single-stage solid-propellant ballistic missile LORA (Long-Range Artillery Weapon System). Tests were conducted on the high seas and, among other things, demonstrated the capabilities of the complex to customers.
(Thanks to Alain)
Mine the Littorals and Chokepoints: Mine Warfare in Support of Sea Control
– CIMSEC – Naval mine warfare has played a significant role in every major American military conflict. If employed in support of sea control strategies under development by the Navy and Marine Corps, and should its full potential be leveraged by emerging technologies, MIW can serve as the lynchpin for deterring aggression in the maritime domain, and if necessary, for defeating adversaries at sea.
The Assumption of Access in the Western Pacific
– CIMSEC – The ability of the United States to sustainably conduct expeditionary operations in the strategic chokepoints and littorals of Asia could crumble in the absence of the allied access it has come to rely on.
Blue Homeland: The Heated Politics Behind Turkey’s New Maritime Strategy
– War on the Rocks – “Mavi vatan,” or “blue homeland,” has become a common phrase in Turkish political life. It is most often used as a shorthand expression for Ankara’s maritime claims in the eastern Mediterranean. Central to these interests is the presence of large deposits of natural gas off the coast of the island of Cyprus. For Turkey, the lion’s share of these deposits lies within what Turkey interprets is its exclusive economic zone. Such a stance, however, is at odds with claims made by Greece and the Republic of Cyprus.
USS Gerald Ford Done Proving It Can Launch Planes, Ready to Tackle Warfighting Operations
– USNI News – If the Navy has spent the last three years taking USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) from a construction project to a platform that can launch and recover jets, the service is now taking steps to turn the ship into one that can fight in maritime combat.
US Navy upgrades more ships for the F-35 as the future of carriers remains in flux
– Defense News – The Navy recently inked a $200 million contract with BAE Systems to upgrade the amphibious assault ship Boxer to be able to operate with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, the fifth landing helicopter assault ship to be so amended.
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.
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To compete with China, an internal Pentagon study looks to pour money into robot submarines
– Defense News – An internal study from the Office of the Secretary of Defense is looking to pour money into large robot submarines that the U.S. Navy says will free up its larger manned submarines for more complex missions.
US Navy embraces robot ships, but some unresolved issues are holding them back
– Defense News – The U.S. military is banking on unmanned surface and subsurface vessels to boost its capacity in the face of a tsunami of Chinese naval spending. But before it can field the systems, it must answer some basic questions.
At a budgetary crossroads, the US Navy’s aviation wing must choose between old and new
– Defense News – In the coming years, the U.S. Navy will be faced with a decision that will radically shape the carrier air wing: Is the service willing to sacrifice dozens of new Super Hornet jets for the promise of a sixth-generation fighter in the 2030s?
All aboard the Sea Train!
– C4ISRNet – “The goal of the Sea Train program is to be able to develop and demonstrate long-range deployment capabilities for a distributed fleet of medium-sized tactical unmanned vessels.”
In his fight to change the Corps, America’s top Marine takes friendly fire
– Defense News – As the new commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps seeks to make radical changes to how the service operates, there are signs some of the old-guard Marines are dubious of aligning too closely with the Navy.
Let Me Get This Strait: The Turkish Straits Question Revisited
– CIMSEC – Since 1936, the Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits, hereinafter referred to as the Montreux Convention, has allowed for the peaceful flow of commerce through the Turkish Straits. However, recent calls from Turkish and Russian policy circles for revisions to the Montreux Convention should be cause for concern, as these proposals threaten to either spur a naval arms race in the Black Sea region or look to exploit the Straits as a geostrategic chokepoint.
Why the U.S. Army (of the 1800s) Would Understand China’s South China Sea Strategy
– National Interest – James Holmes writes that “Southeast Asians—and lovers of freedom of the sea everywhere—must come to terms with China’s bid for sovereignty. They must act, making common cause with likeminded partners and fashioning counterstrategies to meet Beijing’s high-plains offensive. Otherwise the region courts an American Indian fate.”
Ships! Ships! All We Need is Ships!
– War on the Rocks – The ability to project sea power must be a strategic priority for the entire government and not solely a U.S. Navy challenge to solve.
The International Commanders Respond
– USNI Proceedings – This year, Proceedings asked the commanders of the world’s navies, “What is your Navy and/or Coast Guard doing to monitor and enforce international maritime law and a rules-based order?” Their answers reaffirm how important navies and coast guards are to ensuring free and fair global trade and environmental protection.
The Hawaii navy base fueling Trump’s quest for ‘super duper’ missiles
– Guardian – Kauai has one of the Pentagon’s most valued testing sites. It’s an economic driver, but some residents say the military shouldn’t be on the islands at all
Taiwan Wants Land-Based Harpoon Anti-Ship Missiles To Counter Growing Chinese Naval Power
– War Zone – Taiwanese authorities say that they are looking to buy ground-launched Harpoon anti-ship missiles and mobile launchers to augment the island’s coastal defenses.
Vice Admiral Brian Brown on the U.S. Naval Information Warfare Community
– CIMSEC – CIMSEC had the opportunity to discuss the formation and future of the U.S. Navy’s Information Warfare (IW) community with Vice Admiral Brian B. Brown, commander of U.S. Naval Information forces (NAVIFOR).
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