Naval Warfare 2010-2020: A Comparative Analysis

CIMSEC – In April of this year, the U.S. Navy, U.S Marine Corps, and U.S. Coast Guard (collectively, the U.S. Naval Service) jointly published the latest version of Naval Doctrine Publication 1: Naval Warfare, superseding the previous version released in 2010. The difference between the two documents is stark, and indicates a change over the last ten years in the way the United States views naval warfare – simultaneously reaching back to its historical roots, while also looking over the horizon to future conflicts.

Navigating Sino-Russian Defense Cooperation

War on the Rocks – In recent years, however, cooperation between China and Russia has grown. The alignment of their interests and convergence of their efforts is amplifying the challenge they pose to the United States. This is especially true for China, which has been able to leverage its relationship with Moscow to fill gaps in its capabilities and complement its efforts to undermine U.S. global leadership.

Video Of Chinese Fighters Over South China Sea Gives Insight Into Long-Range Missions

War Zone – A video has emerged online showing a long-range fighter patrol over the South China Sea being conducted by Chinese Su-30MKK Flankers. The video shows edited excerpts of a full mission, starting with aircrews running to their awaiting jets at Suixi-Nanning Air Base in Southern China, to aerial refueling,to a pass over the Subi Reef in the Spratly Islands, followed by the return to base.

Declawing the Tiger: A Rebuttal of the Decision to Phase Out Marine Tank Battalions

Strategy Bridge – While General Berger proposes important changes, such as a focus on China and the need to revisit the Marine Corps’ amphibious strategy, the abandonment of the tank does little to benefit the infantry’s fighting power. The future of the Marine Corps rests in the adaptation of a cost-effective light tank that can bring suitable firepower to bear on islands, in cities, and in maneuver warfare.

IMPLICATIONS OF HYBRID WARFARE FOR THE ORDER OF THE OCEANS

CIMSEC – Since Frank Hoffman coined the term “hybrid warfare” in 2007, numerous articles and books have been written on this theme from the perspective of military studies and international relations. Yet the existing legal literature has not so far focused on the challenges that hybrid warfare poses for the order of the oceans. One of the main current research gaps lies in the lack of clear understanding on how the law of the sea operates in hybrid warfare.

In the Deep End: How Seafarers are Redirecting Security Consciousness

CIMSEC – Seafarers engage in various security practices while transiting the Straits of Hormuz, Bab Al-Mandeb, the Gulf of Aden, and the broader Indian Ocean. How have these practices developed to identify and communicate emerging maritime threats based on how seafarer feedback has been incorporated within strategies that counter piracy?

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.