National Interest – James Holmes writes that Battle Force 2045 aspires to accomplish Mahanian strategic goals using a non-Mahanian fleet to prosecute non-Mahanian operations. Can it work?

gCaptain – Boston-based autonomous marine navigation company Sea Machines says it has been awarded a U.S. Department of Defense contract to develop a prototype autonomous barge that will essentially serve as floating gas station for military aircraft.

War on the Rocks – China is now the official “pacing threat” for the U.S. armed forces. Simply put, the Pentagon considers the People’s Liberation Army its most serious competition. This is a major and vital shift. But competing with China is a tremendously broad concept that could take any number of forms, and the reality is that China is too powerful to permit the U.S. defense establishment to fritter away money. The Defense Department needs to focus. Most of all, it needs to be capable of achieving U.S. objectives against China in a war.

Defense News – The U.S. Navy must rapidly grow its attack submarine force, field smaller manned and unmanned combatants and examine changing the role of aircraft carriers in the coming decades as part of a massive expansion of the fleet to maintain American dominance on the seas, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper said Tuesday.

USNI News – Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced a new future fleet plan for the Navy that would grow the attack submarine force, supplement nuclear-powered aircraft carriers with light carriers to achieve greater day-to-day presence, and invest heavily in small and unmanned ships for distributed operations.

USNI News – The Navy is getting closer to operating the new and larger MQ-8C Fire Scout variant on its Littoral Combat Ships, with two squadrons taking possession of their first aircraft and working towards safe-for-flight certification.

Defense News – The U.S. Navy’s aging surface fleet is getting harder to maintain, and overall is showing declining health in several key areas, such as its main propulsion systems, electrical systems and Aegis combat systems, according to an annual report of the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey submitted to Congress earlier this year.

Naval News – The U.S. Navy has announced that USNS Burlington will carry out a proof-of-concept test: The EPF ship will serve as an afloat forward staging base style platform, transporting a Maintenance Expeditionary Team of active duty sailors and their equipment and repair materials to various Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) locations for scheduled maintenance.

War Zone – SEWIP Block III will introduce new electronic attack capabilities and other enhancements as the Navy prepares to defend its ships in a high-end fight.

Breaking Defense – America has a new military homeport in the Mediterranean, as a US warship will call a small outpost on the Greek island of Crete home, signaling Washington’s deep concerns over the eastern Mediterranean and Russian and Chinese activities in Africa.

War Zone – The P-8 reportedly flew near the southern tip of Taiwan, over tense waters that have been frequented by the Chinese Navy as of late.

War Zone – As competition in the Arctic heats up, the Navy is looking to drastically increase its awareness of what is going on up there.

War Zone – The Navy is standing up the unit now to ensure personnel are as prepared as they can be for the arrival of these drones in the coming years.