– USNI Proceedings – If the day ever comes when the Navy decides it should stop building aircraft carriers, will it be able to?
The Geopolitics of Alaska
– National Interest – James Holmes writes that Alaska is much in the news during this incipient age of great-power strategic competition. Almost daily, it seems, U.S. Air Force fighter jets scramble to intercept lumbering Russian bombers approaching North American airspace to the extreme northwest. That means our thinking about Alaska needs to change.
Angry Trident
– Atlantic Council – What if Norway was under threat from a dynamic and unconventional Russian incursion designed to redraw the borders on NATO’s northern flank? FICINT by August Cole.
Reimagine the ARG/MEU Team
– USNI Proceedings – Elevating aviation assets, simplifying command relationships, and narrowing mission focus will keep amphibious operations relevant.
Underbelly
– Modern War Institute – This FICINT short story by August Cole explores what war in Europe against an increasingly aggressive Russia might look like with a dramatically reduced US commitment to NATO.
A Modern Deterrence Theory Case Study: America’s Failure to Deter Japan
– The Strategy Bridge – Everything old is new again. The world is gripped by a pandemic, people believe the Earth is flat, and the United States is trying to suppress the appetite of an expansionist Asian superpower. While China’s rise is undoubtedly less savage than Japan’s conquest of Southeast Asia, the feeling that America has been here before seems unshakeable. Analyzing the U.S. failure to deter Japan from conquering Southeast Asia using a modern deterrence theory framework reveals opportunities to improve contemporary deterrence strategies.
Arctic Night
– Norwegian Army – This FICINT short story by August Cole explores what war in the Arctic against an increasingly aggressive Russia might look like.
China’s Marine Corps Is on the Rise
– USNI Proceedings – China is pursuing global power projection capabilities. The U.S. Navy–Marine Corps team must prepare to confront the threat head-on.
Omega
– Atlantic Council – This short FICINT story from August Cole describes a hypothetical future war in Europe between Russian and NATO forces using advanced technology.
If the US Navy isn’t careful, its new unmanned tanker drone could face a 3-year delay
– Defense News – The US Navy could face a three-year delay in testing of the MQ-25 Stingray carrier-based tanking drone if it doesn’t get its designated test ships through the required modernizations on time, a possibility the Navy said was remote.
Does Tomorrow Ever Truly Die?
– CIMSEC – In a time when people are more interconnected than ever, the power of information is paramount.
Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations and Mine Warfare in Littoral Control
– CIMSEC – In reviewing the proposed EABO operations, many different capabilities are mentioned, but one, naval mines, are given scant attention, and to the point of being almost completely ignored.
BALTOPS 2020 Will Only Hold At-Sea Events With Ships Commanded from Shore
– USNI News – The Navy and its NATO allies and partners are underway for the 49th iteration of the Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) exercise – which this year will focus on naval warfare at sea, partly by design and partly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
French Navy LHD ‘Tonnerre’ Heads For The Gulf Of Guinea
– 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.
NOSI - Naval Open Source Intelligence™ 
You must be logged in to post a comment.