– 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.
New Air Bases, Baby Cabbage Key to Chinese Long-Term Claims in South China Sea
– 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
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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.
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