– Defense News – The Navy is expected to buy its first next-generation frigate this year, so here’s what the next few years are going to look like in FFG(X)-land.
US Navy looks to hire thousands more sailors as service finds itself 9,000 sailors short at sea
– Defense News – The Navy is pouring money into its manpower budget as the number of unfilled billets on ships has swollen to 9,000 — up 2,750 from last year.
Navy Cuts Super Hornet Production to Develop Next-Generation Fighter
– USNI News – The Navy wants to truncate production of the legacy F/A-18E/F Super Hornet in favor of pumping money into accelerating the development of its long-gestating next-generation carrier-based fighter program.
Esper backs a bigger Navy fleet, but moves to cut shipbuilding by 20 percent
– Defense News – U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper is calling for a 355-ship fleet by 2030, but for fiscal 2021, shipbuilding took a big hit in the Defense Department’s budget request.
Navy Gets First Bell-Boeing CMV-22B: What It Means
– Breaking Defense – The Navy’s Osprey differs from the Marine Corps and Air Force versions, boasting an enhanced fuel capacity, which required wing modifications to deal with the greater weight.
Damen Hands Over POLA-Class Vessel ARM Reformador To Mexican Navy
– Naval News – The Secretariat of the Navy of Mexico (SEMAR) has held a ceremony marking final acceptance and delivery of the Long Range Ocean Patrol (POLA) Class vessel ARM Reformador.
Tech Trends and the Navy-Marine Corps Team
– CIMSEC – Soon after a new year, it is worth considering again the forecasts of futurists and the impacts their predictions may have on the naval services.
Defense Secretary Mark Esper on how the Navy can get to 355 ships
– Defense News – Despite expected cuts to shipbuilding programs in the fiscal year 2021 budget request, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper is committed to a bigger, but much lighter, naval force.
Operation CANDLEMAKER
– Art of Future War – A near-future fiction story by August Cole.
China’s Type 055 warship larger, more powerful than expected
– Global Times – It has emerged that China’s most advanced destroyer, the 10,000-ton-class Type 055, is larger than previously reported as the Chinese Navy recently revealed it has an actual displacement of more than 12,000 tons. Experts said on Friday that the difference between 10,000 and 12,000 tons could be huge and indicate the warship is even more powerful than expected.
U.S. approves deal to sell LRASMs to Australia for up to $990M
– Defense News – The State Department has approved a possible sale of up to 200 AGM-158C Long Range Anti-Ship Missiles and related equipment to the Australian government.
The US Navy’s vaunted deployment plan is showing cracks everywhere
– Defense News – Six years after the U.S. Navy rolled out its “Optimized Fleet Response Plan” for manning, training and deploying its ships over a 36-month cycle, many of the key promises have failed to materialize, according to public statements from Navy officials and experts.
JMSDF Destroyer Takanami Deploys To The Middle East To Secure The Safe Navigation Of Civilian Vessels
– Naval News – On February 2, 2020, the destroyer Takanami (DD-110) departed from the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF) Yokosuka Naval Base for the Middle East.
The Conventional Wisdom Still Stands: America Can Deal With China’s Artificial Island Bases
– War on the Rocks – What is the strategic value of China’s Spratly outposts in the South China Sea? Are they a military asset or liability for Beijing? While they allow China to monitor air and naval traffic in the South China Sea, an emerging consensus in American military circles argues that China’s artificial features are more of a headache for Beijing than for Washington. U.S. Navy and Air Force assets could neutralize the Chinese positions relatively quickly if required.
In challenging China’s claims in the South China Sea, the US Navy is getting more assertive
– Defense News – The U.S. Navy conducted more freedom of navigation operations in 2019 than in any year since the U.S. began more aggressively challenging China’s claims in the South China Sea in 2015.
Shunkō Large Patrol Vessel Handed Over To Japan Coast Guard
– Naval News – The Japan Coast Guard (JCG) yesterday took delivery of a new patrol vessel the Shunkō (PLH-42).
China Maritime Report No. 5: China’s Dreadnought? The PLA Navy’s Type 055 Cruiser and Its Implications for the Future Maritime Security Environment
– China Maritime Studies Institute – China’s naval modernization, a process that has been underway in earnest for three decades, is now hitting its stride. The advent of the Type 055 cruiser firmly places the PLAN among the world’s very top naval services. This study, which draws upon a unique set of Chinese-language writings, offers the first comprehensive look at this new, large surface combatant.
The Coming Carrier Identity Crisis
– USNI Blog – Given the advancement of anti-ship missile technology, saturation attack capability, and the opportunity to knock out a U.S. capital ship, carriers are becoming a liability in a peer-to-peer conflict.
As Russian Submarines Lurk, 2nd Fleet Conducting Tougher Training of East Coast Ships
– USNI News – U.S. 2nd Fleet is having deploying units test out new complex tactics on their way across the Atlantic, with each of these so-called Fleet Battle Problems contributing to an overall maturation of the concepts the Navy would use in a peer adversary fight.
US Navy and Boeing use manned jet to control drone Growlers
– C4ISRNet – The U.S. Navy and Boeing demonstrated the ability to control unmanned aircraft with a manned jet, a capability that is critical for concepts intended to keep naval aviation relevant into the 21st century.
Eying China, Navy Refits P-8 Plane For Deeper Strike
– Breaking Defense – The Navy plans to launch long-range, ship killing missiles from its premiere submarine-hunting aircraft, a clear signal the Pentagon is looking for new ways to meet the tyranny of distance in the Pacific theater.
Soldiers discover Colombian drugs cartel’s fibreglass submarine used to traffic tons of pure cocaine hidden in jungle
– Daily Mail – Soldiers have discovered a drug-smuggling submarine that was used by a Colombian cartel to ferry cocaine with a street value of up to £100million.
(Thanks to Alain)
Russian Navy Akula-Class Submarine K-154 Tigr To Complete Overhaul In 2023
– Naval News – The overhaul of the Tiger (K-154 Tigr) nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) of project 971 (Akula-class) is to be completed by the end of 2023. The SSN has not made any sorties since 2010s. Three years ago, it was towed to the shipyard in Snezhnogorsk. The overhaul will increase its might due to Kalibr missiles.
(Thanks to Alain)
New Hibiki-Class SURTASS / Ocean Surveillance Ship Launched For JMSDF
– Naval News – Aki is the third vessel of the Hibiki-class of Ocean Surveillance Ships. Their mission is to gather undersea acoustic data emitted by foreign submarines. Therefore, Aki is equipped with a surveillance towed-array sensor system (SURTASS), which is a very long range active / passive sonar that can be deployed into the sea to collect various acoustic data.
To Deter China, The Naval Services Must Integrate
– War on the Rocks – The Department of the Navy offers the United States the ability to operate forward in the strategically decisive first island chain and its surrounding seas and littorals. If the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps adopt a unified concept of operations, and if they are willing to make big changes to truly integrate as a forward-positioned naval force, they can deny America’s primary adversary, the Chinese Communist Party, its core objectives.
NOSI - Naval Open Source Intelligence™ 
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