– US Naval War College Review – The balance of power in the Indo-Pacific is shifting as China spends its national treasure to build a modern, blue-water navy and exerts its influence around the region, and the world, through economic investment and military power projection. Beijing’s pursuit of the China Dream is pushing America and its allies toward a decade of concern, when the already tenuous situation may experience further destabilization.
Navy Issues Draft RFP for FFG(X) Next-Generation Frigate
– USNI News – The Navy has issued a draft request for proposal to design and build its planned class of 20 next-generation guided-missile frigates (FFG(X)).
Coast Guard’s last heavy icebreaker caught on fire during South Pole mission
– Navy Times – The crew of the Coast Guard’s last heavy icebreaker battled a nighttime Feb. 10 blaze for almost two hours before it was extinguished.
Two LPD Amphibious Ships Cut From 2020 Budget Plan
– Breaking Defense – Are big, expensive vessels like amphibious ships and carriers too vulnerable in a long-range missile war with Russia or China?
Pentagon Plan to Sideline Carrier Truman Will Net Just $17M in FY 2020
– USNI News – A Pentagon budget plan to sideline an aircraft carrier, rather than refuel it, and redirect money for other defense priorities would save just $16.9 million in Fiscal Year 2020, USNI News has learned.
Navy Declares Initial Operational Capability for F-35C Joint Strike Fighter
– USNI News – The Navy declared today that its F-35C Joint Strike Fighter was operationally ready to deploy and conduct missions around the world.
New Russian missile threat to homeland
– Washington Times – The commander of the military’s Northern Command warned this week that Moscow is deploying conventionally armed missiles that for the first time are capable of striking targets deep inside the United States.
War Studies Primer
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Red Sky in Morning: Naval Combat at the Dawn of Hypersonics
– War on the Rocks – The inability to keep up with the increasing speed of naval combat is only going to get worse. The advent of hypersonic weapons, particularly anti-ship cruise missiles, represents a grave threat to U.S. surface forces.
First Marine F-35B Combat Deployment Hints at New Roles for Amphibious Ready Group
– USNI News – After eight months at sea with a squadron of F-35B Lighting II Joint Strike Fighters, the Marines and the Navy are seeing how the next-generation aircraft will expand the effectiveness of U.S. amphibious forces.
Pentagon To Retire USS Truman Early, Shrinking Carrier Fleet To 10
– Breaking Defense – The move could save more than $30 billion over 25 years to invest in high-tech weapons — but Congress is sure to explode in outrage.
The Impact of Insignificance: Naval Developments From the Yom Kippur War
– CIMSEC – Militarily, the naval battles of the Yom Kippur War played almost no part in its outcome. They did, however, initiate a technological and tactical maritime revolution. The battles proved the effectiveness of missile and anti-missile systems to control the seas, and ushered in the missile age of naval warfare.
Chagos Islands dispute: UK obliged to end control – UN
– BBC – The UK should end its control of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean (and Diego Garcia) “as rapidly as possible”, the UN’s highest court has said.
Breaking the Mold: How to Build a 355-Ship Navy Today Part 1
– CIMSEC – What if world circumstances or political decisions forced the U.S. to look at achieving a 355-ship Navy far sooner than in 11 to 30 years? Possibilities range from how to stretch or improve what already exists, to more radical notions of foreign warship procurement, armed merchantmen, and development of a U.S. Navy foreign legion type force.
Iran Claims It Tested A Submarine Launched Anti-Ship Missile Capable Of Standoff Strikes
– War Zone – Combined with larger, domestically-produced subs, the weapons could present new challenges for the country’s opponents.
Are Freedom of Navigation Operations in East Asia Enough?
– National Interest – Are periodic cruises through waters where a coastal state claims rights and prerogatives beyond those codified by treaty enough to safeguard maritime freedom?
China’s Logistics Modernization is Changing the Pacific Military Balance
– National Interest – The well-worn formulation that “amateurs study tactics, while professionals study logistics” has significant explanatory power when considering the rapidly changing balance of power in the western Pacific.
China is working on killer robot ships of its own
– Defense News – The Chinese shipbuilder China Shipbuilding and Offshore International Company is developing a small unmanned surface vessel that China wants to function essentially like the uninhabited baby brother of a U.S. Arleigh Burke destroyer.
Navy Wants Faster Ship Repairs; 70% Of Destroyer Fleet Late
– Breaking Defense – If the Navy ever hopes to reach its goal of a 355-ship fleet, it won’t be by simply building new hulls and launching them. Instead, the admirals have long recognized they’ll have to extend the lives of dozens of ships already long in the tooth — and do so at a time when shipyard space is already stretched and less than half of its ships are able to complete scheduled maintenance on time.
This Containerized Missile Launcher Could Give Almost Any Ship Short-Range Air Defenses
– War Zone – The system works against small boats as well and could be a cost-effective point air defense system on land, too.
Marines Declare Current ACV Design Meets All Ship-to-Shore Requirements as Testing Continues
– USNI News – The Marine Corps has put the Amphibious Combat Vehicle through its paces in the eight months since the service selected BAE Systems to build the new wheeled vehicles, using the original 16 ACVs to conduct high surf testing and cold weather/cold water testing around the country.
The vehicle has performed so well in these tests that the service is officially ditching the original plan to gradually insert the full ship-to-shore swim capability – that robust in-water performance was not required in the original ACV 1.1 and would instead be introduced in a later 1.2 increment – and has instead certified that these first vehicles can perform all ship-to-shore missions without assistance from a connector.
Navy Retooling Fire Scout Program to Focus on More Complex Warfare Missions
– USNI News – The Navy is rethinking how it will employ its emerging MQ-8C Fire Scout rotary-wing unmanned vehicles to help Littoral Combat Ships take on tougher targets in a new age of great power competition.
Iran Launches Modern Home-Made Submarine
– Fars News – Iran on Sunday launched its latest state-of-the-art submarine named Fateh in the Southern waters of the country.
Marines Want to Field a Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile ‘As Fast As Possible’
– USNI News – The Marine Corps wants to select and field a long-range anti-ship missile “as fast as possible” to support the Navy in a fight for sea control.
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