– USNI News – The Navy is struggling to find support to buy new logistics ships, even as a new study finds the Navy’s current plans to recapitalize that logistics fleet are insufficient to support distributed operations in a high-end fight against China or Russia.
Andrew Erickson and Ryan Martinson on China and the Maritime Gray Zone
– The Diplomat – How China thinks about and acts in the maritime gray zone, and what that means for the region’s future.
Navy Planning Aggressive Unmanned Ship Prototyping, Acquisition Effort
– USNI News – The Navy has tightly coupled early prototyping efforts and future acquisition efforts for medium and large unmanned surface vehicles, to speed up the time it will take to experiment with the vessels and get them fielded to fleet commanders.
Pacific Island Nations Want More U.S. Engagement
– USNI News – Islanders have the impression they “have been tacked on at the end,” as an “afterthought” when the United States announces a strategy that covers Oceania.
Navy Wary of Growing Costs While It Ramps Up Ops
– Breaking Defense – The Navy is adding more ships as quickly as possible, even as it grapples with how it’s going to pay the costs to keep them afloat once it gets them.
Former Navy Intel Officer: Chinese Navy ‘Very Competent,’ Getting Better
– USNI News – China’s rise as a naval power goes well beyond its growing number of ships and submarines but the People’s Liberation Army Navy growing capability to operate jointly with the Chinese air force and rocket corps.
Spanish Frigate Drops Out of Lincoln Strike Group Over U.S. Iran Stance
– USNI News – A Spanish guided-missile frigate is temporarily dropping out to the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group over the U.S. shift in operations toward Iran.
US ‘blames Iran’ for damage to tankers in Gulf of Oman
– BBC – US investigators believe Iran or groups it supports used explosives to damage four ships off the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Sunday.
Admiral, I Am Not Ready for War
– CIMSEC – This article is not intended to support or speak out against the U.S. military’s efforts to prepare for a war against China and it is not to discuss the wisdom of my nation’s military decisions. It is only written with one purpose. That purpose is to acknowledge two absolute facts today: that the U.S. Military is preparing for war and I, an American merchant ship captain, am not ready.
Navy Wants to Invest In Amphibious Ship Upgrades, But Funding, Timing Still Unclear
– USNI News – The Navy is committed to upgrading its amphibious ships to support the Navy and Marines’ new way of operating and to leverage the power of the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter, but it’s still unclear when dollars will start flowing to pay for these upgrades to communications and command and control systems.
National Security Risks Are Rising With Sea Levels
– Bloomberg – A study says climate change will cause 1 million species to go extinct. It could also lead to war.
The U.S.-Iran Naval War of 2019: What It Could Look Like
– National Interest – Would Iran close the Strait of Hormuz, could it, and would the United States reply by force of arms if Tehran made the attempt?
Accelerating the Renaissance of the US Navy’s Amphibious Assault Forces
– CIMSEC – The ship-to-shore movement of an expeditionary assault force was—and remains—the most hazardous mission for any navy. The value of real-time ISR and IPB is difficult to overstate. It is this ability to sense the battlespace in real time that will spell the difference between victory and defeat. For this reason, it seems clear that the types of unmanned systems the Department of the Navy should acquire are those systems that directly support naval expeditionary forces that conduct forcible entry operations.
Providing Secure Logistics for Amphibious Assault with Unmanned Surface Vehicles
– CIMSEC – The need for continuous logistics resupply for Marines on the beach will not disappear in any future warfighting scenario. Demonstrating how unmanned surface vehicles such as the MANTAS T38 can rapidly and reliably resupply Marines on the beach should be a Navy-Marine Corps priority.
USS Arlington, Patriot Missiles to Join Lincoln Carrier Strike Group in Middle East
– USNI News – The Pentagon is sending amphibious warship USS Arlington (LPD-24) and elements of the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit to join the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group as a hedge against Iran.
The Case for Unmanned Surface Vehicles in Future Maritime Operations
– CIMSEC – While it is encouraging to see Navy plans to move quickly to bring initial Medium and Large USVs into the fleet, other unmanned platforms are equally ready for such an approach. Innovation is the key to shaping tomorrow’s Navy, and getting USVs of all shapes and sizes to the fleet for Sailors to try out is the best approach to achieving it.
Surging Second Sea Force: China’s Maritime Law-Enforcement Forces, Capabilities, and Future in the Gray Zone and Beyond
– US Naval War College Review – As China’s sea services continue to expand, the consolidating China Coast Guard (CCG) has taken the lead as one of the premier sea forces in the region—giving China, in essence, a second navy. With 1,275 hulls and counting, the CCG carries out the maritime law-enforcement activities that dominate the South China Sea as the People’s Republic exerts its claims and postures for dominance.
Persian Gulf is vital enough for US to go to war
– The Hill – Would America fight if Iran closes the Persian Gulf to shipping? Confides the Magic 8-Ball: “Signs point to yes.” Presidential administrations of both parties long have reserved the right to use force in the Gulf region when vital diplomatic, economic or military interests are in peril. And they always seem to be in peril in the Gulf.
USS Abraham Lincoln Now in Middle East Heading to the Persian Gulf
– USNI News – The Lincoln Carrier Strike Group left the Mediterranean and transited the Suez Canal, officially entering U.S. 5th Fleet and U.S. Central Command.
Royal Navy Sub Appears In Gibraltar Equipped With A Wake Detection System
– War Zone – This non-acoustic sensor could supplement the boat’s sonar when hunting for especially quiet enemy submarines.
Hiding in Plain Sight: Chinese Expansion in Southeast Asia
– War on the Rocks – Beijing’s geopolitical moves continue to obfuscate its larger designs, surprise observers, and render the United States and its allies reactive. The prospect of a Chinese naval base in Cambodia offers a case in point.
Autonomous Pickets for Force Protection and Fleet Missile Defense
– CIMSEC – As the Navy continues to experiment with new roles and missions for unmanned systems, unmanned force protection and missile defense is an ideal mission.
U.S., Japan, India and Philippines challenge Beijing with naval drills in the South China Sea
– Reuters – In fresh show of naval force in the contested South China Sea, a U.S. guided missile destroyer conducted drills with a Japanese aircraft carrier, two Indian naval ships and a Philippine patrol vessel in the waterway claimed by China.
A US Marine F-35 Squadron Will Deploy on a British Aircraft Carrier in 2021
– Military.com – A Marine Corps F-35B Joint Strike Fighter squadron will make history by deploying aboard the British Royal Navy’s newest aircraft carrier — the first deployment of its kind and one that could serve as a model for the new normal.
Marine Corps Ospreys touch down in Hawaii after milestone journey from Okinawa
– Stars and Stripes – “This is a strategic flight that shows we can deploy to any location throughout the western Pacific at any time. We are capable of self-deploying and aggregating to a crisis, natural or man-made, and provide combat power to assist our allies in the region.”
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