– Defense News – Prior to the accidents, ships in Japan were routinely operating under waivers for lapsed certifications in warfare areas such as damage control, navigation and flight deck operations. In this new model, ships don’t go on missions until they are trained and certified to perform them.
When will the US Navy be able to autonomously seek and destroy mines?
– Defense News – The U.S. Navy is racing to field unmanned systems, and while much work remains for distributed, unmanned sensors and missile shooters, one area of unmanned warfare is seeing success: hunting and destroying mines.
U.S. Navy Undersea Rescue Team Rethinking How it Deploys After Argentine Sub Loss
– USNI News – Executing a submarine rescue is a race against time to reach a trapped crew before a dwindling oxygen supply runs out, and when the most recent request came for help, the U.S. Navy found mobilizing personnel and equipment took too long.
USNS Comfort Heading to Colombia to Treat Venezuelan Refugees
– USNI News – Navy hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) is expected in June to start a five-month Caribbean deployment to provide humanitarian and medical assistance to the region, notable to refugees flooding into Colombia from neighboring Venezuela.
Tracking the Type 002 – China’s third aircraft carrier
– ChinaPower – The construction of a third aircraft carrier – the Type 002 – appears to be underway at China’s Jiangnan Shipyard. Commercial satellite imagery collected on April 17, 2019 shows significant new activity since ChinaPower first analyzed the shipyard in late 2018. At the new assembly facility to the southeast of the existing shipyard, there is evidence of a large vessel being assembled and a floodable basin being constructed.
Turkish universal landing ship Anadolu on the water
– BMPD – built for the Turkish Navy at the Turkish shipyard Sedef Tuzla Tersanesi in Tuzla (southern outskirts of the Asian part of Istanbul) by Sedef Gemi İnşaatı Sanayii A.Ş (part of the Turkon holding) the first Turkish universal landing ship (UDC) L 400 Anadolu first surfaced in the enterprise’s dry 310-meter-filled construction dock, and then was towed from the dock to the extension wall. The actual descent of the UDC on the water was carried out without special ceremonies.
(Thanks to Alain)
Unmanned Units Need Tenders for Distributed Operations
– CIMSEC – Basing a support and sustainment model for Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) on 21st century tenders would both fulfill the unique support needs of USVs and help build the ability to fight and deter a war in the Pacific. This analysis will briefly discuss the role tenders played in the Pacific War, why tenders are the ideal model for sustaining USV units, then turn to what modern USV tenders should look like.
MARAD Ready Reserve Force Still Faces Readiness, Manning Challenges
– USNI News – The Maritime Administration’s Ready Reserve Force is still as small and perhaps less ready than this time last year, when a top MARAD official said the RRF was “on the ragged edge” of readiness.
Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2019
– Office of the Secretary of Defense – A report to Congress pursuant to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000, as amended
China completing more ballistic missile subs, with plans for a new version
– Defense News – China has launched two more nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines and might fit anti-ship ballistic missiles on a new cruiser class on the verge of entering service, according to a new Pentagon report.
Create an Unmanned Experimental Squadron and Learning System
– CIMSEC – We call for the Navy to accelerating standing up a dedicated experimental squadron with the purpose of exploring advanced tactics for employing unmanned systems in a series of tactically challenging, objective-based exercises.
The US surface fleet is shaking up how it readies ships for deployment
– Defense News – The U.S. Navy’s top surface warfare officer is changing how his crews prepare for deployment with an eye toward more quickly certifying ships and freeing up schedules so ships’ commanders can spend more time participating in customized training.
The Marine Corps’ Evolving Character and Enduring Purpose
– War on the Rocks – This article seeks to contribute to a dialogue that has endured for years and has especially increased ahead of the upcoming change at the top level of the Marine Corps. We will offer a single core attribute for the Marine Corps, tied directly to the National Defense Strategy and its contact and blunt layer requirements. Next, we will explain what we believe should be the Corps’ distinguishing attributes that give us our naval purpose. Finally, we will describe the enduring attributes the Navy-Marine Corps team can continue executing in support of the new strategic guidance.
What’s killing the US Navy’s air wing?
– Defense News – The U.S. Navy is on the brink of an explosion in research and development funding for its next-generation fighter program — an effort that could make or break the mainstay of the fleet’s powerful strike arm.
Here’s how the Japan-based 7th Fleet has changed since 17 sailors died in accidents 2 years ago
– Defense News – The accidents led to wholesale changes in leadership for the 7th Fleet based in the region, including a new commander, Vice Adm. Phil Sawyer, who was tasked with returning his fleet to a high state of readiness in the world’s most dangerous seas.
China Can’t Execute Major Amphibious Operations, Direct Assault on Taiwan
– USNI News – The Chinese military is reorganizing its land forces, but its moves do not increase its ability to mount a large-scale beach assault across the Taiwan Strait, according to a new Department of Defense report.
New 2nd Fleet To Confront Russia From Day One
– Breaking Defense – The Navy has created a new fleet, and is sending it straight into the Baltic Sea to test new ways of doing business.
South Korea to build 3 more Aegis destroyers able to thwart ballistic missiles
– Defense News – In a critical step toward developing its naval capabilities, South Korea plans to construct three more 7,600-ton destroyers equipped with American-made Aegis combat systems and sophisticated ballistic missile interceptors.
US sends aircraft carrier and bomber task force to ‘warn Iran’
– BBC – The US has deployed an aircraft carrier to the Middle East to send a “clear and unmistakable message” to Iran.
China’s ‘Long March’ to a Credible Nuclear Attack Submarine
– National Interest – Mao Zedong famously said China would build nuclear submarines even if it took ten thousand years. It has required several decades, but new vitality is evident in this critical program for Beijing’s blue water aspirations.
Amphibious Assault Will Remain a ‘Corps’ Competency
– USNI Proceedings – Starting with Brute Krulak’s “Chowder Society” in the 1940s, every generation of Marines has faced challenges to the relevance of its amphibious capability.
It’s time to break out the chowder bowls again.
The Russian Navy Is Facing Tough Decisions
– National Interest – An unsigned Russian naval analysis demonstrates acute stress points in Moscow’s naval development program. Decrying corruption and waste, this insider critique aims squarely at the Kremlin.
Sustaining the Fight: Resilient Maritime Logistics for a New Era
– Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments – Although logistics has traditionally been a U.S. strength, it now risks becoming a major weakness that could cause the United States to lose a war against China or Russia. The U.S. Navy’s logistics force is currently optimized for uncontested operations and is too small and vulnerable to support the current fleet – much less a larger or more distributed one – in a conflict with a peer adversary.
China’s vast fleet is tipping the balance in the Pacific
– Reuters – The Chinese navy, which is growing faster than any other major fleet, now controls the seas off its coast. Once dominant, the United States and its allies sail warily in these waters. A former U.S. naval officer says China’s advances have caught America napping.
Blockade: An Imperfect Strategy
– CIMSEC – Throughout history, maritime nations have used naval blockades to wreck the economies of their adversaries and bend them to their will. However, the impact of blockade in history has been overstated. Throughout history, blockade has been a part of military success, but it has never been the primary key to victory.
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