– War Zone – The U.S. Navy’s first-in-class amphibious assault ship USS Wasp recently arrived in the Philippines for a major annual exercise carrying a U.S. Marine Corps contingent that includes at least 10 F-35B Joint Strike Fighters. This is a larger than average number of the combat jets than Wasp-class ships normally embark, but is a force structure that the Navy and Marines are looking to standardize. It’s also one that could help lay the groundwork for a future operating concept that could turn amphibious assault ships into light carriers, as necessary.
7th Fleet Ships Conduct First High-End Advanced Training Event with SMWDC
– USNI News – Naval forces forward-deployed in the Pacific took a big step in raising their warfighting proficiency, completing their first advanced training event hosted by the Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center (SMWDC).
Navy Brings Mine Countermeasures Triad Together for Experiment Aboard British Ship
– USNI News – The Navy’s mine countermeasures community brought all three legs of its triad together for a single experiment – aboard an allied ship – to see how well they could combine their gear and people to tackle a common threat.
The Chinese Navy’s Marine Corps, Part 2: Chain-of-Command Reforms and Evolving Training
– CIMSEC – This is the second part of a two-part article discussing organizational reforms and evolving missions for the PLA Navy (PLAN) Marine Corps.
The Great Game Moves to Sea: Tripolar Competition in the Indian Ocean Region
– War on the Rocks – Three major powers — which together account for nearly half of the global economy — are vying for influence in the Indian Ocean arena. India, China, and the United States each view the region through their own geostrategic frameworks, ensuring intense jostling at best or conflict at worst. India has the “Security and Growth for all the Region” framework, a combination of its Act (or Look) East and the Think West policies. China has the Maritime Silk Road, which is half of the Belt and Road Initiative. The United States has the Indo-Pacific Strategy (also known as the Free and Open Indo Pacific), a natural successor to the Asia-Pacific rebalance.
A U.S.-China War Scenario: How Would China’s Military Attack a “Great Wall in Reverse”?
– National Interest – Peering through a glass darkly now may help the allies discern what the red team may do.
Cyber Warfare Doctrine Already Exists
– USNI Proceedings – In their search for cyber warfare doctrine, practitioners and leaders need look no further than Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication 1, Warfighting.
War Studies Primer
Visit the War Studies Primer for an introductory course on the study of war.
Look at slides 2 and 3 in the War Studies Primer for its Table of Contents, and then choose a lecture to read and enjoy.
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Asia Rising: Ships of State?
– US Naval War College Review – The commercial-strategic linkages and state support for PRC port and shipping ventures resemble a twenty-first-century version of the Dutch East India Company. These notionally commercial enterprises operate globally with the full financial and military backing of their home state, and the vessels that connect the ports are “ships of state,” functioning as instruments of Chinese national strategy while they sail as commercial carriers.
Don’t Forget Our Allies! Interoperable Maritime Operations in a Combined Environment
– CIMSEC – Despite a lengthy pedigree of combined naval operations, the U.S. Navy must continue focusing on interoperability with allies.
China Building Long-Range Cruise Missile Launched From Ship Container
– Washington Free Beacon – China is building a long-range cruise missile fired from a shipping container that could turn Beijing’s large fleet of freighters into potential warships and commercial ports into future missile bases.
Next Force Structure Assessment Likely to Require More Small Combatants, Supply Ships
– USNI News – Vice Adm. Bill Merz told the House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee on Tuesday that the distributed maritime operations concept – which is appropriate when facing potential peer or near-peer adversaries – requires a different mix of ships within the fleet, as well as a different approach to logistics and medical care for the fleet.
Pacific Blitz Tests How Navy, Marines Could Fight the Next Island Campaign
– USNI News – As amphibious exercise Pacific Blitz 2019 wraps up today, senior commanders already are reviewing after-action lessons and thinking ahead to future exercises that will help develop, train and prepare forces for fights on the move and close to shore.
USS Gerald Ford Delivery Delayed Due to Extensive Nuclear Propulsion, Weapons Elevator Repairs; Carrier Won’t be Ready Until October
– USNI News – Unforeseen problems in repairing USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) will push delivery of the carrier back to the fleet by three months, into October
From the Azov Sea to the Black Sea: Russia’s Maritime Campaign
– CIMSEC – Almost five years following the Minsk Agreements, the war in Ukraine has claimed the lives of over 13,000 individuals. While much of the attention has been on the annexation of Crimea and continuous fighting throughout the Donbas region, Russia has more recently added a maritime component to its campaign with aggressions in the Sea of Azov. The Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksandr Turchynov, sees the possibility of the region being used as a “springboard for further expansion,” a land invasion of Mariupol being his greatest concern. While many may fear expansion into the land environment, the far more likely scenario is westward progress by Russian naval forces, furthering their disruptive campaign off Ukraine’s coastline.
The Pentagon’s plan to decommission an aircraft carrier looks half baked and dead on arrival
– Defense News – The Pentagon’s decision to decommission the carrier Harry S. Truman appears to be sputtering and dying in a wave of skepticism and resistance from lawmakers.
A First Time For Everything: The United Nations Maritime Task Force in Lebanon
– CIMSEC – Another example of successful UN peacekeeping includes the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), forged from the fires of the 1978 war between Israel and PLO fighters operating from southern Lebanon. This UN mission was substantially enhanced in 2006 following a repeat of the conflict. It also included a historical development in UN peacekeeping, the establishment of the Maritime Task Force (MTF) attached to UNIFIL, the first such naval operation of its kind under the auspices of the United Nations.
Why a British ship will hunt mines off the Virginia coast
– Navy Times – A British amphibious warship embarked with U.S. Navy sailors is slated to operate out of this Virginia port for what officials term a two-week “experiment” to test new mine warfare techniques.
The Hunt For Us is Not Closed
– RIA Novosti – The new submarine cruisers of Project 955 “Borey” in the coming years will become the main naval component of the Russian nuclear forces. Under the heavy lids on the deck of each of the “strategists” are hidden 16 ballistic missiles “Bulava”, every second ready to strike. On the eve of the Submariner’s Day, a RIA Novosti correspondent boarded the nuclear submarine Yury Dolgorukiy, talked to the commander and found out why these ships are one of the main causes of insomnia for NATO admirals.
All Sane Men Believe in Reserves
– War on the Rocks – The past 17 years have trained navy reservists for the new global realities of small wars, land wars, irregular warfare, and insurgencies. These joint experiences have shaped reserve units collectively and individually, but not — largely — for maritime operations. The time, however, has come to recognize that what the navy reserve has done in the past two decades in land operations must fundamentally shift and take what the Navy Reserve has learned while preparing for other challenges. The culture, training, and operational opportunities must change. Every community must be made ready today for the naval war we all know is coming — a war that in some ways is already here.
Strategic Strong Points and Chinese Naval Strategy
– Jamestown Foundation – On August 1, 2017, China opened its first overseas military base, in the East African nation of Djibouti. This was a landmark event that raised a whole host of questions for Indo-Pacific states: Is Djibouti the first of other bases to come? If so, how many? Where will China build them? How will they be used? Where do they fit into Chinese military strategy? Chinese policymakers and analysts are pondering these same questions. However, they are employing concepts unique to Chinese strategic discourse, and it is essential to grasp these concepts in order to understand how Beijing intends to project military power abroad.
Asian Fishing Fleets Commit Yet Another Illegal Fishing Incident in Argentine Waters
– CIMSEC – The Argentine Coast Guard stopped a South Korean trawler that was allegedly operating without authorization in its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in early February. The non-violent operation highlights how Asian fleets are willing to travel long distances in order to make a profit, and how Latin American navies and coast guards need to be more focused than ever before on combating unauthorized fishing.
Let’s Talk About The Navy’s Ultra Ambitious New Plan To Get To 355 Ships In Just 15 Years
– War Zone – The service will face huge challenges in meeting that goal and just sustaining those vessels will cost many billions more than it spends now.
Navy To Supersize Its Ultra Versatile SM-6 Missile For Even Longer Range And Higher Speed
– War Zone – The SM-6 is getting a way bigger rocket motor that will allow it to reach even farther than before and enemy ships may be its primary target.
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