– USNI Proceedings – Fielded en masse, simple naval mines present a serious antiaccess threat. Commercial technology exists to provide a modicum of low-cost mine defense capabilities to any ship.
China Wants ‘Transformer’ Drones (And It’s More Likely to Happen Than You Think)
– National Interest – Chinese military scientists are working on an unusual project: a single hybrid aerial-underwater drone.
Taiwan Wants To Speed Up Construction Of Its New Missile-Toting Stealthy Catamarans
– War Zone – The Taiwanese Navy is in desperate need of the additional ships to at all keep pace with China, but they’re still years away from entering service.
China’s Claim to the Spratly Islands is Just a Mistake
– CIMSEC – Although the Chinese government likes to say that it has an ancient and historical claim to the reefs and rocks in the South China Sea, a detailed examination of evidence shows that it actually emerged in the first half of the twentieth century. It also changed during a 40-year period 1907-1947. The whole process was filled with confusion and misunderstanding. A few mistakes by a small number of poorly-informed Chinese officials and academics back in the 1930s have created lingering confusion that still poisons the politics of Southeast Asia to this day.
Know Your Enemy. Know Yourself.
– USNI Proceedings – To better understand the environment, reduce adversary surprise, and improve performance, the Navy’s maritime operations centers need a tighter partnership between intelligence and operational analysis.
U.S./French Integrated Air Wing Helping Develop ‘One Larger Team’ to Tackle Maritime Operations
– USNI News – When Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson and Chief of Staff of the French Navy Adm. Christophe Prazuck stood together on the flight deck of carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) on Monday, pairs of fighters flew overhead – one American F/A-18E-F Super Hornet, one French Rafale at its side.
U.S./French Integrated Air Wing Exercise Accelerates French Pilots’ Return to Sea
– USNI News – Performing touch-and-go’s, catapult launches and arrested landings, French naval aviators are now qualifying aboard USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) and speeding up the timeline for their carrier to be combat ready.
Combat Rescue Needs a Renaissance
– USNI Proceedings – The Navy must revisit its surface combat rescue capability.
We Can Fix the SWO Career Path
– USNI Proceedings – The Navy’s recent seagoing collisions resulting in the tragic loss of 17 sailors have brought into stark relief the urgent need and compelling obligation to “fix the problem.”
A Deckplate Review: How the Submarine Force Can Reach its Warfighting Potential Part 2
– CIMSEC – Part Two focuses on problems that arise once submariners find time to train, both in their homeports and while deployed. Those problems include limited trainer (simulator) availability and extensive administrative burdens placed on deployed submarines.
Brazil’s Submarine Show in the South Atlantic Ocean
– National Interest – History may yet call on Brazil to play its part in South Atlantic or hemispheric defense.
China’s first home-built carrier sets out for sea trials
– Reuters – China’s first domestically developed aircraft carrier left its northeastern port to begin sea trials on Sunday, state media said, the latest milestone in the country’s efforts to modernize its military.
The Quiet Americans Behind the US-Russia Imbroglio
– New York Times Magazine – Can Washington’s “Russia hands” help explain why the post-Cold War relationship has gone off the rails?
Electric Drive Becomes Reality
– USNI Proceedings – The Zumwalt class represents many breakthroughs for the Navy, most conspicuously for hull and deckhouse design, but also for sensors, weapons, and computing infrastructure. On the systems side, the most decisive step forward is the introduction of an integrated electric drive (IED) power and propulsion architecture for a class of surface combatants.
The newest weapon in the US Navy’s arsenal is now under construction
– Defense News – When the destroyer Jack Lucas joins the U.S. Navy’s fleet in 2024, it will look similar to the 73 Arleigh Burke-class destroyers that preceded it. But it’s going to be a very different, more capable killer than its predecessors.
U.K. Carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth Set for U.S. Visit, F-35B Trials
– USNI News – Earlier this month, Britain’s national security adviser declared that the Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers would be unlikely to ever deploy on high-end combat missions without support from friendly forces.
Re-orienting American Sea Power for the China Challenge
– War on the Rocks – To better aid its allies and partners, Washington should consider expanding its catalogue of peacetime maritime operations. Passive presence has proved inadequate. In some cases, American policymakers may need to place U.S. forces on the front lines, where they can play a more direct role helping other states counter China’s seaward expansion.
Navy Eyes ‘Hard-Kill’ Defenses For Transport, Tanker, and Possibly Unmanned Escort Planes
– War Zone – The service is looking for a system that launches interceptors at incoming missiles and could end up on more than half a dozen types of aircraft.
Wind in the Sails: China Accelerates Its Maritime Strategy
– War on the Rocks – According to none other than Xi Jinping, if Beijing hopes to achieve “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” by the middle of the 21st century, it is necessary that it become a “maritime great power” (海洋强国).
Little Men in Black: The Frogman Threat in Maritime Hybrid Warfare
– CIMSEC – It is worth noting that a recent Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) study on maritime domain awareness in northern Europe described frogmen as “arguably the most effective force for maritime hybrid operations.”
The Digital Vigilantes Who Hack Back
– New Yorker – American companies that fall victim to data breaches want to retaliate against the culprits. But can they do so without breaking the law?
What if the US stopped sending aircraft carriers to the Arabian Gulf?
– Defense News – With a new National Defense Strategy from Defense Secretary Jim Mattis that deemphasizes the war on terrorism and places emphasis on competition with China and Russia, the U.S. is rethinking how it uses its most recognizable and fearsome force-projection instrument: the aircraft carrier.
How far can China’s long-range missiles reach in the South China Sea?
– Defense News – China’s deployment of long-range missiles to its artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea will further consolidate and enhance the country’s physical control over the region and further complicate the movement of American military assets through the area.
Marines Reorganize Infantry For High-Tech War: Fewer Riflemen, More Drones
– Breaking Defense – The Marine Corps is reorganizing its infantry for future high-tech conflicts in which troops must spread out to avoid the enemy’s precision-guided firepower.
US Navy resurrects Second Fleet in Atlantic to counter Russia
– BBC – The US Navy has said it will re-establish its Second Fleet, as Russia becomes more assertive, to oversee forces on the US East Coast and North Atlantic.
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