– BBC – A US Navy ship was forced to change course when fast-moving Iranian vessels approached it in the Strait of Hormuz.
Liaoning Raises More Questions for China
– CIMSEC – China’s sole aircraft carrier, the Liaoning, had put on a display of its skills recently as the carrier group transited the Western Pacific. Liaoning’s excursion, marking Beijing’s core interests, is a political message to the United States and the world as uncertainty grips them. It also marks the beginning of a new episode in the military history of Western Pacific, which has been dominated by American aircraft carriers since the Cold War, especially during the Taiwan Strait crises. Taiwan also believes that Liaoning represents China’s military ability to break through the first island chain.
Last 3 planes from Navy patrol squadron to depart Hawaii for new home in Washington
– Stars and Stripes – It’s the end of an era for Navy patrol squadrons that have flown the sub-hunting and surveillance P-3 Orion out of Hawaii for more than half a century. The final three planes of Patrol Squadron 9, or VP-9, are expected to wing away from Kaneohe Bay by week’s end with about 60 crew and maintainers on a deployment that started in Hawaii but will end at the squadron’s new home at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington.
Carrier Charles de Gaulle undergoing refit and upgrade
– UPI – The French aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle is in drydock in the port of Toulon for an 18-month refit and upgrade. The carrier has been in service for 15 years and the French Navy said the midlife work will extend her operational life for at least 20 more years.
Arctic Security and Legal Issues in the 21st Century: An Interview with CDR Sean Fahey
– CIMSEC – The changing Arctic is a topic of increasing interest to the maritime security community. Rapidly receding sea ice and increasingly navigable waters combined with the promise of rich natural resource deposits have made investment in the Arctic – particularly military and infrastructure investment – a priority for Arctic nations and other parties that stand to benefit from the region. To discuss these issues and more, CIMSEC interviewed Commander Sean Fahey, USCG of the U.S. Naval War College Stockton Center for the Study of International Law for his expert insight on legal and security issues in the High North in the 21st Century.
A War Between the U.S. and China Would Be World War III (And Might Be Hard to Shut Off)
– National Interest – How does the unthinkable happen? As historians continue to contemplate the various historic anniversaries around World War I through next year, the question of unexpected wars looms large. What series of events could lead to war in East Asia, and how would that war play out?
Is Sir John Parker Advocating a Snatch Land Rover for the Royal Navy?
– RUSI – The chairman of the independent review into Britain’s National Ship Building Strategy is advocating a ‘cheap and cheerful’ Royal Navy. However, Sir John Parker is unlikely to face action on the unsuitable ships he is proposing.
Iran Developing Sub Launched Missiles to Combat Ships in Strait of Hormuz
– USNI News – Iran is developing a submarine that could launch an anti-ship cruise missile designed to quickly sink an American warship operating in the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump Calls For 12 Carriers, But How Fast Will We Get There?
– Breaking Defense – Speaking today on the hangar deck of the almost-completed aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, President Donald Trump explicitly pledged to build “the 12-carrier Navy we need.” Ever since the USS Enterprise retired in 2012, the Navy has had only 10 aircraft carriers, with the Ford soon to be commissioned as the 11th.
Japan Under Time Crunch to Establish New Amphibious Unit
– USNI News – While rough seas and queasy stomachs tested some 350 Japanese soldiers and command staffs who took to sea aboard Navy ships for exercise Iron Fist, time might be their greatest obstacle. The members of the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force’s Western Area Infantry Regiment training in California are part of a fledgling force that will become the JGSDF first Amphibious Ready Deployment Brigade. That unit is tasked with creating a credible, ready force to conduct amphibious operations and defend its islands by next year.
Time to Put China’s Rocketeers on Notice
– National Interest – A Sea-Based Pershing II missile can blunt China’s A2/AD threat and help restore regional strategic balance.
Iranian Naval Forces: A Tale of Two Navies
– US Navy Office of Naval Intelligence – The 2017 Office of Naval Intelligence report, Iranian Naval Forces: A Tale of Two Navies.
Distributed Lethality: The Future of the Helicopter Sea Combat Community
– CIMSEC – The future of the Helicopter Sea Combat Community (HSC) community is at risk. HSC, which is made up of both carrier air wing (CVW) and expeditionary (EXP)squadrons that employ MH60S helicopters, struggles with its purpose to the fleet. Platform capabilities fail to keep pace with technological advancements and HSC warfighting relevancy is diminishing. A focused vision, careful risk mitigation, rebalanced mission priorities, and thoughtful platform acquisitions are needed in order to strengthen the fleet and secure the future of the HSC community.
Atlas-V NRO-79 Intruder Mission Readied For Wednesday Launch To Track Ships
– America Space – The U.S. Air Force’s 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg AFB Calif., along with United Launch Alliance (ULA) and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), are poised for the planned March 1 launch of the NRO-79 mission carrying the Intruder 8 Ocean Surveillance satellite payload on board an Atlas-V 401 rocket.
Bonnie Glaser on FONOPS and U.S. – China Relations Under Trump
– CIMSEC – A conversation with Asia-Pacific expert Bonnie Glaser to better understand freedom of navigation, U.S.-China relations under the Trump administration, and recent maritime operations in the region.
The Age of the Strike Carrier is Over
– CIMSEC – The age of the strike carrier is over. As the United States enters an era where the potential for modern great-power war is increasing dramatically in Eurasia, a return to the traditional roles of the aircraft carrier is required to maintain maritime access. Carrier-borne over-land strike warfare has not proved decisive in previous conflicts in heavily contested air defense environments, and will not prove so in the future. In the potential high-end conflicts of the twenty-first century, the likely utility of carrier-based land strike is largely non-existent. Thankfully, the traditional carrier aviation roles of maritime interdiction and fleet air defense remain highly valuable in wars against modern navies, but are precisely the roles, missions, and tactics sacrificed for sea based over-land strikes over the past sixty years. Regaining this capability will require a modest investment in existing and developing systems and capabilities and should be the force’s, the service’s and the nation’s highest objective in the coming years.
NATO’s Big Test?
– The Art of the Future Project – Jeremy Shapiro’s poignant fictional piece in Foreign Policy, This is How NATO Ends, bristles the academic, humors the skeptic, as it paints a dark future for the 68-year-old alliance. Good fictional speculation should draw on history to explore and challenge through imagination; it is the reader’s role to test his or her own assumptions as well by putting themselves in another person’s shoes.
Smart Mines, A Smaller Army, & The Trump Buildup That Won’t Happen
– Breaking Defense – Trump’s promised defense budget boost probably won’t materialize, the former Vice-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs said today, so we can’t afford to grow a larger military. Instead of more ships and troops, retired Adm. James Winnefeld said the military should prioritize investment in new ideas. His own service, for example, should overcome its post-1945 reluctance to lay mines off enemy shores and deploy networks of smart mines. The Army should cut soldiers to buy more modern equipment and stockpile a lot of it in Europe.
Shift the Coast Guard to DoD
– Proceedings of the US Naval Institute – Transferring the U.S. Coast Guard to the Department of Defense would enhance the service’s capabilities and the nation’s defense.
Planet’s satellites offer customers a new world view every day
– The Economist – Analysing images from space could be big business.
China on edge as US carrier strike group exercises in South China Sea
– Asian Times – While the Pentagon insists its warship maneuvers – the first under President Donald Trump – are routine, Beijing has denounced them as a threat.
LCS crew marooned in Singapore on an open-ended deployment
– Navy Times – The embarked crew of the littoral combat ship Coronado, forward deployed to Singapore, was supposed to be home for Thanksgiving after a four- or five-month tour. But now the crew has been on board and overseas for eight months and there is no end in sight.
The long story of a small German island in the North Sea
– The Economist – The archipelago of Heligoland has a modern parallel.
Link Army, Navy Missile Defense Nets: Adm. Harris
– Breaking Defense – The Army and Navy must link their missile defense systems into a single network so Navy weapons can hit targets spotted by Army radars and vice versa, the chief of Pacific Command said today. That’s a daunting technical task but, if surmounted, it could dramatically improve defense against North Korean, Chinese, or Russian missile salvos.
Distributed Lethality and Situational Awareness
– CIMSEC – Distributed lethality depends on being hard to find and securing the element of surprise enabled by superior situational awareness. With the adoption of the distributed lethality concept, it is essential that the concept and doctrine for establishing and maintaining the Common Tactical Picture be reviewed and optimized to assure warfare commanders enjoy the tactical advantage of decision superiority over an adversary.
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