– CIMSEC – A look at non-kinetic ways to disable a navy.
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.
Ways to Follow NOSI
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Could Israel’s Navy Start a Nuclear War?
– National Interest – Israel’s navy is the smallest branch of the Israel Defense Forces. However, the need to protect Israel’s recently-established gas rigs in the Mediterranean against missile and terrorist attacks presents the Israeli navy with a profound challenge. In addition, the Israeli submarine fleet is of tremendous strategic importance—particularly regarding a possible Iranian military nuclear program. Thus, Israel’s navy plays a vital role for Jerusalem’s security.
MQ-25 Stingray Unmanned Aerial Tanker Could Almost Double Strike Range of U.S. Carrier Air Wing
– USNI News – The inclusion of the unmanned MQ-25 Stingray aerial tanker into the U.S. carrier air wing could increase the effective strike range of the strike fighters aboard aircraft carriers by up to 400 nautical miles.
The Royal Navy’s New Ship Plans Have a Serious Flaw
– National Interest – In 2023, the Royal Navy hopes the first of its new Type 31 frigates will hit the waves to replace HMS Argyll, the first of 13 Type 23 frigates scheduled to begin retiring that year, with another to retire every year until 2035. The new vessels will add desperately needed modern warships to the United Kingdom’s depleted fleet. However, that’s the hope. It’s not realistic, according to program officials cited in a report from Defense News. The compressed timetable will likely delay the Type 31, and worse — tight budgets are forcing compromises with the vessel’s weapons and capabilities. The result will be a Royal Navy adopting a smaller, less combat-capable ship than the Type 23, which has served since the 1980s as the backbone of Britain’s submarine hunting fleet.
USS Kearsarge, USS Oak Hill Leave Thursday for Hurricane Harvey Relief Operation
– USNI News – Amphibious warships USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) and USS Oak Hill (LSD-51) are set to set sail on Thursday under orders Wednesday from Adm. Phil Davidson, commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, to provide humanitarian aid in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
Swarming Sea Mines: Capital Capability?
– CIMSEC – The Navy’s Strategic Studies Group 35 concluded the “Navy’s next capital ship will not be a ship. It will be the Network of Humans and Machines, the Navy’s new center of gravity, embodying a superior source of combat power.” Such a network could consist of networks of sea mine swarms and their support ships. Networked sea mine swarms could converge on masses of adversary ships, bringing to bear overwhelming force. The visibility of surface support ships would enable the network to generate conventional deterrence by signaling the swarm’s presence, while helping maintain the swarm itself. The history of mine warfare suggests swarming sea mines could deliver a decisive force.
Navy Prepping USS Kearsarge, USS Oak Hill for Post Hurricane Harvey Humanitarian Mission
– USNI News – The Navy is preparing USS Kearsarge (LHD-3) and USS Oak Hill (LSD-51) to assist ongoing recovery efforts in the Texas and Louisiana gulf coast region following Hurricane Harvey.
Crowdsourced command centre co-ordinates rescue efforts in Houston
– CBC – Volunteers use technology to navigate where and how to make their next rescue.
Return of the Sea Control Ship
– CIMSEC – Today, a confluence of events has made revisiting the Sea Control Ship a vital task for the sea services. From commissioning new, large-deck amphibious assault ships specifically designed to maximize aircraft operations, expanding ARG-MEU mission sets via the tiltrotor MV-22 Osprey, and most significantly the imminent deployment of the F-35B Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), such a ship with its vertical/short take-off and landing (V/STOL) aircraft and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopters could conduct ASW and carry out other sea control missions such as surface warfare (SUW). Additionally its air group of F-35B aircraft could conduct strike missions in lower intensity conflict situations such as the U.S. in Libya in 2011. Such a platform is the key to the future of maritime warfare not because it is a replacement for the conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) aircraft carrier, but rather because it is a complement that will free up the larger and all too few fleet nuclear powered aircraft carriers to focus on the power projection mission of striking enemy targets inland during a high intensity conflict.
Aircraft Carriers’ Drama
– USNI Blog – A discussion of current Russian hypersonic anti-ship cruise missiles.
Boeing Says Super Hornet Fully Compatible With Indian Navy Ski-Jump Carriers
– War Zone – Boeing makes its pitch to bring the Super Hornet to Indian Navy aircraft carriers.
The Network as the Capital Ship
– CIMSEC – From the galleasses at the Battle of Lepanto to the aircraft carriers of today, the capital ship has been that ship type that is capable of defeating all other types. That is the general and simplistic definition of the term, but to speculate on the future capital ship, we must understand the underlying characteristics of a capital ship and its role in fleet architecture and design. We will start with the ship itself and then move outward to its context and implications for maritime strategy.
Deadly Navy accidents raise questions over a force stretched too thin
– Washington Post – Constant deployments, a shrinking number of ships and high demands on crews have frayed the U.S. Navy, according to naval experts and current and former Navy officers, leading to four major incidents at sea this year and the deaths of 17 sailors.
Maybe today’s Navy is just not very good at driving ships
– Navy Times – In the wake of two fatal collisions of Navy warships with commercial vessels, current and former senior surface warfare officers are speaking out, saying today’s Navy suffers from a disturbing problem: The SWO community is just not very good at driving ships.
The Blue Economy and Ocean Clusters With Kate Walsh
– CIMSEC – A conversation about the Blue Economy, ocean clusters, and their relevance for maritime security. It’s a conversation about innovation, organization, and competition between the U.S. and China.
Narco Submarines: A Problem That Will Not Sink
– CIMSEC – In the past year a number of narco submarines have been seized in several Latin American states. Narco submarines continue to be a problem as hemispheric security forces combat drug trafficking. Unfortunately for every narco sub that is seized, another is under construction. While recent successful operations should be applauded, combating narco subs needs a regional strategy of its own.
‘We Prevented Israel From Going to War’: Outgoing Air Force Chief on Iran, Gaza and the Conflicts Ahead
– Haaretz – Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel tells Haaretz about preparing for an attack on Iran, carrying out scores of airstrikes on Hezbollah and averting clashes with Russian jets in Syria.
New Underwater Effectiveness: The SAMDIS Solution
– Second Line of Defense – Undersea warfare is becoming more complex as an increasing number of nations are operating submarines, advanced submarines and seafloor mines are being proliferated, and there are an increasing number of seafloor military and commercial activities world wide. Thus, there are increasing demands for navies to have enhanced capabilities to carry out surveillance to support anti-submarine warfare, mine countermeasures, general surveillance, and “special missions” in the depths.
Why Are Our Ships Crashing? Competence, Overload, and Cyber Considerations
– CIMSEC – Security researchers do not believe in coincidences. In the past few weeks, a very rare event – a U.S. Navy destroyer colliding fatally with a huge commercial vessel – happened twice in a short period of time. Could these collisions be due to cyberwarfare?
The Future of Military Robotics Looks Like a Nature Documentary
– War on the Rocks – I realized Hollywood has it all wrong. The future of military robotics doesn’t look like The Terminator. It looks like Planet Earth II.
Fight Fire with Fire
– Proceedings of the US Naval Institute – Facing growing networks of antiaccess warfare systems, the U.S. Navy can regain an early offensive capability by taking conventionally armed intermediate-range ballistic missiles to sea.
This Is What the Navy Doesn’t Want You to Know about Its Deadly Ship Crashes
– National Interest – Division officer training—not cyberattacks—may be to blame for recent collisions at sea.
Development and Implications for Joint Operations
– CIMSEC – UAVs are already an emerging capability within the PLA, law enforcement, and civil agencies and are playing a more prominent role in operations. Real-world testing will refine the PLA doctrinal use of these systems. Control, direction of development, and interoperability in joint operations are all questions yet to be answered. Developing an understanding of how these systems are incorporated into the PLA force structure may give insight into developing doctrine and political considerations. A clear understanding of both may support a potential framework for de-escalating unmanned vehicle incidents between nations where China has interests.
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