– US Naval Institute Proceedings – The United States must overcome the bureaucratic and technical barriers so it has the superior drones needed to prevail in future combat.
Navy Warships Get New Heavy Missile: 2,500-Lb LRASM
– Breaking Defense – It’s a big day for the 2,500-pound Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile, LRASM. This morning, contractor Lockheed Martin announced an $86.5 million contract to build the first 23 production missiles – as opposed to test weapons – for use by Navy Super Hornet fighters and Air Force B-1B bombers. Lockheed also announce this afternoon that it had, for the first time, successfully test-fired a modified LRASM from the kind of launchers used on Navy ships.
Britain’s new aircraft carriers to test Beijing in South China Sea
– The Guardian – Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson commits ‘colossal’ carriers to embarking on freedom of navigation exercises in pointed remarks.
Britain plans to send warship to South China Sea in move likely to irk Beijing
– Reuters – Britain plans to send a warship to the disputed South China Sea next year to conduct freedom of navigation exercises, Defence Minister Michael Fallon said on Thursday, a move likely to anger Beijing.
Experts Outline Costs, Benefits of Building a 355-Ship Navy Before Senate Panel
– USNI News – Spending more money now to increase the Navy’s fleet size will signal to potential adversaries their victory at sea is not possible, but accomplishing this is neither cheap nor quick.
Trump Acts To Revitalize America’s Defense Industrial Base
– Breaking Defense – President Donald Trump has identified a fact few of his recent predecessors have understood: the Defense Industrial Base of the United States (DIB) is a critical component of our national security. The DIB is more important than any individual weapons program – be it an aircraft carrier, long range bomber, or high-tech tank. But for too long, the DIB has been ignored, mismanaged or even attacked.
Newly Commissioned Carrier Ford’s Leap-Ahead Technology Approach May Be a Thing of the Past
– USNI News – Saturday’s commissioning of aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) was a celebration of the end of a long and at-times hard road to bring the warship and its many new technologies to the fleet – a path the Navy may not choose to take again.
All You Need To Know About The Royal Navy’s New Carrier And Its Maiden Voyage
– War Zone – Pass or fail, the ship’s sea trials still won’t answer more serious questions about plans for its air wing and the fiscal viability of its sister ship, the HMS Prince of Wales.
Why Chinese Submarines Could Soon be Quieter Than US Ones
– Korea Times – The US Navy’s Pacific fleet used to mock Chinese submarines for being too noisy and too easy to detect, but that has largely been remedied in recent years, and China is now on the cusp of taking the lead in a cutting-edge propulsion technology.
Pride of Britain? No, HMS Queen Elizabeth is a £6bn blunder that should be scuttled, writes Max Hastings
– Daily Mail – What a glorious photo opportunity: the new pride and joy of British sea power, HMS Queen Elizabeth, largest warship ever built for the Royal Navy, this week sailed from the Firth of Forth for sea trials. Here is a 21st-century ‘castle of steel’ to strike terror into the nation’s enemies. Except the ship is nothing of the sort. HMS QE and its half-built sister, Prince of Wales, are giant embarrassments. They are symbols of almost everything that is wrong with British defence policy.
Everything You Need To Know About The Royal Navy’s New Type 26 Frigates
– War Zone – The new ships will be key components of the service’s future carrier battle groups, among other missions.
Navy Issues New MQ-25A Stingray Draft RFP to Industry Ahead of Final RFP in the Fall
– USNI News – The Navy issued its latest draft request for proposals for what will be the service’s first operational carrier-based unmanned aerial vehicle.
Underwater Bloodhounds: DARPA’s Robot Subs
– Breaking Defense – Run silent, run deep — and now, run in packs? Submarines are traditionally lone wolves, but the rise of robotics is starting to change that. Just yesterday, defense contractor BAE announced a $4.6 million award from DARPA to build an Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) to accompany manned submarines, helping them spot targets by sending out active sonar pulses.
Chinese Naval Group To Sail The Baltic Sea At Same Time As Russian Armada
– War Zone – There’s a massive amount of firepower being amassed in the Baltic Sea, including China’s most advanced operational destroyer and Russia’s largest submarine and cruiser.
Watching Russia’s Syrian build-up from central Istanbul
– BBC – The ship spotters of Istanbul have become a key resource for diplomats and intelligence experts, alerting the world to the scale of Russia’s campaign in Syria.
DARPA, BAE Systems Developing Small Unmanned Underwater Vehicles to Hunt Enemy Submarines
– USNI News – The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded BAE Systems a $4.6 million contract for an unmanned underwater vehicle that would help U.S. Navy submarines detect adversary subs while minimizing their own risk of being detected.
Chinese Spy Ship Was Snooping Off Alaska For the First Time During THAAD Test
– War Zone – The Type 815’s visit is a significant display of China’s expanding naval capabilities.
Russia’s Largest Nuclear Powered Sub And Warship Have Set Sail To The Baltic Sea
– War Zone – Early last April, we were among the first to report that Russia intended to send the world’s largest submarine, the Typhoon class Dmitry Donskoy, and their largest surface combatant, the nuclear powered Kirov class battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy, to the relatively tight and tense confines of the Baltic Sea. Now both ships have officially set sail from their home port of Severomorsk on their unprecedented voyage.
How to Deal With North Korea
– The Atlantic – Mark Bowden writes that there are no good options. But some are worse than others.
Here’s What You Should Know About China’s New African Base
– War Zone – Chinese forces in Djibouti are just the latest sign that the country wants to expand its military presence abroad.
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Britain’s European allies desert it in a vote at the UN
– The Economist – An isolated island battles to hang on to its outpost at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
USS America Leadership Look To Aircraft Carriers For Inspiration On Leveraging Aviation-Centric Design
– USNI News – As the first-in-class USS America (LHA-6) begins operations on its first major overseas deployment, leadership has a good understanding of the basics of operating this new type of ship – an amphibious assault ship without a well deck – but also a lot of room to learn how to maximize the new capability it brings to the fleet.
Strategy and Ship Design – History’s Lessons for Future Warship Concepts
– CIMSEC – The development of the Future Surface Combatant (FSC) family of warships has widespread implications. These ships will form the backbone of the Navy’s surface force, and add sorely needed numbers to the fleet in general. They may also signal a reorganization of the Navy from its current strike group system to a more amorphous model. Additionally, the FSC’s projected service life indicates that it will encounter and employ technologies that today are only in the developmental stages. Creating requirements for this ship is obviously important.
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