– BBC – US and UK F35 fighters are to deploy alongside each other when the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier begins her first operational tour in 2021. Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon has signed an agreement with his US counterpart to allow Marine Corps F35Bs to fly from HMS Queen Elizabeth.
China live-fires aircraft carrier group amid Taiwan tensions with US
– The Guardian – China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier battle group has conducted its first exercises with live ammunition, the country’s navy said, in a show of strength as tensions with the US and Taiwan escalate.
Raytheon Excalibur Round Set to Replace LRLAP on Zumwalts
– USNI News – The Navy is looking to Raytheon’s Excalibur guided artillery round to replace the effective but expensive Long Range Land Attack Projectile for the Zumwalt-class of guided missile destroyers.
South China Sea: Satellite photos ‘show weapons’ built on islands
– BBC – New photographic evidence has emerged of “significant” Chinese military defences on artificial islands in the South China Sea, a think tank reports.
The Perfect Weapon: How Russian Cyberpower Invaded the U.S.
– New York Times – …It was the cryptic first sign of a cyberespionage and information-warfare campaign devised to disrupt the 2016 presidential election, the first such attempt by a foreign power in American history. What started as an information-gathering operation, intelligence officials believe, ultimately morphed into an effort to harm one candidate, Hillary Clinton, and tip the election to her opponent, Donald J. Trump.
The New Red Scare
– Harpers – Andrew Cockburn, the author of the Cold War classic “The Threat” on the Soviet Union’s hollow military, now writes on the reviving of the art of threat inflation today.
Belgian-Dutch intent goes beyond joint ship procurement
– Shepard Media – In addition to the joint procurement of new frigates and mine hunters under a letter of intent signed by Belgium and the Netherlands in Brussels on 30 November, the two countries plan to cooperate on other maritime tasks.
At sea with Britain’s secret submarine defender as it plays cat and mouse with Russians
– Mirror – The Submarine Service is at the forefront of the Royal Navy’s classified efforts to protect our shores and the Mirror was given access as it sailed.
New Details Emerge on Littoral Combat Ship Breakdowns
– Military.com – In a pair of congressional hearings about the Navy’s embattled littoral combat ship program this month, service program managers and oversight officials fielded tough questions about unexpected increases from ship unit costs — from $220 million to $470 million over the course of the program — and concerns about a planned block buy of upgraded frigates based on the same design. But the panel also revealed new details about the cause and scope of a series of engineering casualties that have sidelined five of the eight active littoral combat ships in a little more than a year.
Russia Tests Nuclear-Capable Drone Sub
– RealClear Defense – Russia conducted a test of a revolutionary nuclear-capable drone submarine that poses a major strategic threat to U.S. ports and harbors. U.S. intelligence agencies detected the test of the unmanned underwater vehicle, code-named Kanyon by the Pentagon, during its launch from a Sarov-class submarine on Nov. 27.
Risking Beijing’s ire, Vietnam begins dredging on South China Sea reef
– Reuters – Vietnam has begun dredging work on a disputed reef in the South China Sea, satellite imagery shows, the latest move by the Communist state to bolster its claims in the strategic waterway. Activity visible on Ladd Reef in the Spratly Islands could anger Hanoi’s main South China Sea rival, Beijing, which claims sovereignty over the group and most of the resource-rich sea.
After the Islamic State
– New Yorker – As the caliphate crumbles, rival movements struggle for the soul of Sunni jihadism.
Tern Tailsitter Drone: Pilot Not Included
– Breaking Defense – One of the oddest military drones aborning reinvents a stillborn technology from 1951. It turns out the unmanned aircraft revolution is resurrecting configurations that were tried more than a half century ago but proved impractical with a human pilot inside. A case in point: Northrop Grumman’s new Tern, a drone designed to do everything armed MQ-1 Predators or MQ-9 Reapers can, but to do it flying from small ships or rugged scraps of land – i.e., no runway needed.
Russian Su-33 crashed in the Mediterranean while attempting to land on Kuznetsov aircraft carrier
– Aviationist – Less than three weeks after losing a MiG-29, it looks like the Russian Navy has lost another aircraft during Admiral Kuznetsov operations: a Su-33 Flanker.
Intelligence Is Not Warfare!
– Proceedings – Decoupling naval intelligence from the information warfare community is key to ensuring the Navy maintains maritime superiority.
Maritime Hybrid Warfare Is Coming
– Proceedings – Much has been written about the emergence of “hybrid warfare” in a variety of global scenarios, notably in the Russian invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea. To date, this largely has been confined to land warfare, in terms of both actual practice and theoretical discussion. That is about to change, and we will see the emergence of maritime hybrid warfare over the coming decades, perhaps sooner. Now is the time for the U.S. Navy to begin thinking about these scenarios and how to counter them, both for our own forces and on behalf of allies, partners, and friends in the global maritime coalition.
How the Falklands War (Thanks to a Stealthy Submarine) Could Have Gone Very Differently
– National Interest – The brief but bloody naval war that occurred in 1982 over the Falkland Islands, known as the Malvinas in Argentina, is typically viewed as a triumph of British naval power. A Royal Navy task force managed to beat off heavy air attacks to take back the South Atlantic archipelago from Argentine troops. For most of the war, a lone Argentine diesel submarine, the San Luis, opposed the Royal Navy at sea. Not only did the San Luis return home unscratched by the more than two hundred antisubmarine munitions fired by British warships and helicopter, but it twice ambushed antisubmarine frigates. Had the weapons functioned as intended, the British victory might have been bought at a much higher cost.
Vietnam Taking Long-Term Hard Line Toward China on Maritime Claims
– VOA – Vietnam is lengthening a military runway on a tiny islet to help hold off a larger, more aggressive China for control in Asia’s widest-reaching sovereignty dispute as other claimants keep quiet or seek negotiations. The government in Hanoi is extending the runway on one of the Spratly Islands, a disputed archipelago in the South China Sea, from 762 to 1,005 meters and building new hangars, according to the U.S. think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies. The longer runway would allow easier access for the air force’s maritime surveillance aircraft, it said. Historic use of the sea, strong national pride and a history of deadly conflicts are motivating Vietnam to fortify more than two dozen islands in the chain.
Iran Navy fleet set to cross Atlantic Ocean in near future
– PressTV – Iran’s Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari says the country’s naval forces should have a far-reaching arm in the high seas, adding that they will sail across the Atlantic in the near future.
Amphib USS Wasp Will Deploy With Surface Action Group in 2017
– USNI News – When amphibious warship USS Wasp (LHD-1) deploys the first time from its new homeport in Japan in late 2017, it’ll ship out with some extras: a squadron of Marine F-35B Lighting II Joint Strike Fighters, three guided-missile destroyers, a Marine general and a Navy admiral.
The F-35B Just Got A Lot Deadlier
– Defense One – In a proof-of-concept experiment, data passed instantly from a Marine Corps fighter allowed a shipboard Aegis system to shoot down a drone.
Marines Say Future High-End Pacific Fight Will Require Larger Force; CSBA Agrees In Preview To Future Fleet Architecture
– USNI News – The Marine Corps in recent years has grappled with how to remain a “fight-tonight” force without enough ships to take Marines where they need to go – but a Navy effort to redesign its future fleet and an incoming administration dedicated to growing the Navy may bode well for solving this long-standing problem.
Status of Brazil’s Ambitious PROSUB Program
– CIMSEC – In spite of Brazil’s political crisis, the Brazilian Navy has continued with its ambitious project of domestically constructing a new fleet of submarines, including a nuclear-powered platform. The first Scorpène-class submarine is expected to be launched in 2018, an important development though a couple of years behind schedule. However, the question remains: does Brazil require today, or will it require in the foreseeable future, an advanced submarine fleet?
Planes launched off US carrier in Gulf pound IS militants
– AP – One after another, fighter jets catapult from the flight deck of the USS Eisenhower, a thousand-foot (305-meter) American aircraft carrier, afterburners glowing amber above the blue Persian Gulf, on their way northwest to join the fight in Iraq and Syria against the Islamic State group.
Russians Blame MiG-29K Crash on Broken Arrestor Cable, Catastrophic Engine Failure
– USNI News – A combination of faults on Russia’s carrier and an unexpected total engine shutdown led to a Russian pilot ditching his fighter in the Mediterranean Sea last week.
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