– US Naval Institute Proceedings – When is the United States going to do the killing necessary to beat its terrorist enemies or eliminate them entirely?
Has China Been Practicing Preemptive Missile Strikes Against US Bases?
– War on the Rocks – The United States and its allies should take action now to ensure that China does not think that it can gain the upper hand in a conflict through successful missile strikes against U.S. bases in Asia. They must ensure that China is not tempted, as some of the United States’ previous adversaries have been, into making the grave error of trying to knock the United States down, expecting it not to get back up.
Russian tankers fueled North Korea via transfers at sea
– Reuters – Russian tankers have supplied fuel to North Korea on at least three occasions in recent months by transferring cargoes at sea, according to two senior Western European security sources, providing an economic lifeline to the secretive Communist state.
Polish Navy inks $570M deal for minesweepers, rescue vessel
– Defense News – The Polish Ministry of Defence has signed a deal with a consortium formed by the Gdansk-based Remontowa Shipbuilding shipyard and the country’s defense giant PGZ to acquire two minesweeper vessels and one rescue vessel.
Would China Really Go to War with Taiwan over Some Boats?
– National Interest – So now China is overtly threatening cross-strait war should U.S. Navy vessels tarry at seaports in Taiwan.
New navy supply ship arrives in home port of Halifax
– CBC – The MV Asterix is the first naval ship to be delivered since the launch of the National Shipbuilding Strategy. Built in Germany, the former container ship was converted to a naval support ship at the Davie Shipyard in Quebec. The Asterix will replace HMCS Preserver and HMCS Protecteur, two supply ships no longer in service.
US Navy ends search for missing Argentine sub
– Defense News – The U.S. Navy is wrapping up its search for a missing Argentine submarine that disappeared in November with 44 crew aboard.
Australia and Japan Expected to Finalize Visiting Forces Agreement Next Month
– USNI News – Japan and Australia are close to inking their first visiting forces agreement, which would pave the way to smoother combined military operations.
2017 World Naval Operational News Highlights
The ten most significant naval news stories / trends / themes this year included:
- The lack of any meaningful progress towards creating a 355 ship fleet for the US Navy. How much longer will the US Navy continue to be over-tasked and under-resourced, and what will be the consequences?
- The tragic collisions involving the USS Fitzgerald and USS John S. McCain and the root causes of those collisions. How could the training of these ship’s crews been allowed to lapse to such a shocking degree, and how will the US Navy ensure that such a lapse will not happen again?
- The loss of the Argentinian Navy submarine San Juan. Are modern submarines too complex for small navies to operate safely?
- The opening of the Chinese Navy’s first overseas base in Dijbouti. Is this the first concrete naval step in China’s One Belt and One Road Initiative?
- The Philippines folding to Chinese pressure over their claims to territory in the South China Sea, despite have the weight of a UN tribunal behind them. Who’s next?
- The announcement by both France and the United Kingdom of mini naval pivots to Asia in order to counter the Chinese Navy’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea. Why has it taken them so long to realize they have interests in the Pacific as well?
- The standing up of formal amphibious capabilities by the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force and the Royal Australian Navy. Why is the United Kingdom, at the same time, considering standing down the Royal Navy’s formal amphibious capability?
- The effect of BREXIT on the United Kingdom’s defense procurement and operations. How will it change the size and architecture of the Royal Navy’s fleet?
- The newly identified Russian threat to undersea communication cables. Are these Internet fiber optic pipes a new maritime center of gravity that NATO needs to plan on defending?
- The increasing Russian military strength in the Arctic which is backing up a clear strategy for the region. Can the West articulate a counter-strategy and resource it?
HMS St Albans: UK frigate shadows Russian warship in North Sea
– BBC – A British frigate shadowed a Russian warship through the North Sea near UK waters on Christmas Day.
Japan considers refitting helicopter carrier for stealth fighters
– Reuters – Japan is considering refitting the Izumo helicopter carrier so that it can land F-35B stealth fighters, as Tokyo faces China’s maritime expansion and North Korea’s missile and nuclear development.
Queen Elizabeth Class Carriers Have Woefully Inadequate Close-In Air Defense Capabilities
– The War Zone – The Ministry of Defense seems to have skimped on the carriers’ ability to fend off anti-ship cruise missile barrages.
Reviewing The Navy’s Strategic Readiness Review: What’s Right, What’s Missing
– Breaking Defense – the pros and cons of the Navy’s Strategic Readiness Review.
Military robots are getting smaller and more capable
– The Economist – Soon, they will travel in swarms.
The Slaughterbots video featured in this story is found here.
Japan Cabinet Approves Aegis Ashore Buy to Supplement DDGs In Ballistic Missile Defense
– USNI News – The cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe approved the purchase of two Aegis Ashore missile defense systems this week to counter the threat of ballistic missiles from North Korea.
Almost All of the UK’s Surface Combatants Are in Port While Germany Has No Working Subs
– War Zone -These already worrying developments reflect poor readiness overall and other larger issues within both of these NATO navies.
Port Automation and Cyber Risk in the Shipping Industry
– CIMSEC – To stay ahead of competing ports and technological developments, automation has been heralded as inevitable. Major transshipment hubs and aspiring ports bet their future on automation, which raises the impact cyber risks could have in the long-run.
The Chinese Dream and Beijing’s Grand Strategy
– CIMSEC – Xi has irreversibly moved China away from the legacies of Mao and Deng, and resolutely set the country on the continued path of the Chinese Dream – a strategic roadmap for national rejuvenation (grand strategy) that interlinks all ancillary strategies. The following discourse will explore the cohesive alignment of these strategies and the connected strategic themes pervasive throughout them.
Strategic Communications With Bill Harlow
– CIMSEC – A conversation with Bill Harlow, a former intelligence community spokesman, about his work in strategic communications in the armed forces. He talks about the public affairs career track in the military, his experience at all levels of government, and how that experience informs the civilian work he does today.
Chinese hospital ship Peace Ark visits Timor-Leste
– China Mail – The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s hospital ship Peace Ark (Hull 866), currently on its “Harmonious Mission 2017” task, arrived in Dili, capital of Timor-Leste, on Thursday for an 8-day friendly visit and humanitarian medical services.
Navy pilot recalls encounter with UFO: ‘I think it was not from this world’
– ABC – Retired Cmdr. David Fravor spent 18 years as a Navy pilot, but nothing prepared him for what he witnessed during a routine training mission on Nov. 14, 2004. “I can tell you, I think it was not from this world,” Fravor told ABC News. “I’m not crazy, haven’t been drinking. It was — after 18 years of flying, I’ve seen pretty much about everything that I can see in that realm, and this was nothing close.”
What Putin Really Wants
– The Atlantic – Russia’s strongman president has many Americans convinced of his manipulative genius. He’s really just a gambler who won big.
As tensions ease, China keeps building on disputed islands
– Defense News – Tensions over China’s island-building in the South China Sea may have eased in the past year, but Beijing has kept busy. New satellite imagery shows China has built infrastructure covering 72 acres (28 hectares) in the Spratly and Paracel islands during 2017 to equip its larger outposts to be air and naval bases.
The Curious Case Of Germany’s Massive New But Relatively Toothless Type 125 “Frigates”
– War Zone – These odd destroyer sized ships are built for stabilization, crisis management, conflict prevention, and international intervention operations.
Russia a ‘risk’ to undersea cables, defence chief warns
– BBC – The UK’s most senior military officer has warned of a new threat posed by Russia to communications and internet cables that run under the sea.
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