– 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.
Japanese Intelligence Tells Pentagon China Engaged in Multi-Year Takeover Attempt of Senkaku Islands
– Free Beacon – China is escalating a campaign of military maritime coercion against Japan’s Senkaku Islands, according to Japanese intelligence data disclosed as part of a joint Pentagon-Japan research program.
These maps show how Russia has Europe spooked
– Washington Post – The Kremlin has brushed off Western concerns about its deployment of cutting-edge missile systems in its Kaliningrad enclave, saying that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was the one disrupting the strategic balance with its plans to put antimissile defenses on Russia’s borders. But the Russian arsenal on the Baltic, some of which has been tested in Syria, is potentially a game-changer.
China’s Maritime Militia a Growing Concern
– Defense News – Near the top of US Pacific Fleet commander Adm. Scott Swift’s concerns is China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN), and close behind is the country’s burgeoning Coast Guard. But a third government-controlled seagoing force, the little-known and somewhat mysterious maritime militia, is drawing increased attention.
Dangerous Waters: the Situation in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait
– CIMSEC – On 25 October 2016, the Spanish-flagged merchant tanker Galicia Spirit came under fire when a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) was fired at it from a small speedboat that had interdicted the vessel. The tanker was then attacked with small arms fire. The merchant vessel escaped catastrophic damage, and was able to continue its journey onward. However, only two days later, the liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker Melati Satu was attacked in the same area, also with RPGs. The Tuvalu-flagged Melati Satu’s crew sent out a distress call, were rescued by a Saudi Arabian naval vessel, and were subsequently escorted to safety. Both ships had been traversing the Bab el-Mandeb strait between south-western Yemen and north-eastern Djibouti. This small waterway must be negotiated to access or egress the Egyptian-controlled Suez Canal, which sits at the northern end of the Red Sea.
Royal Navy ‘woefully low’ on warships
– BBC – Britain’s defences are at risk amid uncertainty over plans to replace the “woefully low” number of Royal Navy warships, MPs have warned.
A Bridgehead Too Far? CSBA’s Aggressive, Risky Strategy For Marines
– Breaking Defense – Marines are famously aggressive, but a new battle plan from a leading thinktank makes Iwo Jima look low-risk. The Center for Strategic & Budgetary Assessments’ proposed concept of operations is imaginative, exciting and more than a little scary.
Chagos Islanders denied right to return home
– The Guardian – Foreign Office decision set to cause enormous disappointment for thousands deported in 1971 to make room for US military base.
Navy Deploying Unmanned Gliders from Destroyers to Help ASW Mission
– USNI News – The Navy is set to deploy unmanned buoyancy gliders from its guided missile destroyers in an effort to expand its anti-submarine warfare edge.
Analyst shows why Russian ‘Death fleet’ is so smoky
– Ukraine TV – Russian aircraft carrier ‘Admiral Kuznetsov’ battle group is easily identified from space due to its smoke trace. ‘Landsat 8′ satellite captured the Russian Navy carrier battle group in the Mediterranean on photo, Military Aviation News website ‘Alert 5’ informs. On the picture taken on November 8 the carrier’s smoke plume was visible from space. Ukrainian military analyst and blogger Olexandr Kovalenko explained the reason of this effect.
China’s Great Leap Backward
– The Atlantic – James Fallows writes that China has become repressive in a way that it has not been since the Cultural Revolution. What does its darkening political climate—and growing belligerence—mean for the United States?
New Zealand earthquake: Warships head to Kaikoura
– BBC – Australian, Canadian and US warships are helping with evacuations and supplying aid to the New Zealand town of Kaikoura after a series of tremors.
12 Carriers and 350 Ships: A Strategic Path Forward from President Elect Donald Trump
– National Interest – President Elect Donald Trump, correctly understanding the current strategic environment, is committed to building a 350 ship Navy.
‘Ring of steel’: Government sends off 12 naval, ABF ships to block people smugglers
– ABC – Australia’s “largest maritime operation” in peacetime history will involve up to a dozen patrol boats and a supporting naval warship, as well as an offshore patrol vessel from the Australian Border Force (ABF), to create a so-called “ring of steel” to block future people-smuggling ventures.
Hunting submarines with magnets
– The Economist – A new way to detect even the quietest boats.
Russian MiG-29 fighter jet crashes in Mediterranean
– BBC – A Russian MiG-29 fighter jet has crashed into the Mediterranean Sea as it tried to land on the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier.
The Lessons of Henry Kissinger
– The Atlantic – The legendary and controversial statesman criticizes the Obama Doctrine, talks about the main challenges for the next president, and explains how to avoid war with China.
UK to retire GWS60 Harpoon at end of 2018
– Janes – The United Kingdom will withdraw the GWS60/Harpoon Block 1C anti-ship missile from Royal Navy (RN) service at the end of 2018 without replacement.
Russia ships ‘chase away’ Dutch submarine in Mediterranean
– BBC – Russia’s defence ministry has said two of its navy destroyers have forced away a Dutch submarine to stop it spying on an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean.
MAWTS-1 Advancing F-35B, Marine Aviation Operations For Future Fight
– USNI News – In a glimpse of what the future of Marine Corps aviation could bring, this fall F-35B Joint Strike Fighters were operating at long ranges with the MV-22 Osprey, passing information to other aircraft and to ground forces with tablets. Unmanned aerial vehicles provided intelligence, and precision rockets hit targets in dense urban areas. At Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron-One (MAWTS-1) and its semi-annual Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) course, top aviators from around the fleet not only trained to high-end warfighting scenarios but also help advance tactics to keep up with real-world developments and conduct experiments with emerging technologies that could give Marines in the air and on the ground an edge on the battlefield.
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