– 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.
On a familiar battlefield, Marines prepare for their next chapter in Afghanistan
– Washington Post – In Marine Brig. Gen. Roger B. Turner Jr.’s office on this small, dusty base in Afghanistan, there are a leather couch, a map of Helmand province and a white board marked with half a dozen goals. One of them reads: “Get thru fighting season.” That aim – survival – demonstrates how modest U.S. ambitions in Afghanistan have become.
Why It’s Not Surprising That Ship Collisions Still Happen
– BBC – The ocean may be huge, and navigation technology may be advanced – but the conditions are still in place for ocean collisions like the one between a tanker and US navy destroyer this week. What can be done to prevent future disasters?
Chain of Incidents Involving U.S. Navy Warships in the Western Pacific Raise Readiness, Training Questions
– USNI News – The unprecedented string of U.S. surface ship incidents that have resulted in the death of at least seven sailors and hundred of millions in damages is prompting the Navy to take a hard look at how they operate their warships in the Western Pacific.
China’s Military Base in Djibouti: Strategic Implications for India
– War on the Rocks – Whatever its purported justification, China’s new base in Djibouti has stirred consternation in India, where commentators regard the development as a statement of strategic intent in the Indian Ocean. With an estimated area of nearly 250,000 square feet, the facility includes a large underground complex and is capable of hosting an estimated 10,000 troops. Over the past decade, New Delhi’s view of Beijing’s Indian Ocean ambitions has evolved significantly. Previously, a section of India’s strategic elite saw China’s forays in the region as largely commercial, and believed the Indian Navy, which dominated the South Asian littorals, could effectively counter PLAN aggression there. That consensus appears to have shifted. Many Indian observers now believe China’s military outpost in East Africa is aimed at regularizing a PLAN presence in the Indian Ocean, underscoring Beijing’s strategic ambition across the arc of the Indo-Pacific Region.
US Navy ship and oil tanker collide near Singapore
– BBC – Ten US Navy sailors are missing and five have been injured after the US destroyer John S. McCain and an oil tanker collided near Singapore.
Fire Scout UAV Prepares for LCS
– Proceedings of the US Naval Institute – The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) and Northrop Grumman’s Tactical Autonomous Systems business unit are preparing for a second phase of dynamic interface testing for the MQ-8C Fire Scout vertical takeoff unmanned aerial vehicle (VTUAV), to be conducted on board the littoral combat ship USS Little Rock (LCS-9) early next year. The “Charlie” is on track to complete initial operational test and evaluation in late 2018.
British Aircraft Carriers Return
– Proceedings of the US Naval Institute – The first of Great Britain’s two new aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth, began sea trials in May. She and her sister ship, Prince of Wales, represent the revival of Royal Navy fixed-wing aviation. The last of Britain’s earlier fixed-wing, carrier-based airplanes, the Sea Harrier fighter, was retired in 2006, and the last of three Invincible-class light aircraft carriers—HMS Illustrious—was decommissioned in 2014. Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales, displacing some 70,000 tons each, are by far the largest warships ever built for the Royal Navy.
The PLA Navy in the Baltic Sea: A View From Kiel
– CIMSEC – On 19 July 2017, after a long transit through the Indian Ocean and around the European continent, a three-ship People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) task group entered the Baltic Sea to conduct exercises with the Russian Navy (RFN). The flotilla reached Kaliningrad, the exercise headquarters, on July 21st. While hardly the first time that China’s naval ensign could be spotted in this Northern European body of water (for instance, a Chinese frigate participated in Kiel Week 2016), “Joint Sea 2017” marks the first ever Russo-Chinese naval drill in the Baltic Sea.
Navy to Commission Middle East-based Expeditionary Sea Base Lewis B. Puller as a Warship
– USNI News – The Navy will re-designate its first Expeditionary Landing Base ship a warship this week, converting the Military Sealift Command ship USNS Lewis B. Puller (T-ESB-3) into USS Lewis B. Puller (ESB-3) so it can better meet operational needs abroad.
Navy, Raytheon Close to Finalizing Maritime Strike Tomahawk Missile Deal
– USNI News – The Navy and Raytheon are close to signing a deal to integrate a new sensor into the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile to allow the missile to attack moving targets at sea.
U.S. Navy Seabees Building Maritime Operations Center on Black Sea Coast
– USNI News – Navy Seabees are building a maritime operations center on Ukraine’s Black Sea coast, for use during annual U.S. and Ukrainian military exercises and to assist allied maritime operations.
Inside HMS Queen Elizabeth – in pictures
– The Guardian – HMS Queen Elizabeth, sitting in Rosyth dockyard in Scotland, is ready to head out to sea for its first trials this summer. The milestone will mark significant progress in delivering HMS Queen Elizabeth, the largest and most powerful surface warship ever built for the Royal Navy.
Admiral Scott Swift on Leadership, Risk, and a Life in the U.S. Navy
– CIMSEC – An interview with Admiral Scott Swift, the Commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
The Evolution of Chinese National Security Debates on Maritime Policy Part 2
– CIMSEC – This series delves into the evolution of China’s national security debates pertaining to maritime security. Part Two will analyze Chinese maritime policy debates going into the modern era.
The Law of the Sea with John Burgess
– CIMSEC – Join us for the latest episode of Sea Control for a conversation with Professor John Burgess of the Fletcher School about the Law of the Sea and its enduring effects on maritime security.
The Med Migrant Crisis and Defend Europe
– CIMSEC – This summer while many European vacationers bask on sunny Mediterranean beaches, out in the water, hundreds of people are fighting for their lives while an increasingly more complex and robust collection of maritime non-government organizations (NGOs) (see Table 1) alternatively try to rescue them from drowning or send them back to Africa. The line between maritime human trafficking and a flow of refugees at sea has been blurred. In response to the ongoing migrant wave, the group Defend Europe recently raised enough money to charter a 422-ton ship, the C-Star, to convey a team of its activists to Libya. They arrived in the search-and-rescue zone off the Libyan coast on August 4-5.
Marines Order Stand-Downs After Crash Deaths: What’s Wrong?
– Breaking Defense – With 19 Marines killed in two aircraft crashes since July 10th, Marine Corps Commandant Robert Neller has ordered all aviation units to stand down for safety reviews. This summer’s crashes come after months of rising accident rates, with a total of 22 deaths and 18 “Class A Mishaps” – incidents involving loss of life or $2 million in damages – since last spring, plus numerous lesser accidents.
Dueling NGOs on the Seas: What Ships are For
– War on the Rocks – Today’s ideological battles are not simply confined to land or cyberspace. Nor is conflict at sea reserved for state-sponsored navies. The high seas are increasingly a battlespace for non-government organizations (NGOs). Although organizations such as Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd Conservation Society have been conducting maritime operations in support of their environmental missions for four decades, in recent years other maritime NGOs have emerged for a variety of causes.
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