– The Wire – India has celebrated Navy Day on December 4 since the 1971 war with Pakistan, when three Indian missile boats sank three Pakistani ships off Karachi that day with six missiles. This marked the start of India’s first naval offensive against Pakistan and was only the second time anti-ship missiles had been used in combat. But, four decades later, it is not the Pakistani navy but the prospect of another maritime terror attack and the expansion of China’s naval presence in the Indian Ocean that worries the Indian navy leadership.
Is China Pursuing Counter-Intervention?
– Washington Quarterly – The term “counter-invention” has become burdened with conflated meanings and thus controversial in describing aspects of Chinese national and military strategy. Yet, the term should be retained although refined in two ways to help U.S. policymakers and planners devise appropriate responses to Chinese behavior aimed at undermining U.S. leadership in Asia.
Taiwan Turning the Screws on Washington’s Sub Deal
– Defense News – In 2001, President George W. Bush’s administration released the largest arms package to Taiwan since the closing of US military bases on the island in 1979. The deal included four Kidd-class destroyers, 12 P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and eight diesel-electric submarines. Since then, the package has been completed except for the submarine offer.
Russian Mystery Submarine Likely Deployment Vehicle for New Nuclear Torpedo
– USNI News – Russia’s plan to create a giant nuclear torpedo capable of wiping out a costal city could be farther along than just graphics on a briefing slide and gives purpose to a mysterious nuclear submarine, currently under construction.
Instability Questions About Zumwalt Destroyer Are Nothing New
– Defense News – The advanced destroyer Zumwalt (DDG 1000) is scheduled to put to sea next week to begin a series of sea trials. It will be the first time the 610-foot-long ship meets the ocean, the culmination of concept and design work that began in the 1990s. The Zumwalt and her two sister ships are built with a tumblehome hull, where the sides slope outward rather than inward or at a straight vertical as in most ship designs. The configuration, part of the ship’s low-cross section or stealth characteristics, is reminiscent of some designs of more than a century ago, but the DDG 1000 takes tumblehome to a new extreme. Essentially, no one has ever been to sea on a full-sized ship of this type.
Marines are flying over both Syria and Iraq regularly as part of a rescue force
– Washington Post – Marines are regularly flying over both Iraq and Syria to provide an airborne force capable of responding quickly if a coalition aircraft goes down and a pilot or air crew needs rescuing, said the commanding officer of a unit that returned from Iraq this fall.
Shoulder-Fired Surface-To-Air Missiles Spotted Aboard Russian Navy Ship In Turkish Strait
– FoxtrotAlpha – Turkish-Russian relations are in the gutter since the downing of that attack jet, yet it is not exactly a relationship in which one party can just ignore the other. Both economies are intertwined and Russia has to pass through Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait in order to access the Mediterranean from the Black Sea. Turkey may have reminded Russia of this very recently, but it still does not explain why Russian sailors were donning shoulder-fired surface-air-missiles today during one of Russia’s amphibious ship’s transits.
Turkey May Be Hinting At Playing Its Trump Card, Blocking Russia’s Bosphorus Access
– FoxtrotAlpha – Turkey, and especially Istanbul, has been called the crossroads of the world, geographically and commercially connecting Europe with Asia, and the Mediterranean with the Black Sea. The latter of which happens to be crucial to Russian shipping and especially its naval operations, acting as a corridor for the Black Sea Fleet to access the world. With tensions broiling over Turkey’s shooting-down of a Russian Su-24, and with Russian sanctions looming, Turkey may be brandishing its ultimate “soft power” weapon in hopes of controlling Moscow’s response; shutting down or slowing Russia’s access to the strategic nexus between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, the Bosphorus Strait.
The Maritime Dimension of Britain’s New Strategy
– War on the Rocks – The 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR), presented by Prime Minister David Cameron to the British Parliament on Monday, signifies a welcome return to strategic maritime thought by the government of the United Kingdom.
Defence unveils $1.5b NUSHIP Adelaide at Woolloomooloo before commissioning ceremony
– Daily Telegraph – Australia’s new $1.5 billion warship — the HMAS Adelaide — will be commissioned into service at Woolloomooloo before 1200 people on Friday. Officially known as NUSHIP Adelaide until its inauguration, the 230m long, 20m high helicopter carrier is the identical sister ship to the HMAS Canberrawhich arrived at the Garden Island naval base 12 months ago.
Building a Mediterranean Arc of Stability for America’s Long War
– USNI News – As it turns to rely on airpower for solutions to national security problems, the United States would be well served to reconsider the placement of additional overseas basing infrastructure on territories held by consistent and reliable allies. The reinforcement and expansion of existing airbases along NATO’s southern flank will greatly enhance our ability to respond to emerging threats and maintain a long-term presence at acceptable cost.
The Turkish-ISIS Alliance
– Traditional Right – William Lind with an interesting insight on why did Turkey shoot down a Russian fighter-bomber.
Seeking Game Changers in the Underwater World
– Defense News – The United States builds, arguably, the world’s most capable submarines. But at about $2 billion apiece, there are only so many subs the US Navy will acquire, and it’s widely recognized the supply will never meet the demand.
Navy equipped with long-range cruise missile ‘Ghadir’
– Mehr – A mass number of long-range anti-warship cruise missiles dubbed ‘Ghadir’ have been delivered to Iranian navy on the occasion of National Navy Day on Nov. 28.
The Key to Henry Kissinger’s Success
– The Atlantic – The statesman understood something most diplomats don’t: history—and how to apply it.
War Stories from the Future
– The Atlantic Council – War Stories from the Future is the culmination of the Atlantic Council Art of Future Warfare project’s first year exploring the future of armed and social conflict. The anthology explores many of the most important looming issues in defense and security, but in a way that no white paper or policy brief can.
Royal Navy Making Plans to Scrap Flagship HMS Ocean
– USNI News – The U.K. Royal Navy flagship — the amphibious assault ship HMS Ocean (L12) — is slated for scraping in 2018, the U.K. Ministry of Defence confirmed this week.
China’s Aircraft Carrier Program: Drivers, Developments, Implications
– US Naval War College Review – This paper examines first the drivers, the operational capabilities, and then the future trajectory of China’s carrier program. Last, we evaluate the implications of the carrier program for the balance of maritime power in the western Pacific and beyond.
Aboard the Charles de Gaulle: Sea Power and la République
– USNI Blog – Those familiar with the Nimitz class might be surprised how at home they would feel aboard the French carrier. Although somewhat smaller than USS Harry S. Truman, also currently in route to the Mediterranean, the bones of the French carrier show a common pedigree: the way the flight deck control is arranged, the quality of the maintenance, the arresting gear and catapults which are fully compatible with US aircraft and even the jersey colors on the flight deck.
Djibouti Likely to Become China’s First Indian Ocean Outpost
– China Sign Post – China is now laying the diplomatic and legal foundations for a long-term naval presence in Djibouti, with a range of recent media reports alleging that Beijing is negotiating for naval access in the country. The facilities would likely be located at Obock, on Djibouti’s northern coast. While China will not formally call the facilities a “base” anytime soon, it will likely function in a manner that brings it awfully close to being one in all but name.
U.S., Japan naval exercises make ‘big step forward’
– Reuters – The U.S. and Japanese navies established a new level of cooperation to resupply each others vessels during joint exercises in the seas south of Japan last week.
Royal Navy To Reduce Frigate Buy, Design Lighter Warship
– Defense News – The Royal Navy has cut plans to build 13 Type 26 frigates to eight and will launch a concept phase to design a new class of lighter warships to fill the gap.
Tokyo on guard after ‘peculiar’ Chinese naval ship sails near islets
– Nikkei Asian Review – Japanese officials are pondering the meaning of a Chinese navy spy ship’s passage near disputed East China Sea islets, a move some think is connected with Beijing’s self-declared air defense identification zone (ADIZ) over that body of water.
Bulava Trials: Russia’s Newest Intercontinental Missile Missed Target
– Mil.Today – Multiple launch of R-30 Bulava intercontinental ballistic missiles from the K-551 Vladimir Monomakh nuclear submarine on November 14, 2015 ended with a partial failure. One out of two missiles failed to hit assigned targets on the Kura Range, Kamchatka.
U.K. To Buy 138 F-35s, Will Boost Fighter Squadrons
– Aviation Week – The Royal Navy was perhaps the biggest loser in this year’s defense review. Although both of the new carriers will be retained, the government has decided to only build eight of the new Type 26 Global Combat Ships rather than the expected 13.
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