– Breaking Defense – The gloves came off during today’s Senate Armed Services committee hearing on China and North Korea with Pacific Command’s Adm. Harry Harris saying that China seeks “hegemony in East Asia” and is unequivocally militarizing the South China Sea.
New Possible Chinese Radar Installation on South China Sea Artificial Island Could Put U.S., Allied Stealth Aircraft at Risk
– USNI News – A possible new Chinese radar installation in the South China Sea could put American and allied stealth aircraft at risk as part of a wider detection network similar to U.S. efforts to find Russian bombers in the Cold War.
America’s Post-Oil Grand Strategy
– Thomas P.M. Barnett – Thomas P.M. Barnett’s latest opinion on what America’s grand strategy should be going forward.
What makes just 16 missiles such a deadly threat in the South China Sea
– Reuters – James Holmes writes that “In a move that should surprise precisely no one, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has positioned surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) on one of its South China Sea islands — namely Woody Island, home to Sansha, the administrative capital for the islands, atolls, and other geographic features Beijing claims in the Paracels and Spratlys. For Beijing this move makes eminent sense on many levels: it constitutes yet another reply to American and Southeast Asian challenges to its claims of “indisputable sovereignty” over most of the South China Sea.”
Russia’s Monster Battlecruisers Are Getting Hypersonic Anti-Ship Missiles
– National Interest – The Russian Navy is set to upgrade its nuclear-powered Project 11442 Kirov-class battlecruiser Pyotr Veliky with a new hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile. The new Mach 5.0-capable 3M22 Zircon missiles would replace the ship’s existing 390-mile range P-700 Granit supersonic anti-ship missiles.
CBARS Drone Under OSD Review; Can A Tanker Become A Bomber?
– Breaking Defense – The Navy’s new flying robot fuel truck, CBARS, is being reviewed by senior officials in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.
Dawn of the Air-Phibious Drones? Flying Fish UAV Swims and Flies
– Defense News – Meet the prosaically named Unmanned Hybrid Vehicle (UHV), a developmental project of Singapore’s ST Engineering. The UHV flies on a single pusher propeller which feathers and folds when the craft is below the waves.
Challenges for Military Sealift Command: The Distributed Fleet
– Breaking Defense – A fundamental question in today’s budget battle is, can the MSC actually support Navy plans to more widely distribute its fleet? Today’s answer can only be a provisional yes, given the shortage of ships, and the proliferation of new high-demand drivers such as the Littoral Combat Ship. In addition to a declining merchant fleet there is a growing shortage of trained and experienced civil mariners generated by the decline in the US merchant marine.
Former NATO Commander Stavridis Warns ISIS Could Strike Marine Corps, Navy Fleet
– USNI News – Fifteen years after the terrorist bombing of the USS Cole (DDG-67) that killed 17 sailors, Navy ships and other deployed U.S. forces face real threat of attack by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL), the former NATO supreme allied commander warned a defense conference in San Diego.
Whence the Threat? Lessons From Argentina’s Air-Naval Arsenal in 2015
– CIMSEC – Even thirty-three years after the end of hostilities there, the Falklands Islands still enjoy close attention. Diplomatic skirmishes and oil exploration at the islands merit recurring interest. But perhaps above all, the positioning of the Argentine military draws attention which few of its other Latin American counterparts receive.
The Indian Navy Charts A New Course With Its 2016 International Fleet Review
– The Diplomat – India’s International Fleet Review highlighted the growing importance of naval power to India’s geopolitical vision.
How Will New Subs Affect Vietnam’s South China Sea Strategy?
– The Diplomat – New subs might not be enough for Vietnam to defend its South China Sea claims.
Exposed: The U.S. Navy’s Most Super Secret Spy Submarine
– National Interest – On January 20, 2013, the Seawolf-class attack submarine USS Jimmy Carter left her home port in Bangor, Washington. Less than two months later, the submarine appeared at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii for repairs. It was all quite mysterious. During her time at sea, we don’t know where Jimmy Carter was or what her crew of nearly 150 were precisely doing. The Seawolf class is one of the most secretive weapons in America’s arsenal, and information about the Navy’s “Silent Service” is difficult to discover. . . by design.
U.S. Had Cyberattack Plan if Iran Nuclear Dispute Led to Conflict
– New York Times – In the early years of the Obama administration, the United States developed an elaborate plan for a cyberattack on Iran in case the diplomatic effort to limit its nuclear program failed and led to a military conflict, according to a coming documentary film and interviews with military and intelligence officials involved in the effort. The plan, code-named Nitro Zeus, was devised to disable Iran’s air defenses, communications systems and crucial parts of its power grid, and was shelved, at least for the foreseeable future, after the nuclear deal struck between Iran and six other nations last summer was fulfilled.
Anti-ship rocket ‘included in drills’
– China Daily – Several drills have been carried out by the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force during the past two weeks, with one of them involving the simulated use of the cutting-edge DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile, according to observers.
China ‘has deployed missiles in South China Sea’ – Taiwan
– BBC – China has deployed surface-to-air missiles on a disputed island in the South China Sea, Taiwan says.
North Korea and Asymmetric Naval Warfare
– CIMSEC – There are few detailed analyses of whether the Korean People’s Navy (KPN) – the maritime force of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) – could employ asymmetric warfare to counter the technological superiority of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and its US allies.
China Reclaimed Land for South China Sea Anti-Submarine Helicopter Base Near Vietnam
– USNI News – The People’s Liberation Army is building a South China Sea helicopter base that could be a key node in a Chinese anti-submarine warfare (ASW) network across the region.
Submarines Dominate Australian Defense Plans
– Aviation Week – With troops deployed in the fight against Daesh in Iraq and Syria, the JSF program ramping up, and a heavy involvement in the two-year search for missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH 370, Australia’s defense priorities appear self-evident. Yet 2016 looks set to be dominated by another defense procurement program, the largest in Australian history. The replacement of Australia’s Collins-class submarine fleet is turning into a political story almost as big as its anticipated budget.
Navy considers electric gun for a Zumwalt-class destroyer
– AP – Development of a futuristic weapon depicted in video games and science fiction is going well enough that a Navy admiral wants to skip an at-sea prototype in favor of installing an operational unit aboard a destroyer planned to go into service in 2018. The Navy has been testing an electromagnetic railgun and could have an operational unit ready to go on one of the new Zumwalt-class destroyers under construction at Bath Iron Works.
Russia sends brand new cruise missile ship to Syria
– AFP – Russia has dispatched a new ship armed with cruise missiles to the Mediterranean, the navy announced Saturday, as reports said it is bound for Syria. The Zelyony Dol, a patrol ship armed with Kalibr cruise missiles that only joined the Black Sea fleet in December, departed for the Mediterranean.
CNO: Navy Should Quickly Field CBARS To Ease Tanking Burden on Super Hornets
– USNI News – The Navy’s reconfigured unmanned carrier aviation program is set for success because it has a “legitimate” primary mission in the short-term but will be designed in such a way that doesn’t preclude it from taking on additional missions later, the Chief of Naval Operations said Friday. Speaking at the American Enterprise Institute, CNO Adm. John Richardson said the newly redesignated Carrier Based Aerial Refueling System – formerly the Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program – will help ease the burden on the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fleet, which is struggling to get out of a readiness trough, by covering the tanking mission.
Royal Navy relied on Nato to protect British waters 20 times in 2015
– The Independent – Britain had to rely on the US, Canada, France and Germany aircraft to protect its territorial waters more than 20 times last year, with the Royal Navy’s reliance on its Nato allies far greater than previously thought. The Royal Navy no longer possess maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) designed to track suspected submarines off British waters and the Ministry of Defence has regularly been forced to call in Nato aircraft in the last two years.
CNO Wants Future Warship With Built-In Cyber/EW
– Breaking Defense – Shipbuilding is under pressure in the 2017 budget, but that didn’t stop the Chief of Naval Operations from sketching out his service’s “next warship” this morning. He wants ships built from the keel up for cyber and electronic warfare. He wants modular designs that can be updated at the speed of Moore’s Law. And he wants sailors with both the digital savvy to exploit all this technology and the old-fashioned independence to act on their own when the enemy takes the network down.
Army Explores Anti-Ship Howitzers & Anti-Air Strykers
– Breaking Defense – New threats from Russia and China mean the Army must take on new missions — but it’s got almost no new money so the Army is looking at ways to modify existing systems to do some radically new things. So imagine howitzers firing precision-guided cannon shells to shoot cruise missiles out of the sky or to sink ships on the South China Sea.
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