– Defense News – You’re Boeing and you’re still making Super Hornet strike fighters, but the US market for new F/A-18 E and Fs and their EA-18G Growler cousins won’t last much longer. Those 600+ US Navy aircraft will be around for many years to come, however, and the export market is only beginning to be tapped. So how you do keep your tried-and-true aircraft on the cutting edge? Boeing’s answer: a package of upgrades that can be bought together or separately, added on to existing aircraft or ordered in advance. Together, the package is known as the Advanced Super Hornet (ASH), a collection of system upgrades and add-ons intended to extend the Super Hornet’s performance envelope.
The Ambitions and Challenges of Russia’s Naval Modernization Program
– CIMSEC – A lot has been said about Chinese naval modernization in recent years. However, China is not the only country that is currently investing in a modern naval force. Since 2011 Russia has been implementing its own naval modernization program. This comes after a period of neglect the as Russia Federal Navy (Russian Navy) is looking to build as many as a 100 new warships by 2020.
Passing a Chinese Maritime ‘Trump Test’
– National Interest – If the past is any guide, China may test the new administration early on. Beijing’s “maritime militia” could play an important part.
The Mediterranean: Driving Russia’s Strategic Decisions Since 1676
– CIMSEC – Russian involvement in Ukraine and Syria share one common thread which Russia has been fighting for since the first Russo-Turkish war in 1676. Tartus in Syria and Sevastopol in Crimea are warm water ports which provide direct Russian access to the Mediterranean or access via the Black Sea and the Dardanelles.
Bryan McGrath on Fleet Design, Distributed Lethality, and the 350-Ship Navy
– CIMSEC – The ushering in of a new administration on January 20th has many wondering what campaign promises will materialize and meaningfully affect the U.S. Navy. Is it reasonable to expect movement toward a “350-ship Navy” and, if so, what might such a Navy look like? Where can increased military spending be focused to have the most immediate impact on the United States’ readiness to address near peer competitors? To answer these questions, we invited one of the United States’ foremost experts on American Seapower, the Hudson Institute’s Bryan McGrath, on this episode of Sea Control. [Transcript follows]
Naval Mines and Mining: Innovating in the Face of Benign Neglect
– CIMSEC – It usually comes as a surprise to learn that of the 19 U.S. Navy ships that have been seriously damaged or sunk by enemy action since the end of World War II, 15 – nearly 80 percent – were mine victims.
A Conversation with Dr. Andrew Erickson on Chinese Naval Shipbuilding
– CIMSEC – On the occasion of the publication of his newest book, Chinese Naval Shipbuilding: An Ambitious and Uncertain Course, the 6th volume in the USNI Press’ Studies in Chinese Maritime Development Series, CIMSEC spoke with editor and author Dr. Andrew Erickson, Professor of Strategy in, and a core founding member of, the U.S. Naval War College (NWC)’s China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI).
Catch of the Day: Reflections on the Chinese Seizure of a U.S. Ocean Glider
– CIMSEC – As this incident evolves and more information will become available, it might be useful to start thinking about some of the more long-term consequences of this UUV seizure.
With an eye on China, India & US to upgrade Malabar Navy drill
– Times of India – India and the US are planning to further upgrade their already expansive and top-level Malabar annual naval exercise, in which Japan has now become a regular participant, with a renewed thrust on anti-submarine warfare operations.
Underwater Great Wall’: Chinese firm proposes building network of submarine detectors to boost nation’s defence
– South China Morning Post – One of China’s biggest shipping conglomerates has proposed building a network of ship and subsurface sensors to detect US and Russian submarines and to boost the nation’s control of the South China Sea.
China Returns U.S. Navy Unmanned Glider
– USNI News – Chinese forces returned a U.S. Navy buoyancy glider to the service.
The 355-Ship Fleet Will Take Decades, Billions To Build
– Breaking Defense – The Navy’s new Force Structure Assessment calling for a 355-ship fleet puts an important intellectual arrow in Donald Trump‘s quiver as he campaigns for more ships. But it doesn’t put any more money in the budget to buy them, or any more machinery in shipyards to build them. The Navy analysis will shape the budget debate, starting with the supplemental spending request Trump is likely to introduce early in his term, but there are many obstacles along the road to 355, a road that may well take into the 2030s.
The 355-Ship Fleet: Navy Wants Even More Ships Than Trump Pledged
– Breaking Defense – Mr. Trump, we’ll see your campaign pledge of a 350-ship fleet and raise you five vessels, the US Navy effectively said this morning. The long-anticipated Force Structure Assessment calls for a fleet of 355 ships to counter “a growing China and a resurgent Russia,” Navy Secretary Ray Mabus announced today.
Swarm 2: The Navy’s Robotic Hive Mind
– Breaking Defense – Robot boats are getting smarter fast. Two years ago, on the James River, the Office of Naval Research dropped jaws with a “swarm” of 13 unmanned craft that could detect threats and react to them without human intervention. This fall, on the Chesapeake Bay, ONR tested ro-boats with dramatically upgraded software. The Navy called this experiment “Swarm 2” — but a better description would be “Hive Mind.”
China ‘seizes US vessel’ in S China Sea
– BBC – The US has issued a formal request to China to deliver an unmanned underwater drone that was seized in international waters, US officials say.
Navy Wants to Weave LCS, Unmanned Systems, Subs into New Battle Network
– USNI News – The Navy is looked to expand the web of connections currently linking its ships, planes and weapons to include submarines, smaller ships and unmanned systems to create a warfighting network that would be challenging for an adversary to bring down.
US F35 fighters to deploy from Royal Navy aircraft carrier
– BBC – US and UK F35 fighters are to deploy alongside each other when the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carrier begins her first operational tour in 2021. Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon has signed an agreement with his US counterpart to allow Marine Corps F35Bs to fly from HMS Queen Elizabeth.
China live-fires aircraft carrier group amid Taiwan tensions with US
– The Guardian – China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier battle group has conducted its first exercises with live ammunition, the country’s navy said, in a show of strength as tensions with the US and Taiwan escalate.
Raytheon Excalibur Round Set to Replace LRLAP on Zumwalts
– USNI News – The Navy is looking to Raytheon’s Excalibur guided artillery round to replace the effective but expensive Long Range Land Attack Projectile for the Zumwalt-class of guided missile destroyers.
South China Sea: Satellite photos ‘show weapons’ built on islands
– BBC – New photographic evidence has emerged of “significant” Chinese military defences on artificial islands in the South China Sea, a think tank reports.
The Perfect Weapon: How Russian Cyberpower Invaded the U.S.
– New York Times – …It was the cryptic first sign of a cyberespionage and information-warfare campaign devised to disrupt the 2016 presidential election, the first such attempt by a foreign power in American history. What started as an information-gathering operation, intelligence officials believe, ultimately morphed into an effort to harm one candidate, Hillary Clinton, and tip the election to her opponent, Donald J. Trump.
The New Red Scare
– Harpers – Andrew Cockburn, the author of the Cold War classic “The Threat” on the Soviet Union’s hollow military, now writes on the reviving of the art of threat inflation today.
Belgian-Dutch intent goes beyond joint ship procurement
– Shepard Media – In addition to the joint procurement of new frigates and mine hunters under a letter of intent signed by Belgium and the Netherlands in Brussels on 30 November, the two countries plan to cooperate on other maritime tasks.
At sea with Britain’s secret submarine defender as it plays cat and mouse with Russians
– Mirror – The Submarine Service is at the forefront of the Royal Navy’s classified efforts to protect our shores and the Mirror was given access as it sailed.
New Details Emerge on Littoral Combat Ship Breakdowns
– Military.com – In a pair of congressional hearings about the Navy’s embattled littoral combat ship program this month, service program managers and oversight officials fielded tough questions about unexpected increases from ship unit costs — from $220 million to $470 million over the course of the program — and concerns about a planned block buy of upgraded frigates based on the same design. But the panel also revealed new details about the cause and scope of a series of engineering casualties that have sidelined five of the eight active littoral combat ships in a little more than a year.
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