– Asia Times – The People’s Liberation Army last month disclosed new details about its new intermediate-range anti-ship ballistic missile known as the DF-26. The missile can be armed with nuclear or conventional warheads and supplements the shorter range DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missile that along with the DF-26 are elements of a military strategy of building arms designed to force the US military to operate further away from Chinese shores.
Israel to arm warships with Iron Dome system to protect gas reserves at sea
– i24 News – The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) will install its successful Iron Dome missile defence system on warships protecting Israel’s off-shore gas drilling platforms, a temporary measure until new warships acquired in a deal with Germany arrive.
Flying close to Beijing’s new South China Sea islands
– BBC – Last year the BBC’s Rupert Wingfield-Hayes travelled across the South China Sea in a fishing boat and became the first journalist to observe close-up how China is constructing new islands on coral reefs. A few days ago he returned to the area in a small aircraft – provoking a furious and threatening response from the Chinese Navy.
Why America isn’t winning its wars
– Christian Science Monitor – It’s easy to blame presidents for a lack of strategy, but a growing number of officials are saying that the fault lies with a lack of vision in the Pentagon.
China may pay ‘international price’ in South China Sea legal case, experts say
– Reuters – When an international court ruled in late October that it had jurisdiction to hear a case filed by the Philippines against China over the disputed South China Sea, Beijing dismissed the decision, saying it would “lead to nothing”…Legal experts say Manila has a significant chance of success, citing the court’s detailed rejection of China’s arguments in the hearing on jurisdiction.
Guided missile cruiser Normandy returns to Norfolk
– Virginian Pilot – After more than nine months, 70,000 nautical miles and just about every major sea and ocean over the course of a trip around globe, the guided missile cruiser Normandy returned Saturday to Norfolk.
Russia fires warning shot at Turkey boat in Aegean
– BBC – Russia says one of its warships fired warning shots at a Turkish fishing vessel in the Aegean Sea to avoid a collision.
The Chinese Submarine Threat
– The Diplomat – What is the scale of the threat to U.S. supercarriers of China’s growing undersea capabilities?
Pentagon confirms patrols of Chinese nuclear missile submarines
– Washington Times – China has begun patrols with nuclear missile submarines for the first time, giving Beijing a new strategic nuclear strike capability, according to the U.S. Strategic Command and Defense Intelligence Agency. U.S. intelligence and strategic nuclear officials, however, remain uncertain whether China’s four Jin-class missile submarine patrols are being carried out with nuclear-tipped JL-2 missiles on board.
Taking Distributed Lethality to the Next Level
– USNI News – The evolving Distributed Lethality (DL) concept ––announced last year –– offers a new approach for how the nation might use its naval surface forces as potential adversaries acquire naval capabilities designed to control the sea.
Latest Russian Navy Operational Surge Could be Unsustainable
– USNI News – The Russian Navy has operated more and further afield in the last year than it has in decades, but the current high operational tempo maybe difficult for the Russian’s to sustain over the long term.
Russian submarine hits targets in Syria
– Defense News – Russian media reports that a Russian diesel-electric submarine operating in the Mediterranean Sea on Tuesday launched Kalibr cruise missiles at targets in Syria.
Zumwalt Destroyer Leaves Yard for First Set of Sea Trials
– USNI News – On Monday morning, the first-in-class Zumwalt-class destroyer left its pier at General Dynamics Bath Iron Work, headed down Maine’s Kennebec River bound for the Atlantic Ocean and its first taste of saltwater.
The Economics of War With China: This Will Hurt You More Than It Hurts Me
– War on the Rocks – The robust trade relationship between the United States and China dwarfs the limited trade between the United States and the Soviet Union, leading many analysts to conclude that open conflict today is unrealistic because of a presumed equal economic impact on both sides. A cursory analysis reveals that the reality is entirely different: Sino–American economic ties are asymmetrically interdependent rather than mutually dependent. This would strongly favor the United States in any conflict.
Between China, Terror and the Deep Blue Sea, India’s New Naval Doctrine Takes Shape
– 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.
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