– Breaking Defense – With the rise of high-tech threats from Russia and China, the Marine Corps plans a major increase in its forces devoted to jamming, hacking, and deceiving enemies.
Patrolling Disputed Waters, U.S. and China Jockey for Dominance
– New York Times – The Navy cruiser was in disputed waters off the Spratly Islands when the threat warning sounded over the ship’s intercom: “Away the Snoopie team. … Away the Snoopie team.”
At Sea Aboard the Zumwalt
– Defense News – This was the third night out for the Zumwalt on her second series of builder’s sea trials, the first “alpha” trials having been carried out in early December. The ship, which will eventually go to sea with a crew of 147, was carrying 388 souls, one of the highest numbers Zumwalt likely will ever carry during a planned service life of about 40 years.
Navy Set to Buy AWESUM Miniature Sub-Launched UAVs
– USNI News – U.S. attack and guided missile submarine are set to field miniature unmanned aerial vehicles that will act as the eyes and ears not only for the boats below water but also help special operations forces and strike aircraft target weapons.
China Defends Deployment of Anti-Ship Missiles to South China Sea Island
– USNI News – Beijing is defending the deployment of anti-ship cruise missiles to Woody Island in the South China Sea.
Why does the Pentagon want to refurbish a base in Iceland?
– Christian Science Monitor – The $21.4 million in upgrades are designed to equip the station with reconnaissance planes that will patrol the North Atlantic for Russian submarines.
Navy Sub Build Strategy: Electric Boat Will Focus On Ohio Replacement While Newport News Delivers More SSNs
– USNI News – The Navy released a Submarine Unified Build Strategy (SUBS) for concurrent Ohio Replacement ballistic missile submarine and Virginia Class attack submarine production through at least 2023, with the plan calling for Newport News Shipbuilding taking on additional responsibilities with the Virginia class to help General Dynamics Electric Boat more efficiently deliver the new class of boomers.
Falkland Islands seek clarity on new ruling expanding Argentina’s sea control
– BBC – The Falkland Islands have asked the UK to clarify the meaning of an international commission judgement that would leave the islands surrounded by Argentina’s territorial waters.
Submarines To Become Stealthier Through Acoustic Superiority Upgrades, Operational Concepts
– USNI News – The submarine community is focused on maintaining access and boosting acoustic superiority after operating in relatively permissive environments for several years.
Taiwan Navy Emphasizing Domestic Shipbuilding Program in Ongoing Maritime Restructure
– USNI News – The Taiwan Navy (ROCN) announced a major overhaul plan that includes indigenous production of four 10,000-ton destroyers and 10-15 frigates in 2014. The intention to build up to eight diesel-electric attack submarines with displacement between 1,200 to 3,000 tons is also part of the 20-year modernization plan. The plan is part of a broader effort to switch from reliance on foreign military sales to domestic production in key areas of Taiwan’s defense needs.
Why does the Pentagon want to refurbish a base in Iceland?
– Christian Science Monitor – The $21.4 million in upgrades are designed to equip the station with reconnaissance planes that will patrol the North Atlantic for Russian submarines.
Future Undersea Warfare Will Have Longer Reach, Operate With Network of Unmanned Vehicles
– USNI News – The future attack submarine fleet will have a longer reach, deliver a range of kinetic and nonkinetic effects and be better able to share information without compromising stealth.
Souda Bay: NATO’s Military Gem in the Eastern Mediterranean
– Lexington Institute – A look at the opportunities afforded to NATO by its naval base at Souda Bay in Crete.
These photos show how the Marines are using their new fire base in Iraq against ISIS
– Washington Post – Photographs and information released by the U.S. military provide new details about a fire base recently established by the Marine Corps in northern Iraq to target Islamic State militants, including its austere nature and how troops arrived there last week.
Pakistan’s Navy: A Quick Look
– CIMSEC – Traditionally the junior service, operating in the Army’s shadow and receiving a ten percent share of the 2015 defence budget of $6.6 billion, Pakistan’s Navy personnel numbers more than 22,000 active, plus 5,000 in the reserve. This secondary role stands in contrast with the economy’s dependence on the sea, with the port city of Karachi contributing 25 percent of GDP and the proposed China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) raising the country’s maritime profile even further.
LCS Program Seeking Commonality In Frigate Transition, Review Of Manning Construct
– USNI News – As the Navy prepares to field its Littoral Combat Ship in numbers as well as transition the acquisition system from block buys of LCSs into the new frigate program, both the fleet and two shipbuilders are working to plot a path forward.
New U.S.-Philippine Basing Deal Heavy on Air Power, Light on Naval Support
– USNI News – Over the weekend, the United States and the Philippines concluded their Sixth Annual Bilateral Security Dialogue session in Washington, D.C. At that forum, one of the first fruits of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) came to bear: the announcement of five bases where the United States could rotate troops and pre-position facilities and materials in support of the U.S. Pacific Pivot.
Navy Hits Gas On Flying Gas Truck, CBARS: Will It Be Armed?
– Breaking Defense – More gas. Less stealth. Maybe weapons. New name. Same money. Tighter schedule. That, in a dozen words, is how the Navy is evolving its program for carrier-launched drones.
Barack Obama’s Revolution in Foreign Policy
– The Atlantic – Niall Ferguson writes that when you think you’re the smartest person in the room, it’s tempting to make up your own grand strategy.
Day of Submariner: An Inside Look At Russia’s Naval Fleet
– Sputnik – Russia marks the Day of the Submariner on March 19. The date was not chosen by chance – it was on this day in 1906 that the submarines in the Russian Navy were ordered by the Secretary of the Navy to be allocated as a separate class of warships.
Russian Subs Are Reheating a Cold War Chokepoint
– DefenseOne – As the GIUK gap returns to importance, NATO must look to regenerate its anti-submarine forces.
U.S. sets up firebase in Northern Iraq
– CNN – The Marine killed in an ISIS rocket attack in Iraq on Saturday was at the first American firebase that had only become operational a few days earlier CNN has learned.
A Contest for Maritime Superiority
– US Naval Institute Proceedings – Early in his term, Admiral John Richardson focuses on his priorities as the top U.S. naval officer in the fleet.
DOD 2.0: High Tech Is Eating the Pentagon
– US Naval Institute Proceedings – The military and the private sector have neglected the innovative relationship between the two that won the Cold War and built the modern U.S. economy. This old partnership needs to be reinvented.
A Fiscal Pearl Harbor
– US Naval Institute Proceedings – Without some shifting of priorities and tweaking of defense-spending percentages, Navy shipbuilding faces some tough hurdles ahead.
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