– War is Boring – Beijing is constructing islands—with air bases—in the South China Sea.
The U.S. Navy Reserve’s Fighter Jets Are Going Extinct
– War is Boring – And the admirals don’t seem to care…
The New Strategic Realities of U.S. Carrier Operations
– USNI News – Debate is raging over the utility of the aircraft carrier and whether it’s even relevant anymore in the face of China’s new, lethal anti-ship missiles. It’s a debate worth having, but it needs to be rooted in realistic naval principles and war precedents, not politics and hype.
French Carrier Enters Persian Gulf, ISIS Strike Missions Could Start Soon
– USNI News – French nuclear aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle (R91) has entered the Persian Gulf and could soon start strike missions against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL) fighters.
The Navy’s Hidden Crisis
– Politico – It’s too small—and getting smaller.
Are Submarines About to Become Obsolete?
– National Interest – What would happen if U.S. nuclear attack submarines—some of the most sophisticated and expensive American weapons of war—suddenly became obsolete? Imagine a scenario where these important systems became the hunted instead of the hunter, or just as technologically backward as the massive battleships of years past. Think that sounds completely insane? If advances in big data and new detection methods fuse with the anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) ambitions of nations like China and Russia, naval planners around the world might have to go back to the drawing board.
Silent but Deadly: Korea’s Scary Submarine Arms Race
– National Interest – A number of recent events underscore South Korea’s plans to establish a formidable submarine fleet to counter North Korea and other regional security threats.
The Unraveling
– New Yorker – A look at how and why Libya has descended into chaos after the Arab Spring…and how some are trying to restore order.
C.I.A. Is Said to Have Bought and Destroyed Iraqi Chemical Weapons
– New York Times – The Central Intelligence Agency, working with American troops during the occupation of Iraq, repeatedly purchased nerve-agent rockets from a secretive Iraqi seller, part of a previously undisclosed effort to ensure that old chemical weapons remaining in Iraq did not fall into the hands of terrorists or militant groups, according to current and former American officials.
No, the Russian Navy Isn’t Going to Collapse
– War on the Rocks – Is the Russian Navy about to collapse? In a recent article on War is Boring, David Axe made this argument largely based on data from recent articles on the Russian shipbuilding program and the Russian Navy’s priorities. While the information provided is sound, Axe’s overall interpretation is not.
The One Article to Read on Chinese Naval Strategy in 2015
– The Diplomat – A fascinating new paper by two academics asks us to question a fundamental assumption about China’s naval buildup.
China’s Incomplete Military Transformation
– Read the whole report here: Rand – Assessing the Weaknesses of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA)
Read reviews of it at Breaking Defense, Free Beacon, Defense News and Bloomberg.
Hornets to deploy with Corps’ Middle East crisis response unit
– Marine Corps Times – The second rotation of the Marines’ crisis response force in the Middle East will include a new squadron of fighter aircraft. Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Central Command is swapping out its AV-8B Harriers for a squadron of F/A-18 Hornets from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232 out of Miramar.
CMC’s plan for ship-to-shore connectors soothes critics
– Marine Corps Times – Marine Commandant Gen. Joseph Dunford’s new planning guidance places renewed emphasis on the need for a high-speed amphibious troop transport that can swim ashore without the assistance of a Navy connector.
A Better LCS—Or An All-New Frigate?
– Aviation Week – Is the Littoral Combat Ship worth fixing?
USS Iwo Jima Standing by to Evacuate U.S. Citizens from Yemen
– USNI News – The amphibious warship USS Iwo Jima (LHD- 7) is standing by in the event it would need to assist in the evacuation of U.S. embassy personnel from Yemen.
Tomahawk Strike Missile Punches Hole Through Moving Maritime Target
– USNI News – A January test of a Raytheon Tomahawk land attack missile (TLAM) against a moving target at sea could be a short-term answer to the U.S. Navy’s long-range anti-surface missile problem. The test – conducted off of San Nicolas Island, Calif. – demonstrated that a TLAM launched from a ship could be guided into a moving target at sea by a Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.
U.S. Marines Prepare for Central American Emergencies
– War is Boring – While most of the Pentagon’s attention remains focused on the Middle East, the U.S. Marine Corps is expanding its presence in Central America. A new task force – Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Southern Command – will soon be ready to help out American allies during disasters and other crises.
Special Purpose Marine Air Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Southern Command
Navy Considering Railgun for Third Zumwalt Destroyer
– USNI News – Engineering studies to include an electromagnetic railgun on a Zumwalt-class destroyer (DDG-1000) have started at Naval Sea Systems Command.
South Is Forward
– US Naval Institute Proceedings – Global maritime partnerships in Latin America and the Caribbean are more important than ever before.
Keeping Humans in the Loop
– US Naval Institute Proceedings – You say you want a revolution? Autonomous unmanned vehicles could bring on the biggest one yet.
Lead Us!
– US Naval Institute Proceedings – Instead of emphasizing the differences between today’s junior officers and their predecessors, senior leaders should focus on unlocking this generation’s potential.
China’s Blue Soft Power
– US Naval War College Review – This article explores the soft-power dimension of China’s far-seas anti piracy operations. It addresses the extent to which Gulf of Aden deployments might increase the PLAN’s prospects for cooperation with other navies and also the impact of these missions on the role the navy plays within China’s larger diplo- macy. Finally, it assesses how these deployments might shape future Chinese naval development.
Vietnam Receives Third Kilo Attack Boat
– USNI News – The third Project-636 Kilo-class has arrived in Vietnam, marking the halfway point in the Vietnamese Navy’s planned six boat, $1.8 to 2 billion deal with Russia.
The Anatomy of Gulf of Guinea Piracy
– US Naval War College Review – As a global response to piracy off the coast of Somalia was taking place, alarm bells were ringing about a similar growing insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea. Today, the Gulf of Guinea stands as the most dangerous maritime area in terms of the success rate of attacks and violence.
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