– War is Boring – Manila has to make up for decades of neglect.
Taiwan’s New Stealth Corvettes: Just What the Doctor Ordered?
– The Diplomat – Taiwan’s got a new tool in its sea-denial toolkit.
Taiwan Navy Accepts New Catamaran
– Defense News – The Taiwan Navy received the first prototype of the stealthy Tuo Jiang-class catamaran corvettes, the PGG 618, in a ceremony Dec. 23 at Suao Port, on Taiwan’s east coast.
LCS Fort Worth Joins Airliner Search
– USNI News – The Navy’s forward deployed Littoral Combat Ship USS Fort Worth (LCS-3) has joined in the search for the missing Air Asia Flight QZ8501.
Securing Santa: Forging a US Arctic Strategy
– The Diplomat – What should be the factors informing U.S. strategy in the Arctic Ocean?
The U.S. Air Force Has a Spy Ship — Yes, Ship — in the Persian Gulf
– War is Boring – USNS ‘Invincible’ is in the perfect position to track Iranian missiles.
Navy 2015: Congressional Clashes Over LCS, UCLASS & Carriers
– Breaking Defense – Smooth sailing is not in the Navy’s forecast for the next year.The service faces big decisions on major programs, and we can expect clashes between Navy plans, congressional politics and budgetary realities on three of the biggest: the upgunned Littoral Combat Ship, the UCLASS armed drone, and the jewel in the Navy’s crown, the nuclear aircraft carrier.
Taiwan Kicks Off Domestic Attack Sub Program
– USNI News – After waiting on the U.S. to make good on plans to develop a diesel electric attack submarine (SSK) for almost 15 years, Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defence announced it was kicking off its own domestic attack submarine construction program this week.
China’s Grand-Strategy Challenge: Creating Its Own Islands in the South China Sea
– National Interest – China’s grand strategy in the South China Sea seems pretty clear—change facts in the water.
Battle stations! Navy scrambles destroyer to challenge Russian warship off British coast (but it takes 24 hours to make 600-mile journey from Portsmouth base – was Putin testing our response time?)
– Daily Mail – A fully armed Royal Navy warship was scrambled to challenge a missile-carrying Russian vessel in the waters off Britain just days before Christmas, defence sources revealed last night.
The Dragon Pours Concrete
– Air Force – China’s air base hardening efforts stand in stark contrast to America’s.
Fighting Through
– Air Force – Airmen are working to overcome rising threats to their networks and runways.
Miscellaneous – The Tragedy of the American Military
– The Atlantic – James Fallows writes that the American public and its political leadership will do anything for the military except take it seriously. The result is a chickenhawk nation in which careless spending and strategic folly combine to lure America into endless wars it can’t win.
Chinese Navy – China’s Strange Fascination with the Soviet Navy
– National Interest – Russia is back in vogue among Chinese strategists, at least for now.
US Navy – U.S. Destroyer Donald Cook Returns to Black Sea
– USNI News – The forward deployed U.S. destroyer that was buzzed by Russian fighters in April has returned to the Black Sea, according to photographs of the ship crossing through the Bosphorus.
Taiwanese Navy – Taiwan Navy Takes Delivery of First Stealth ‘Carrier Killer’ Corvette
– USNI News – The Republic of China Navy has taken delivery of what could be the first of a new class of stealth corvettes, according to local press reports.
Chinese Navy – China Building a Base 190 Miles from Contested Islands
– USNI News – China is building airstrips on islands less than 200 miles from the contested Japanese Senkaku Islands, according to a report in Kyodo News.
Indian Navy – The American Pivot and the Indian Navy
– US Naval War College Review – A look at how the US pivot to the Pacific is affecting the Indian Navy.
US Navy – The Case for an Expeditionary Frigate
– US Naval Institute Proceedings – The U.S. Navy has an order for a small surface combatant to fill, and it should look to the Danish navy for inspiration.
Miscellaneous – The Race to the Bottom
– US Naval War College Review – A look at the global proliferation of submarines and the threat they pose.
US Navy – A Fleet for the Unmanned Era
– US Naval Institute Proceedings – The Navy must replenish its inventory with smaller and more numerous combatants—such as a frigate helicopter dock.
US Navy – A ‘Custom-Built’ Corps
– US Naval Institute Proceedings – By breaking down the Marine Air-Ground Task Force into individual components that can be arranged and combined depending on the situation at hand, the service can better tailor any response.
US Navy – The Operational Art of Air-Sea Battle
– National Interest – Air-Sea Battle is described as a limited objective concept by the Department of Defense. Some critics have argued that Air-Sea Battle must be more than a limited objective concept, possibly a war plan or a strategy. Others have argued that it is less than a concept and is just a meaningless set of buzzwords. From a military planner’s perspective, Air-Sea Battle is a piece of art – operational art that describes the “broad actions the force must take to achieve the desired military end state.”
US Navy – The U.S. Navy Could Be Facing Its Biggest Challenge Ever: The Anti-Access Dilemma
– National Interest – What would a U.S. Navy dream surface combatant look like?
Chinese Navy – The Expanding Assault on China’s South China Sea Claims
– USNI News – China’s ambiguous claim to the South China Sea, approximately demarcated by a series of hash marks known as the “nine-dashed line,” faced objections from an expanding number of parties over the past two weeks. While a challenge from the United States came from an unsurprising source, actions by Indonesia and Vietnam were unexpected in their tone and timing.
NOSI - Naval Open Source Intelligence™ 
You must be logged in to post a comment.