CIMSEC – Unmanned surface vessels (USVs) are sailing full steam ahead, as evidenced by their (deadly) efficiency in attacks by the Ukrainian armed forces against Russian targets across the Black Sea. Though the security landscape in Europe is dramatically different from that of the Western Hemisphere, new technologies are always of interest to any armed service and USVs should be no exception. Whether USVs have a future in Latin America and the Caribbean merits deeper exploration.
Iranian Warship Sahand Capsizes And Sinks
Naval News – One of Iran’s most modern frigates, the Sahand, has capsized in Bandar Abbas. Recent upgrades may have made the ship more top-heavy.
Iran’s Modern Q-Ship: A Threat from New Quarters
RUSI – In January 2024 Iran successfully tested the launch of ballistic missiles housed in cargo containers from the deck of a container ship, giving it the ability to launch missile strikes from new and previously unexpected vectors and from a highly survivable platform. This has significantly increased Iran’s naval strike effectiveness.
Struggles at Belfast’s Titanic shipyard reflect UK’s faded naval power
Guardian – Attempts by Harland & Wolff to restore the city’s industrial prowess could be dashed as the new government beds in, but the famous firm is already in choppy waters elsewhere.
The Indispensable Ingredient For Victory: Defeating Deadly Sea Mines
CIMSEC – When policymakers, military leaders, and analysts compare the qualities of various navies, they typically think in terms of numbers of ships, submarines, aircraft, and other conventional assets. However, considering the growing threat of sea mines worldwide, the capability to employ and defeat mines forms another core consideration in gauging the balance of naval advantage. Navies must consider how to field affordable and risk-worthy unmanned systems at scale to meet the mine threat.
Denmark pulls troubled frigate as lead ship for NATO force
Defense News – The air defense malfunctions that plagued the Danish frigate Iver Huitfeldt during its deployment to the Red Sea earlier this year have yet to be fixed, leading Danish authorities to renege their offering of having the vessel serve as the lead ship of a regional NATO force.
U.S. Navy Confirms SM-6 Air Launched Configuration Is ‘Operationally Deployed’
Naval News – The SM-6 Air Launched Configuration (ALC), known by its official designation as the AIM-174, is the longest range air-to-air missile ever fielded by the U.S. Navy.
A guide to the future Canadian Surface Combatant – the River-class destroyers
Navy Lookout – On 28th June, the Canadian Navy formally announced the start of construction work on its River-class destroyers. Here we look at how this design has been developed from the Royal Navy’s Type 26 frigate.
USAF F-35As To Be Based In Japan Replacing Wild Weasel F-16s
The War Zone – The USAF is also moving ahead with plans to forward-deploy F-15EXs to Japan as the Marines make changes to their F-35 units in the country.
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Pakistan’s Maritime Domain Awareness Initiatives in the Indian Ocean
Center for Maritime Strategy – In an era of growing maritime challenges, no country can afford to ignore its own maritime security. For Pakistan—a country with an approximately 1,050-kilometer coastline along the Arabian Sea—this fact has inspired multiple lines of effort to protect the country’s maritime interests. Islamabad has a history of supporting order at sea, is recognized as a key upholder of international maritime law, and has undertaken various initiatives to enhance Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA). Viewed holistically, Pakistan’s MDA approach demonstrates that well-founded institutions can provide effective MDA with an economical expenditure of resources.
Is China at War in the South China Sea?
National Interest – Is China at war in the South China Sea? You be the judge. Beyond dispute its conduct is warlike—and that has implications for those resisting its transgressions.
US removes Gaza aid pier again due to weather and may not reinstall it
Defense News – The pier built by the U.S. military to bring aid to Gaza has been removed due to weather to protect it, and the U.S. is considering not reinstalling it unless the aid begins flowing out into the population again
China Maritime Report No. 39: A Hundred Men Wielding One Gun – Life, Duty, and Cultural Practices Aboard PLAN Submarines
China Maritime Studies Institute – Submarine performance is not just measured in technical terms, but also in how crews operate over time. As the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) increasingly deploys its submarine force beyond the near seas on long-distance combat readiness and training missions, studying the force’s human components benefits a broader understanding its overall effectiveness. This report explores work and living conditions, crew endurance, service culture, political requirements, and approaches to resolving human issues in the submarine force. An inherently dangerous and challenging profession, the submarine force has gradually developed numerous solutions to address various challenges to prevent non-combat attrition among crews. Life and duty in the “Dragon Palace,” both an internal joke and the overarching embodiment of PLAN submarine culture, reveals a professional community focused on secrecy, safety, and expertise that is working to enhance its human performance.
Türkiye, Bulgaria And Romania Activate MCM BLACK SEA Task Group
Naval News – On July 1, 2024, the activation ceremony of the MCM BLACK SEA Task Group was held in Istanbul, attended by the Navy Chiefs of Türkiye, Bulgaria, and Romania.
The situation in the Middle East – a Royal Navy perspective
Navy Lookout – The threat of war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, in addition to the ongoing struggle in the Red Sea, is testing the ability of the US and its allies to respond. Here we look at naval dispositions in the region.
Russian’s New Combat Icebreaker Starts Sea Trials
The War Zone – Armed with a gun and the capacity to carry cruise missiles, the Ivan Papanin is designed to break ice and launch kinetic attacks.
US Hands Over Three CN235 Maritime Surveillance Aircraft To Malaysia
Naval News – The United States formally handed over three CN235-220 maritime surveillance aircraft to the Royal Malaysian Air Force
Japan Will Deploy Mobile Radar Site in the Philippine Sea, U.S. Marines Test Attack Helicopter in Anti-Surface Role
USNI News – The Japan Self Defense Force has stationed a mobile radar system on Kita Daito Island in the Philippine Sea to expand Japan’s capabilities in the area.
The Navy’s ongoing carrier conundrum
Defense News -The USS Eisenhower’s latest extended cruise and its replacement once again raises questions about the finite carrier fleet’s ability to respond to a seemingly relentless series of global events that require the uniquely American naval presence of a flattop.
Portuguese Diesel-Electric AIP Submarine Just Patrolled Under The Arctic Ice
The War Zone – A conventionally powered Portuguese attack submarine has completed a rare voyage under the Arctic ice. As well as being a first-of-its-kind mission for the Portuguese Navy, the deployment underlines the growing importance of the Arctic theater to NATO’s submarine fleet. Although it’s nuclear-powered boats that traditionally dominate in this challenging area of operations, the Portuguese deployment demonstrates that conventionally powered submarines have a role to play here too.
Transitioning Away From the Carrier Strike Group and Toward Distributed Maritime Operations
CIMSEC – The intent of DMO should not be to render the CSG irrelevant, but rather to ensure that the CSG is not relied upon as the sole vanguard of sea control in the initial stages of a high-end conflict against a peer competitor. DMO must delay and degrade the decision-making of adversaries while denying them the opportunity to engage first. It is about establishing and maintaining temporary sea control for operational needs and sea denial all other times. The transition away from using the air wing to prosecute sea control means fully embracing the true manifestation of DMO – lethal, distributed surface ships that can combine long-range fires across broad geographic spaces.
The Numbered Fleet: The New Main Supported Force
CIMSEC – The main mover and doer in the U.S. Navy is the numbered fleet, and the time is now to better enable these fleets for successful maritime combat in the near future.
Russia Launches Second Gremyashchy-Class Corvette
Naval News – The Provornyy is the second Project 20385 (Gremyashchy-class) corvette, which is an upgraded version of the Project 20380 Steregushchiy-class. The keel of the ship was laid on July 27, 2013. Construction progressed slowly from the beginning, in part due to Western sanctions imposed due to the Russian Federation’s annexation of Ukrainian Crimea in 2014.
U.S. Navy Readies New Compact Agile Interceptor For Flight Tests
Naval News – Amid growing concerns of missile inventory size and VLS cell count, the U.S. Navy is set to test a new surface-launched missile interceptor designed to maximize capacity in their Mark 41 VLS cells.
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