Defense News – As the U.S. and its allies and partners in the Pacific face down an increasingly aggressive China, a bi[artisan bill introduced in the Senate aims to strengthen the relationship between the U.S. and key countries in the region in order to better protect supply lines and ensure sustained operations, should a conflict occur.
Russian Nuclear Sub, Frigate with Long Range Land Attack Missiles Operating Off East Coast
USNI News – A nuclear Russian submarine carrying guided missiles with a range of 1,000 nautical miles is operating off the East Coast as part of Russian missile drills in the Atlantic.
Kazan, a Yasen-M-class guided missile submarine, is part of a naval action group the Russian Ministry of Defense deployed to the Atlantic. The group is bound for the Caribbean as part of military drills ordered by the Kremlin against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, according to the MoD.
Denial is the Worst Except For All the Others: Getting the U.S. Theory of Victory Right For a War With China
War on the Rocks – A denial theory of victory does not guarantee success, but it offers the best chance to strike an effective balance between the desire to win the war and the imperative to manage escalation.
Philippines To Restore Subic Bay Airfield For South China Sea Ops
Naval News – The new Philippine Air Force forward operating base is set to host the service’s maritime patrol assets dedicated for the South China Sea.
The 50 Year Dilemma in Aircraft Carrier Design and the Future of American Naval Aviation
CIMSEC – The fifty-year dilemma of today’s aircraft carriers and airwings is how to embrace various technological developments in unmanned platforms, long-range weapons, and new methods of processing massive amounts of targeting data. Wartime experience in the Pacific clarifies that getting this right is never assured. Building flexibility and adaptability is paramount for today’s aircraft carriers and airwing.
A Chinese Economic Blockade of Taiwan Would Fail or Launch a War
War on the Rocks – Having spent years conducting extensive wargames with senior U.S. and allied government officials on the various cross-strait threat scenarios, I am confident, as I write in my recently released book World on the Brink, that an economic blockade in lieu of a full-scale military invasion has a low probability of success and, therefore, Beijing is unlikely to pursue such an operation and, indeed, hasn’t attempted it yet even though it has had the capability to do so for decades. In fact, an attempted economic blockade would almost inevitably lead to war or a humiliating defeat by China.
Italian Carrier Strike Group Starts Five-Month Deployment To The Indo-Pacific
Naval News – The Italian Navy’s Carrier Strike Group based on the Cavour (CVH 550) STOVL aircraft carrier escorted by the Alpino (F 594) Bergamini-class frigate has left the Taranto naval base on 1st June for a five-month operational campaign across the Indo-Pacific region.
A Concept of Operations For the U.S. Navy’s Hybrid Fleet
CIMSEC – The concept of operations proposed is to marry various size unmanned surface, subsurface and aerial unmanned vehicles to perform missions that the U.S. Navy has—and will continue to have—as the Navy-After-Next evolves. Simply put, the Navy can use the evolving large, unmanned surface vehicle as a “truck” to move smaller USVs, UUVs and UAVs into the battle space in the contested littoral and expeditionary environment.
Russian Submarine Hit By Missiles Now In New Hiding Place In Sevastopol
Naval News – The Russian Navy Kilo Class submarine which was hit by Storm Shadow / SCALP cruise missiles has been moved. The Rostov on Don is now in a new hiding place further inside the Crimean port of Sevastopol. It is camouflaged but has not gone unnoticed.
Australia to move forward with Collins-class life extension, but scales back upgrades
Breaking Defense – Australia is moving forward with its plan to conduct a $4 to $5 billion life extension on its Collins-class submarines, with HMAS Farncomb (SSG-74) first in line, but has scaled back previously planned upgrades, the government announced today.
Harland and Wolff – the revival of a UK shipbuilder
Navy Lookout – Harland and Wolff has the potential to become increasingly pivotal to the future of the Royal Navy with its extensive facilities and its key role in the construction of the Fleet Solid Support Ships. Here we look at how the company is reviving shipbuilding against the odds.
As Ukraine war rages, Russia activates sabotage plans in Europe: Experts
AlJazeera – Intelligence experts have warned that Europe is under a growing threat from Russian sabotage operations, and believe those operations aim to secure concrete military results in Ukraine, political and economic costs to Europe, and nuisance value.
The Face-off in a Fragmented Arctic: Who Will Blink First?
RUSI – As uncertainty grows over the future of cooperation in the Arctic, the risk is that creeping alternatives will harden the dividing lines between Russia and the West.
Australian Navy Capability Head : ‘Zero-Change’ Is Right Strategy For Tier 2 General Purpose Frigate
Naval News – The Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN’s) two-star capability head has made a robust defence of the ‘shrink-wrapped’ procurement strategy being pursued for the accelerated acquisition of 11 new Tier 2 general purpose frigates.
Coast Artillery Reimagined: The Mid-Range Capability’s First Deployment to the Indo-Pacific
Modern War Institute – The ability of the MRC to strike a maritime target today and HIMARS maritime-strike technology of the future, paired with the organic deep sensing of the ERSE company, are complementary capabilities that enable the Army to answer Admiral Harris’s call to action: to be relevant in the future fight in the Indo-Pacific region, the Army needed to be able to sink ships. The collective deployment of these systems and formations during Operation Pathways is a testament to the sense of urgency behind the Army’s transformation as well as the all-domain interdependencies of the joint force that come together on the land through the creation of joint interior lines. These new systems and formations will later participate in Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center (JPMRC) training, another signature effort for US Army Pacific, which enhances the training with a free-thinking adversary and overarching scenario within an already challenging operational environment. Forward deployment of combat-credible forces through Operation Pathways, creation of enduring interior lines for the joint force, and the addition of complexity to training through JPMRC: this is transformation in contact for the Army in the Indo-Pacific.
Britain’s Strange Defeat: The 1941 Fall of Crete and Its Lessons For Taiwan
War on the Rocks – This strange defeat remains a remarkably underexplored historical case study in the fields of security studies and defense analysis. This is somewhat surprising, given its apparent educational value and strategic relevance to some of the most pressing contemporary military challenges in the Indo-Pacific theater.
Return to Reforger: A Cold War Exercise Model for Pacific Deterrence
Modern War Institute – The US military should socialize and then introduce a Reforger-style exercise in the Indo-Pacific region to assess and improve its own ability to rapidly deploy theater-level military capabilities in the event of a major conflict and to serve as a form of strategic messaging.
Uncrewed Narco Kayak Found by Italy
Covert Shores – An Uncrewed ‘narco submarine’, based on a fiberglass kayak has been discovered by Italian police. The Torino Carabinieri reported that the vessel had been tested on a lake.
(Thanks to Alain)
China Required More Funds to Complete an Aircraft Carrier; U.S. Investors May Have Helped
Defense Opinion – U.S. investment money may have helped bankroll China’s aircraft carrier program by providing financial liquidity in 2018 and 2019 to complete its second flattop, Shandong, giving the country a capability that can be used to further threaten Taiwan and its neighbors.
Progress report – Royal Navy Maritime Aviation Transformation
Navy Lookout – Here we look at the latest developments in getting uncrewed aircraft into service and the RN’s longer-term vision for naval aviation.
Edge and Fincantieri formalize their JV; order of 400 million euros
Zonebourse – Fincantieri Spa announced on Monday the signing of an agreement with Edge, one of the world’s leading advanced technology and defense groups, formalizing the launch of Maestral, the joint venture created by the two companies in the shipbuilding sector based in Abu Dhabi. (In French)
(Thanks to Alain)
Sweden Builds Naval Outputs To Add Value For NATO
Naval News – Sweden is seeking to increase its naval power – through enhancing offensive capability, and building capacity to operate further afield – as it looks to add value to NATO as a full alliance member.
China’s Type 076 Is Shaping Up To Be A Monster Amphibious Warship
The War Zone – The first example of a new class of Chinese warship with a large open flight deck, commonly referred to as the Type 076, is steadily taking shape. Generally described as an amphibious assault ship, there have long been reports that the vessel could feature catapults and arresting gear to support an air wing that includes uncrewed combat air vehicles (UCAV) and other fixed-wing drones.
French Navy Seeks 2026 IOC For Seabed Warfare Capability
Naval News – The French Navy is aiming to achieve initial operational capability for seabed warfare in 2026. Within this capability development process, it is already implementing seabed-focused activities in advanced national operations and bilateral exercises.
Constellation Frigate ‘Unplanned Weight Growth’ Could Limit Service Life, Says GAO
USNI News – Due to Navy design decisions, the service’s next-generation guided-missile frigate might not have the weight margin for required modernization to meet its expected service life, according to a government watchdog report released Wednesday.
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