Everything We Just Learned About The Ghost Shark Uncrewed Submarine

The War Zone – Anduril says it has received active interest in integrating more than a dozen new military and commercial payloads onto its Ghost Shark extra-large autonomous undersea vehicle (XL-AUV). Payload testing and otherwise demonstrating the Ghost Shark’s highly modular design are core focuses of new work on the underwater drone that is now set to occur in the United States.

Fuel Supplies To Russian Troops, Crimea Strangled By Destruction Of Ship

The War Zone – The destruction of the ship full of fuel tank train cars at a port in the Kerch Strait yesterday will hamper Russia’s ability to supply troops and the Crimean peninsula with fuel and lubricants, according to the Ukrainian Navy and the popular Crimean Wind Telegram channel. As we reported yesterday, the Conro Trader, a Russian Roll On Roll Off (RORO) vessel with a reported 30 fuel tank cars aboard, erupted in a ball of flames at the Port of Kavkaz.

CMSI Note #9: On the PLAN’s “Core Operational Capabilities”

China Maritime Studies Institute – Key takeaways:

  • The PLAN is prioritizing the development of what it calls “four core operational capabilities.” These capabilities include 1) integrated near seas operations, 2) far seas mobile operations, 3) strategic deterrence and counterstrike, and 4) amphibious warfare.
  • Analysis of Chinese writings suggest the focus of these efforts is on prevailing in a high-end conflict involving the U.S. military.
  • The PLAN seeks the ability to dominate the near seas, strike U.S. bases and sea lines of communication in waters east of the first island chain and in the Indian Ocean, achieve “reliable, credible, and effective” deterrence against the U.S. through SSBN patrols within and beyond the first island chain, and execute sophisticated multi-domain amphibious operations against U.S. allies and partners.

Australia To Help Maintain Visiting U.S. Nuclear Submarine For The First Time

The War Zone – The Virginia class submarine USS Hawaii is in port in Australia for routine maintenance, with that country’s navy set to help out with that work in a first-of-its-kind team-up. This is a new and important step forward in plans to start rotational deployments of U.S. and British nuclear-powered submarines to Australia. 

There Are No Magic Beans: Easy Options to Deter China Militarily Do Not Exist

War on the Rocks – Since 1979, it has been the policy of the United States, as codified in the Taiwan Relations Act, to maintain the capacity to resist the use of force or other forms of coercion by China against Taiwan. Until recently it could be taken for granted that the United States was able to directly thwart a Chinese attack on Taiwan. But dramatic increases in China’s military capability over recent decades have called that into question, particularly with the military balance trending ever further in China’s direction for at least the near future.

The U.S. Navy’s Constellation-Class Frigate Problem

National Interest – James Holmes writes that the USS Constellation (FFG-62) frigate program is doing little to refurbish the U.S. Navy’s reputation for competence. Intended to deliver a flotilla of at least twenty small, hard-hitting surface combatants in reasonably short order at manageable cost, the program is 36 months—and counting—behind schedule.

Red Sea Combat Experience Helping Refine Surface Warfare Education, Say Navy Leaders

USNI News – During his warship’s recent deployment to the Middle East, a guided-missile destroyer commander fired off some five terabytes of data about his crew’s operations in the Red Sea. On the receiving end was the Naval Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center in California, which collected from USS Mason (DDG-87) a treasure trove of information and combat systems data in an amount akin to 1 million cellphone photographs or 2 million books.

Navy Notifies Congress of Pending $11.5B, 4-Ship Amphibious Warship Deal

USNI News – The Navy is preparing to award an estimated $11.5 billion multi-ship deal to build four amphibious warships. According to the Aug. 14 notification, the Department of the Navy will purchase three San Antonio class Flight II amphibious warships and a Flight I America-class big deck amphibious warship starting in Fiscal Year 2025 to 2027 as part of a “multi-ship procurement,” authorized as part of the FY 2023 National Defense Authorization Act.

Coast Guard Names Juneau as Home Port for New Icebreaker

USNI News – The Coast Guard will use Juneau, Alaska, as the homeport for its commercially procured icebreaker.The Coast Guard is in the process of acquiring a commercial icebreaker, named Aiviq, built as a support vessel for Arctic oil exploration. The service plans to convert the ship into a medium polar icebreaker, a process estimated to take two years.

CMSI Translations #5: Strengthen National Defense Mobilization and Reserve Force Construction

China Maritime Studies Institute – The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party proposed “strengthening national defense mobilization and reserve force construction.” In the face of the Era’s requirements for strengthening the country and the military, the serious situation of national security, and the real existence of the risk of war, we must place the construction of national defense mobilization and reserve forces in a more important strategic position, and strive to promote the high-quality development of national defense mobilization and reserve force construction from a new starting point.