Center for Maritime Security – The U.S. Sea Services need more logistics ships. A lot more. The services allowed the combat-logistics fleet to wilt during the post-Cold War interregnum when Americans talked themselves into believing that their victory was for all time, history had ended, and strategic competition and warfare were no more. Why waste resources preparing for a war that will never come? Now, though, competition and conflict have come back with a vengeance. The U.S. Navy fleet—including the logistics fleet—must rebound in size and capability to keep pace with gathering dangers.

CIMSEC – The Navy needs to consider how it can leverage unmanned systems in campaigns, and how these systems can open up unique options for enhancing naval campaigns in pursuit of deterrence.

USNI News – Ukraine by no means invented lethal surface drones but the country has found new ways to use them in a conflict. Ukraine, a country without a naval fleet, has used drones and other missile strikes to largely stave off attacks from the Black Sea Fleet while slowly dismantling Russia’s dominance over the Black Sea.

War Zone – USS Thomas Hudner shot down a drone over the Red Sea but exactly what the drone’s intent was remains disputed.

War on the Rocks – Put simply, the U.S. Navy does not have enough personnel to man the ships it has, much less the ones it wants to build, and is now missing its recruiting goals. And this does not even consider the need to replace trained and experienced sailors who would be lost in the event of war with China.

Yet despite this challenge, there is a proven solution readily at hand. In pursuit of its constitutional duty to “provide and maintain a Navy” and in support of the Tri-Service Naval Strategy, Congress should create a Maritime National Guard as a way to strengthen the Navy’s force structure, improve recruiting and retention, and reconnect the American populace to the sea through a new generation of citizen sailors.

War Zone – The Navy is launching an effort to integrate JASSM, LRASM, JAGM, and Hellfire missiles on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

CIMSEC – The strategic visions of the U.S Navy envision greater cooperation with international partner navies. The U.S. Navy should identify how to increase collaboration to bolster deterrence and effectively compete below the threshold of war. It is imperative to formulate a shared framework for early diagnosis and prompt reaction to any prospective gray zone activities. Operational cooperation between the U.S Navy and the regional navies of the Bay of Bengal can be a regular matter of discussion to sort out shared maritime security challenges, and develop an integrated campaign that can competitively advance rules-based order.

CIMSEC – Moving forward, the Navy needs to continue to improve its force generation within its existing model and decide how best to use its forces in the sustainment period. In tandem with these efforts, the Navy needs to reconsider what constitutes the effective use of forces in the context of campaigning while it competes with many demands for its forces. Current processes are limited, but if the limits are understood in more precise detail, then the fleet can plan and resource more effective utilization of forces to support campaigning and strategy. Resources will always be constrained, but utilization and effectiveness within these resources can be improved to best address the evolving threat environment.

Wavell Room – Amidst the advancements in artificial intelligence, hypersonic missiles, quantum computing, cyberattacks, and lethal autonomous weapons, there is one aspect that has been overlooked in the current discourse on the revolution in military affairs (RMA) – the new revolution in anti-submarine warfare (ASW).  Using uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs), such as the MQ-9B Sea Guardian, in anti-submarine roles will significantly alter how ASW is conducted.  The shift will be significant, as submarines have been notoriously difficult to find and target.  

Defense News – The U.S. Navy is experimenting with launching and recovering medium unmanned underwater vehicles from submarines, even as a formal acquisition effort is ongoing.

USNI News – The challenge to the Navy’s surface fleet came in from the U.S. Pacific Fleet headquarters: deploy six littoral combat ships west of the International Dateline by 2025.

War Zone – As well as bringing a big change to the Arleigh Burke class’s look, SEWIP Block III drastically enhances its electronic warfare abilities.

Naval News – The four USVs, which make up Unmanned Surface Vessel Division One, were accompanied to Sydney by the Independence variant Littoral Combat Ship USS Oakland (LCS-24) and a chartered crew boat.