US Naval War College Review – China’s engagement with western Pacific island nations and its pursuit of influence over their affairs are driven by its conception of comprehensive national power and a need for reliable access from which it might challenge the U.S. military and eventually displace it from the region.
Reluctant Retrenchment—America’s Response to the Rise of China
US Naval War College Review – China’s rise augurs a power transition that challenges the preeminent security position of the United States in East Asia and has led to an incoherent retrenchment that both undermines that position and complicates efforts to recapitalize the Navy to face that challenge effectively.
Office of Naval Intelligence’s Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, Coast Guard Ship Identification Guide
US Navy Office of Naval Intelligence – The following is the Office of Naval Intelligence’s 2024 People’s Liberation Army Navy, China Coast Guard and maritime law enforcement recognition and identification guide.
How The Marines Plan To Fly The MV-22 Osprey Into The 2060s
The War Zone – Software, cockpit, and maintenance improvements are all on the cards, as is a potential optionally piloted configuration.
Panda Express: A Proposed Convoy Operation in the Red Sea
CIMSEC – China does indeed have influence over Iran and, by extension, the Houthis in what has now become an “Axis of Insecurity.” Panda Express would reduce the likelihood of new attacks like that on M/V True Confidence and M/V Huang Pu and put direct pressure on China to either explain to the court of international opinion why shadowing Chinese vessels is a safe tactic, or influence Iran and the Houthis to end their aggression in the Red Sea altogether. Either way, China loses, and the rest of the world wins. It’s time to order Panda Express.
Naval Interoperability and NATO’s Naval Presence: Lessons From the Red Sea
CIMSEC – In short, the Red Sea crisis has reminded the world once again about the importance of maritime commercial connectivity for the global economy. It has, together with the ongoing naval war in the Black Sea, reminded NATO navies that the challenges of this “maritime century” will require bigger and stronger navies, capable of deploying together and addressing threats against them in a joint fashion, including in the highly contested littorals.
‘Everything needs to be smaller, lighter’: Marines seek robust, deployable tech for future combat
Breaking Defense – “No matter what theater we talk about – PACOM, Europe – everything needs to be smaller, lighter [and] very modular, so…we can throw it in the back of a pickup truck,” said Col. Devin Licklider, program manager for MAGTF Command & Control.
What Marines may be learning from Houthi tactics in the Red Sea
Defense News – The Houthis have imposed costs on a powerful navy by tracking down ships, threatening them with drones and missiles, and disrupting travel through vital waterways, while lurking near shore. To some observers of the Marine Corps’ modernization plans, that sounds familiar.
China launches Pakistan’s Hangor submarine, despite engine row with Germany
Defense News – The first of eight Hangor II submarines for Pakistan was recently launched at the Wuchang Shipbuilding yard in Wuhan, China, though it’s uncertain what could be powering the boat given Germany’s block on an engine export.
Russia launched first-of-its-kind helicopter pilot training ship
Bulgarian Military – According to sources from Izvestia, the Nikolay Kamov project of 14400 special naval vessels is scheduled to join the Navy by the end of the year. This vessel is a nod to Soviet-era aircraft designer, Nikolay Kamov, esteemed for his creation of the Ka helicopters. Its primary purpose is to train naval aviation helicopter crews.
(Thanks to Alain)
Marine KC-130Js May Lose Their Missile-Firing Harvest Hawk Kits
The War Zone – The future of the Harvest Hawk armament kit for Marine Corps KC-130J Herculestanker/transport aircraft is facing uncertainty as the service questions whether this capability would be relevant in a future high-end fight. Other new capabilities, like the Intrepid Tiger II electronic warfare system, are on the horizon for Marine KC-130Js, and these aircraft could potentially make use of the Air Force’s Rapid Dragon palletized cruise missile launching system down the line.
Chinese Aircraft Carrier Fujian Leaves for First Set of Sea Trials
USNI News – China’s third aircraft carrier Fujian (18) left Shanghai on Wednesday morning to conduct its first sea trial.
Keeping Up with the Pacing Threat: Unveiling the True Size of Beijing’s Military Spending
American Enterprise Institute – Beijing’s publicly released military budget is inaccurate and does not adequately capture the colossal scope and scale of China’s ongoing military buildup and wide-ranging armed forces modernization.
Multiple British warships to get laser guns
UK Defence Journal – The Ministry of Defence has confirmed its commitment to outfitting multiple Royal Navy ships with the DragonFire Laser Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) by 2027.
(Thanks to Alain)
Ways to Follow NOSI
To see every post you can also follow NOSI via RSS at nosi.org/feed or via email by entering your email address and clicking on the Follow button in the right hand column of the site.
You can also follow us on social media as @nosintel on Facebook at facebook.com/nosintel or on Twitter at twitter.com/nosintel
Evaluating the Naval Response to the Red Sea Crisis
CIMSEC – This analysis evaluates the naval response to the Red Sea Crisis so far, from cooperating with merchant shipping, the cost effectiveness and vulnerabilities of using warships and missiles to counter drones, and the role of allies, to the potential implications for a future conflict with China and current efforts in defense innovation to prepare for it.
The Forgotten Part of the Contest: Army Logistics in the Pacific
War on the Rocks – As Gen. Omar Bradley is credited as saying, “Amateurs talk strategy. Professionals talk logistics.” Unfortunately, when it comes to how the American defense community plans for and talks about the future of competition and conflict in the Pacific, it isn’t measuring up to Bradley’s metric. For instance, at the Army’s annual meeting, the secretary of the Army gave a powerful speech on how “we have got to ask the tough questions and make the hard decisions on what our force needs to fight in the future.” Yet, there was no mention of “logistics,” and the only discussion of “sustainment” was of barracks repair.
A Chinese ship remains the focus of the investigation into Baltic Sea gas pipeline damaged last year
Reuters – A Chinese container ship remains the focus of an investigation into what caused the damage last year to a Baltic Sea gas pipeline between NATO members Finland and Estonia, Finnish authorities said Thursday.
Forging the Force: A Joint Task Force in the Indo-Pacific
War on the Rocks – Referring to the People’s Liberation Army, the commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command recently reported to Congress that “we haven’t faced a threat like this since World War II.” The nature of this threat should compel allied militaries to strengthen their efforts in the Indo-Pacific. One way to do so is by creating a standing joint task force headquarters. The 2023 National Defense Authorization Act directed the establishment of such a headquarters in the Indo-Pacific by 1 Oct. 2024, but congressional leaders have conveyed concern with U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s current approach.
Fighting in the Spectrum With Navy and Marine Corps Electronic Warfare Aircraft
CIMSEC – A discussion of the value of electronic warfare capability, deadly shootdown incidents involving electronic reconnaissance aircraft, and how the Joint Force came to rely so heavily on the Navy for airborne EW.
Despite Mortar Attack, U.S. Is Satisfied With Gaza Beachhead Security
The War Zone – Construction began today on a temporary pier off the coast of Gaza aim at providing humanitarian aid to millions of Palestinians.
Asymmetric Naval Strategies: Overcoming Relative Naval Power Weakness to Contest Command of the Sea
CIMSEC – Joint operations, while important in a general sense, and critical for first rate navies, are not the best option for weaker powers to contest command of the sea. Joint operations are resource-intensive and could prove more burdensome than helpful for a weaker naval power. Additionally, joint interoperability would likely be nonetheless reliant on the previous factors of asymmetric naval warfare, coalition leveraging, and attrition of distance sea lines of communication in order to be effective. Conversely, joint interoperability is not a prerequisite for those different factors. Asymmetric naval warfare can be conducted regardless of a joint force in a variety of ways, especially when possessing devastating technologies and employing surprise shifts in strategy that undermine an adversary’s understanding of the maritime environment.
RAND: What Does The U.S. Navy Need In Its Future Combatants?
Naval News – Naval News asked the RAND Corporation for their opinions on what the U.S. Navy’s next-generation destroyer, the DDG(X), should have in terms of designing the plug-in Payload Module. The DDG(X) Payload Module option is a hull insert that can accommodate, for example, additional vertical launch missile cells to a Mission Module Bay to additional interior rooms.
A More Comprehensive Plan to Push Back Against China’s Fishing Practices
War on the Rocks – More aggressively pushing back against Chinese illegal fishing practices is an opportunity for the U.S. government to highlight its global leadership in a way that directly defends the rules-based international order, challenges its most capable global competitor, helps rehabilitate the maritime environment, and increases the food security and economic opportunity for some of the world’s poorest and most helpless people.
New Details About Turkiye’s Future Aircraft Carrier
Naval News – On April 25, 2024, Turkish Navy’s Istanbul Naval Shipyard opened its gates to inform the press about the latest developments in various naval projects. The most intriguing one is undoubtedly the future aircraft carrier.
NOSI - Naval Open Source Intelligence™ 
You must be logged in to post a comment.