We have a problem, it seems, developing a naval Strategy for the new century. Long after the Cold War had supposedly ended (well, we thought it was over – events in Russia’s ‘Near Beyond’ may argue a different outcome) we were still using a variation of Forward…From the Sea and thinking from the E-ring Navy…
At its root it is all about resources — protein to supplement meager domestic harvests and oil to drive economies that governments push to unnatural and unsustainable annual growth. It is about an emergent regional power, poised on the brink of asserting itself as something more, flexing new-found muscle in new domains and deepening…
These past few weeks SECDEF Gates has turned to the perennial question of “how much is enough?’ and in the process, has on a couple of occasions called out Navy for its overwhelming capacity in certain areas – subs and aircraft carriers immediately come to mind. That carriers get highlighted is not surprising – they…
The following remarks were presented by CNO at the Current Strategy Forum, hosted by the Naval War College, on 16 June 2009. We are presenting them here, unedited or commented upon, except for certain boldened passages that we feel require emphasis. The comments section is open for your thoughts… – SJS It is really a…
It began in 2001. Crude, homemade and unguided. Indiscriminate as to objective or target – not meant to do anything but inspire terror. It has a name – صاروخ القسام‎ á¹¢ÄrÅ«kh al-QassÄm; Comprised of a  simple steel rocket filled with explosives, powered by a homebrew mixture of sugar and potassium nitrate (fertilizer) with warheads made…
As we’ve previously noted, the new Naval Operating Concept, derived from the Maritime Strategy released over a year ago, was slated to be released sometime this month (October). Now it seems that release is delayed – no surprise given the coordination still being carried on within the Navy, much less that required between the Navy,…
Since the program began, Aegis BMD has been concentrated on the West Coast and with the FDNF. Now, however, two more ships – this time on the East Coast, have undergone the modifications and one, the USS RAMAGE (DDG 61) has begun a deployment with the SM-3 Blk1a missile onboard (full article here): “She is loaded,”…
"Enhance Awareness. To be effective, there must be a significantly increased commitment to advance maritime domain awareness (MDA) and expand intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capability and capacity." – A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower Navy Awards Northrop Grumman Unmanned Aircraft System Contract The Department of the Navy announced today that the Northrop…
 It is clear that the XFV-12A program will not enhance the image of naval aviation. Note that in this case the outcome was not only predictable, but was in fact predicted. As is so often the case, all of the principals in the decision have moved on in both OSD and the Navy. The task…
“We believe that preventing wars is as important as winning wars…(w)e will pursue an approach to deterrence that includes a credible and scalable ability to retaliate against aggressors conventionally, unconventionally, and with nuclear forces” – A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower, October 2007 “…(O)ne of the things that we were stressing is an area…
