Choke Points are Flash Points
The world is closely watching several contentious flash points that have potential to ignite. The behavior and rhetoric of China and Russia regarding vital shipping lanes in international waters have been alarming. Disputed sovereignty claims and efforts to enforce them have the maritime world on edge. China’s nine-dash line claims about owning the entire East and South China Sea have created a dilemma for themselves and the other nations in the region. The Philippines v. China case with the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague commenced on Jan.
Navy Competes for Resources at Home, against Asymmetric Threats Abroad
The U.S. Navy Chief of Naval Operations Adm. The document presents Richardson’s priorities with four “lines of effort” to strengthen naval power at and from the sea; achieve high velocity learning at every level; strengthen our Navy team for the future’ and expand and strengthen our network of partners. It isn’t an earth-shattering document, and perhaps is most telling for what it doesn’t say, as opposed to what is says. The document makes a strong case for forward presence, which has been the raison d’etre for the U.S. Navy for decades.
US Eases Arms Embargo Against Vietnam for Maritime Security
The United States on Thursday partially lifted a long-time ban on lethal weapon sales to Vietnam to help it improve maritime security, a historic move that comes nearly 40 years after the end of the Vietnam War. "The State Department has taken steps to allow for the future transfer of maritime security-related defense articles to Vietnam," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a briefing. State Department officials told a separate briefing that sales of any specific weapons would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis as requests came in from Vietnam. They said the focus would be on helping Vietnam patrol and defend itself in the South China Sea, amid growing naval challenges from China, but said weapons sales could potentially include airborne systems as well as ships.
The Navy’s Battlewagon of the 21st Century
It is the newest and most transformational warship ever built, and yet it has also had the longest gestation period. Whether you call it new or old, you have to call it different. The pedigree for DDG 1000 is not from the Spruance or Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers, but rather it comes from the SC-21 (Surface Combatant for the 21st century) concept from 1994. Like DDG 1000, SC-21 was not about anti-air warfare. It was all about strike. SC-21, along with the Maritime Fire Support Demonstrator (MFSD) “arsenal ship” concept…
ZUMWALT: Maritime Reporter's 'Great Ship' of 2013
It is the newest and most transformational warship ever built, and yet it has also had the longest gestation period. Whether you call it new or old, you have to call it different. The pedigree for DDG 1000 is not from the Spruance or Arleigh Burke class of guided missile destroyers, but rather it comes from the SC-21 (Surface Combatant for the 21st century) concept from 1994. Like DDG 1000, SC-21 was not about anti-air warfare. It was all about strike. SC-21, along with the Maritime Fire Support Demonstrator (MFSD) “arsenal ship” concept…
NG: Maritime Laser Demo System Proves Capabilities
Northrop Grumman announced that it recently completed a series of tests of the Maritime Laser Demonstration (MLD) system, moving high-energy lasers a step closer to deployment aboard U.S. Navy ships. According to the company, shore-based tests at the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) in Port Hueneme proved the MLD system's ability to track small boats at long ranges and in a marine environment. "Tracking tests were part of a larger program designed to demonstrate laser weapon system capability for fleet defense," according to Steve Hixson, vice president of Space and Directed Energy Systems for Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems. Managed by the Office of Naval Research (ONR)…
Royal Navy Frigate Upgrades with Thales Sonar
One of the Royal Navy’s (RN’s) most advanced Type 23 frigates has re-entered operational service, fitted with Thales’s Sonar 2087 system, following a period of sea trials. HMS Sutherland has been declared fit for operational service after trials of its major sonar and defensive systems, and now becomes the sixth Type 23 frigate to be upgraded with the Sonar 2087 system. In November 2008 the Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced that HMS Sutherland had left Rosyth dockland for the trials after a multi-million pound refit that included major upgrades to its sonar…
Northrop Grumman Restructures Several Business Areas
Northrop Grumman Corporation has announced several organizational changes and associated executive-level appointments within its Electronic Systems sector. These changes will better position the sector for future business opportunities. “This reorganization will enable us to better focus sector resources on targeted business growth areas, while maximizing the use of executive leadership strengths, especially in such areas as military intelligence, space sensors, naval and marine systems and process and program management,” said Robert P. Iorizzo, president of the Electronic Systems sector. • George W. • Taylor W. • John V. • Robert W. • James L. • John C. • Charles J. • Thomas F. Kline, sector director, Quality Assurance. George W.
