The Republic of the Philippines’ navy is making a pivot from older legacy ships and craft to newer and more capable surface combatants. On March 1, 2021, the RPN decommissioned four of its oldest ships in a ceremony at the…
Panel Examines Strategic Balance: Is the Navy You Have the Navy You Need?
A March 16 webinar on “Maritime Competition and the Maritime Strategy,” hosted by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments examined several recently published papers dealing with maritime strategy, the role of the U.S. Navy and the composition of peacetime…
Italian Navy Commissions New Logistics Support Ship
The Italian navy commissioned its newest logistics support ship (LSS), the ITS Vulcano (A5335) at a ceremony at the Fincantieri Naval Integrated shipyard in Muggiano, Italy. The 633-foot (193 meter), 27,200-ton LSS can replenish a surface ship task group and…
Coast Guard, Navy Help Rescue Cold-Stunned Turtles, Return Them to Warmer Waters
Texas recently experienced record-breaking cold temperatures, causing the largest cold-stunning event for sea turtles in the state’s history. As the water temperate dropped to the mid-30s Fahrenheit, thousands of turtles were found stranded on beaches or floating in the water….
U.S. Navy Asserts Freedom to Navigate in International Waters
The U.S. Navy continues to assert its right to operate freely in international waters with yet another Taiwan Strait transit, following several recent freedom of navigation operations (FONOPS) in the South China Sea, particularly in the vicinity of the Spratly…
Naval Academy Makes More Room for Keeping Midshipmen Safe
Due to what Naval Academy officials are calling an “an uptick in positive cases within the Brigade of Midshipmen,” increased COVID-19 mitigation measures have been implemented, to include a full restriction of movement. Ninety-eight midshipmen are now being housed in…
Royal Malaysian Navy Stands Up Unmanned Aircraft Squadron
The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) established the 601st Unmanned Aerial System Squadron on March 4, 2021, operating the Boeing Insitu ScanEagle UAS from its base at Kota Kinabalu in Sabah. It is the RMN’s first unit dedicated to unmanned aerial…
China Adopts ‘Assertive Posture’ With Eye on Taiwan, Admiral Says
Admiral Philip Davidson, commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, speaking at the American Enterprise Institute on March 4 and in testimony to Congress on March 9, said the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is stepping up its pressure on Taiwan…
Bill Introduced to Boost Coast Guard Icebreaking Mission, Great Lakes Icebreaking Capacity
Recognizing the importance of maritime commerce on the Great Lakes, three U.S. senators are calling for legislation to help the Coast Guard keep the shipping lanes open during the winter. “Inadequate icebreaking capacity in the Great Lakes is costing us…
Taking COVID into account, NATO presses on with ambitious ASW exercise in Mediterranean
NATO will exercise its anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare capabilities of allied naval units from Feb. 22 to March 5 during Exercise Dynamic Manta in the central Mediterranean. Dynamic Manta 2021 includes five surface combatants with their organic helicopters from…
