Adm. John Aquilino, U.S. Pacific Fleet commander, speaks with 13 other heads of navies or their representatives from allied and partner nations throughout the Indo-Pacific region during a virtual key leader engagement to discuss outlooks and perspectives in this COVID-19 environment on Sept. 23, 2020. US Navy Photo
U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. John Aquilino is slated to be nominated to serve as the next chief of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, USNI News has learned. Read More
U.S. Army Soldiers from Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa participate in a night navigation exercise during the French Desert Commando Course on Nov. 6, 2020, at an undisclosed location in Djibouti. US Air Force Photo
The French Army will test key parts of its new strategic vision, which emphasizes readiness for high-intensity conflict, in a major exercise this April with key allies, the United States and United Kingdom. Read More
The following is the Nov. 23, 2020 Congressional Research Service report, Arms Sales in the Middle East: Trends and Analytical Perspectives for U.S. Policy. Read More
The guided-missile destroyer USS Barry (DDG 52) conducts routine underway operations on Nov. 21, 2020. U.S. Navy Photo
China’s foreign ministry says it’s planning a response in protest of a U.S. Navy admiral’s reported trip to Taiwan. Read More
Secretary of the Navy Kenneth Braithwaite delivers remarks honoring the 245th U.S. Marine Corps birthday at the National Museum of the Marine Corps on Oct. 27, 2020. US Navy Photo
This post has been updated to include additional comments from Secretary Braithwaite and a subsequent statement from a Navy spokesman.
Navy Secretary Kenneth Braithwaite called for the Navy to establish a new numbered fleet closer to the border of the Indian and Pacific Oceans – perhaps out of Singapore – to more fully address the naval challenges in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command area of the world. Read More
FS Charles de Gaulle (R91) deploying on Jan. 21, 2020 from Touloun, France. French Navy Photo
With a new American administration coming in January and the United Kingdom departing the European Union, France could be America’s new “bridge partner” to the continent in countering high-end military challenges from Moscow and Beijing and meeting reinvigorated terrorist threats, top security experts said Thursday. Read More
Adm. Mike Gilday addresses the U.S. Naval Academy Class of 2024 in Alumni Hall on Aug. 7, 2020. US Navy Photo
The chief of naval operations remains mindful of deployment lengths, crew sizes, maintenance capacity and other measures of a healthy fleet even amid calls to grow the Navy to 500 ships or more, during what could be an important time in determining the future of the Navy. Read More
Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang, North Korea on July 25, 2019. KCNA Photo
If former Vice President Joe Biden wins the presidential election, settling the long-running U.S.-South Korea burden-sharing talks would send a message to North Korea and China that the two nations are in alignment on major issues concerning the peninsula, regional security experts said Thursday. Read More
The following is the Nov. 4, 2019, Congressional Research Service report, Changes in the Arctic: Background and Issues for Congress. Read More
Defense Secretary Mark Esper tours the avenger class minesweeper USS Devastator, docked at Naval Support Activity Bahrain on Oct. 28, 2020. DoD Photo
At the beginning of the year, the Navy and Marine Corps sent a new fleet plan to Pentagon leaders that called for relying on smaller ships and unmanned vessels to meet future missions and defeat future adversaries. The Pentagon rejected the plan.
Nine-months later, Pentagon leaders reached the same conclusion: the Navy needed to be more distributed and weighted towards small combatants and unmanned craft.
What did that additional effort really get the sea services? Not much, according to some officials involved in both processes.
