US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right, and Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland, met in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 7, 2019. Iceland Embassy photo.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent visit to Iceland and last year’s Trident Juncture joint military exercise in the High North send a “clear signal” to the Kremlin that “we stick together,” Iceland’s foreign minister told a Washington think tank audience Thursday. Read More
A U.S. Navy Sailor marshals the last F-35C Lightning II to leave Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, May 23, 2019. Consolidation of F-35C resources to Naval Air Station Lemoore, California, enables the U.S. Navy to support Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) production, operational fleet transitions for both Navy and Marine Corps squadrons, testing and other requirements. US Air Force photo.
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. – The Navy deactivated one of its two F-35C Joint Strike Fighter training squadrons today and will consolidate all its fifth-generation fighter activities at Naval Air Station Lemoore in California. Read More
USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) conducts a replenishment-at-sea (RAS) with the fast combat support ship USNS Arctic (T-AOE-8) on April 12, 2019
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Navy is struggling to find support to buy new logistics ships, even as a new study finds the Navy’s current plans to recapitalize that logistics fleet are insufficient to support distributed operations in a high-end fight against China or Russia. Read More
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Shoup (DDG-86) pulls into the Port of Suva, Fiji during a port visit Oct. 14, 2018. Navy photo.
Despite a shared history of fighting in World War II, the 16 Pacific Island nations think high ranking U.S. government policymakers suffer from “collective amnesia” when considering differing definitions of security, Fiji’s ambassador said Wednesday.
Chinese sailors watch a People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) warship pull into Djibouti. Xinhua Photo
Due to an editing error, a previous version of this post stated the incorrect size of the People’s Liberation Army Navy, according to James Fanell. The Chinese are on pace to reach 450 surface ships and 110 submarines by 2030, according to Fanell’s data. Those totals are not the current fleet size.
China’s rise as a naval power goes well beyond its growing number of ships and submarines but the People’s Liberation Army Navy growing capability to operate jointly with the Chinese air force and rocket corps, a maritime intelligence expert said Tuesday. Read More
U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence (DDG-110), transits through international waters with the Indian Navy destroyer INS Kolkata (D 63) and tanker INS Shakti (A-57), Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force helicopter-carrier JS Izumo (DDH-183) and destroyer JS Murasame (DD-101), and Republic of Philippine Navy patrol ship BRP Andres Bonifacio (PS-17) through the South China Sea. Photo courtesy of Japan Maritime Self Defense Force
During the past week, three U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyers were active in the South China Sea in two separate operations intended to support unfettered access to the region’s shipping lanes. Read More
Undated photo of DSCV Van Gogh. A Navy salvage team is embarked on the ship that left Okinawa, Japan on April 24, 2019.
The U.S. Navy has ended its support to find a missing Japanese F-35A Lighting II Joint Strike Fighter that crashed last month, U.S. 7th Fleet announced late Wednesday. Read More
A starboard view of the anchored US Coast Guard icebreaker POLAR STAR (WAGB 10).
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – The Coast Guard hopes to have its first three heavy icebreakers fielded by 2027 or 2028 to replace the one icebreaker that is increasingly struggling to make it to Antarctica and back each year and to increase U.S. presence in the high latitudes, the commandant said today. Read More
Landing craft deploy PLA Marines during Joint Sea 2015 II. Chinese MoD Photo
THE PENTAGON – The Chinese military is reorganizing its land forces, but its moves do not increase its ability to mount a large-scale beach assault across the Taiwan Strait, according to a new Department of Defense report. Read More
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo on Aug. 18, 2017. DoD Photo
President Donald Trump will head to Tokyo later this month to discuss how to resume stalled denuclearization talks with North Korea, work more jointly on cybersecurity with the Japanese and build upon his meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in resolving trade issues between the two nations. Read More
