H I Sutton Image. Used with permission
While the Iranian naval forces have been clashing with U.S. forces in the Middles East in the last several weeks, its most capable submarines have been out of action. Read More
The guided-missile destroyer USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98) transits the Gulf of Tadjoura on Nov. 17, 2019. Forrest Sherman is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of naval operations to ensure maritime stability in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and Pacific through the Western Indian Ocean and three strategic choke points. US Navy photo.
This post has been updated to include links to U.S. law and DoD policy on captured weapons.
The commander of a guided-missile destroyer was relieved of command after attempting to make a morale-boosting plaque from a captured weapon for his crew to celebrate the 2019 interdiction of an Iranian weapons shipment, an attorney representing the commander told USNI News on Wednesday. Read More
A U.S. Marine assigned to Special Purpose Marine-Air Ground Task Force – Crisis Response – Central Command, operates a Battelle Drone Defender V2 during counter unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) training at the Baghdad Embassy Compound in Iraq, Oct. 9, 2020. US Marine Corps Photo
The Defense Department must employ an all-encompassing agency-wide approach to its strategy for buying and using small drones to combat future threats, according to a new Pentagon document. Read More
H I Sutton Image. Used with permission
The Middle East remains a volatile area for merchant shipping into the new year, according to the analysis of attacks on ships in the region. Read More
Motor Tanker (M/T) Wila, a merchant vessel in international waters en-route to the UAE port of Khor Fakkan, in the Gulf of Oman, was boarded by armed Iranian personnel who fast roped aboard the ship from an Iranian Sea King helicopter as it hovered above on Aug. 12, 2020. US Navy Photo
This post is part of a series of stories looking back at the top naval news from 2020.
Like the U.S., international navies grappled with not only the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic but regional security concerns from China’s naval expansion and operations in the Pacific to Iranian and Russian operations in the Middle East. Read More
An MH-60S KNight Hawk helicopter, from the ‘Screamin’ Indians’ of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 6, conducts flight control checks on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68). U.S. Navy Photo
This story has been updated to clarify USS Nimitz’s (CVN-68) deployment to U.S. 5th Fleet.
Aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN-68) is now back in the Middle East after conducting an exercise series with the Indian Navy, a spokesperson with U.S. 5th Fleet told USNI News on Monday. 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
HI Sutton Image used with permission
Emblazoned with the pennant number “1” in on its superstructure, Shahid Roudaki joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) as its latest and most visible warship during a ceremony held in Bandar Abbas on the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday. Read More
DoD Photo
Monday’s removal of Defense Secretary Mark Esper adds more uncertainty as to what adversaries may try and what allies can expect from Washington in the always tricky transition of presidential power, national security experts at the Atlantic Council said Tuesday. Read More
HI Sutton Image used with permission
The Red Sea forms a physical and geopolitical choke point on much of the world’s trade. At its northern end the Suez Canal constricts the flow of ships, and at the southern end the Bab el-Mandeb Strait does. Millions of barrels of oil and other critically important goods transit the Red Sea every year, much of it destined for North America and Europe. Read More
