USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) and the Arleigh-burke class guided-missile destroyer USS Russell (DDG-59) transit the Pacific Ocean on Dec. 18, 2020. US Navy Photo
The top lawmakers overseeing Navy policy are optimistic the service can continue on its current trajectory of building a bigger fleet to take on threats in the Pacific under the Biden administration.
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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
Australian, Indian and U.S. ships sail past each other as fixed-wing aircraft from the India and U.S. navies conduct a flyover during Malabar 2020 on Nov. 20, 2020. US Navy Photo
The question of whether the “accelerated rise” in military cooperation with India – from exercises like Malabar to sharing sensitive satellite targeting intelligence – will continue under the Biden administration remains open, two experts in Indian strategy said Wednesday. Read More
The following is the Jan. 5, 2021 Congressional Research Service In Focus report, A Low-Yield, Submarine-Launched Nuclear Warhead: Overview of the Expert Debate. Read More
An unarmed Trident II D5 missile launches from the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine USS Nebraska (SSBN-739) off the coast of California. US Navy Photo
The United States should conduct a new broad strategic review to evaluate global threats and determine its strategy, the head of U.S. Strategic Command said Tuesday. Read More
U.S. Marines with Marine Rotational Force-Europe 21.1, Marine Forces Europe and Africa, conduct a safety of use memorandum (SOUM) on an assault amphibious vehicle in preparation for Exercise Reindeer II, Reindeer I, and Joint Viking in Setermoen, Norway, Nov. 19, 2020. US Marine Corps Photo
The Navy and Marine Corps released a new Arctic strategy today, calling to extend their new focus on day-to-day competition with Russia and China into the Arctic as it becomes more navigable and therefore more congested in the coming decades. Read More
The following is the Department of the Navy document, A Strategic Blueprint for the Arctic that was released on Jan. 5, 2020. 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
HMS Queen Elizabeth R08 arriving back in Portsmouth July 2, 2020 after a period at sea conducting Operational Sea Training. UK Royal Navy Photo
This post is part of a series of stories looking back at the top naval news from 2020.
China, Russia and the U.S. all announced sweeping expansions of their naval capacity in 2020 as the three largest world fleets vie for high seas influence in a declared era of great power competition. The new tone for naval forces is helping U.S. allies achieve more lethal navies and expanded capabilities. Read More
The aurora borealis over Ice Camp Seadragon during Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2020. US Navy Photo
The United States “needs resilient people and resilient equipment” to meet mounting security and economic challenges posed by Russia and China, according to a panel of Arctic security experts. Read More
