Ships from the Indian Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and the US Navy sail in formation during Malabar 2018 on June 14, 2018. US Navy Photo
Australia will join the India-led Malabar 2020 naval exercise next month, operating along with the U.S. and Japan in an exercise meant to send a message to China. Read More
The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) leads a formation of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 5 ships as U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress aircraft and U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornets pass overhead for a photo exercise during Valiant Shield 2018 on Sept. 17. US Navy photo
Joint forces are assembling around Guam and the Mariana Islands Range Complex for high-end Pacific exercise Valiant Shield 2020, which kicks off today. Read More
Rep. Mac Thornberry, ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, met with journalists from the Defense Writers Group, an association of news outlets with reporters that cover national security issues, at the George Washington University on Tuesday, June 11, 2019. GWU Photo
The final conference report on the Fiscal Year 2021 National Defense Authorization Act won’t be ready until after the Nov. 3 election, the outgoing ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee said on Wednesday. Read More
A M1A2 Abrams tank with 6th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division fires during gunnery qualification in South Korea in 2019. US Army Photo
The Army is developing long-range hypersonic and intermediate-range anti-ship weapons as key components of its emerging strategy in the Western Pacific, the service’s top officer said last week. Read More
Lee Hsien Loong at the G20 on Dec. 1, 2018
The relationship between Washington and Beijing has sunk to such a “very dangerous” level with no sign of tensions easing after the next U.S. presidential election, the prime minister of Singapore said Tuesday. Read More
The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) training ships JS Kashima (TV 3508), left, and JS Shimayuki (TV 3513), right, sail alongside the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10) during an exercise, June 23, 2020. Gabrielle Giffords, part of Destroyer Squadron Seven, is on a rotational deployment, operating in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with partners and serve as a ready-response force. US Navy photo.
The House and the Senate agree they need to prioritize the Indo-Pacific region in their annual defense policy and spending bills. They don’t quite agree on how far to go in doing that, but an overriding sense that they need to start somewhere this year will likely get them to the creation of a Indo-Pacific fund to counter China, akin to the European Deterrence Initiative created in 2014 to push back against Russia. Read More
Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown responds to a question, May 7, 2020 on Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C., during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing to consider his nomination to be the next Air Force chief of staff. US Air Force Photo
KUALA LUMPUR — The U.S. Air Force is expanding their maritime capabilities in the Western Pacific and mulling creating its own operating concept similar to the U.S. Marine Corps Force Design 2030, the Air Force’s next top commander told reporters on Wednesday. Read More
The following is the June 4, 2020 Congressional Research Service report, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Design for Great Power Competition. Read More
A U.S. Navy F/A-18E Super Hornet assigned to the Tomcatters of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 31 flies above the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), Feb. 27, 2020. US Navy photo.
This post has been updated to reflect that additional COVID-19 cases have been discovered aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)
THE PENTAGON – Three sailors aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) have tested positive for COVID-19 and are being flown off the aircraft carrier to a Defense Department hospital in the Pacific region. These are the first cases of sailors on a deployed ship testing positive for the virus. Read More
Operations Specialist First Class Sean McNamara launches the Mk 18 Mod 2 Kingfish for an initial underwater survey of Sweeper Cove on Adak Island in the Alaska’s Aleutian chain. EODMU 1 is providing expeditionary mine countermeasures support in support of Arctic Expeditionary Capabilities Exercise 2019. EODMU 1 provides operational EOD capabilities to include locating, identifying, rendering safe, exploiting, recovering, and disposing of all explosive ordnance. US Navy photo.
This post has been updated to correct that the Razorback UUV is meant to be operated from a submarine. It was developed under the formerly named Program Executive Office for Littoral Combat Ships but was never part of the LCS mission package.
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – As the Navy explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) community’s capability grows in both sophistication and in quantity, a community leader says they’re being served well by their creed to remain hardware-agnostic. Read More
