A Virginia-class under construction at General Dynamic Electric Boat. EB Photo Lawmakers raised concerns with Navy leaders this week over lags in U.S. naval shipbuilding after the service altered plans for attack boat procurement for the first time in more than a decade.Seeking to adhere to the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 that capped defense spending, the Navy released a Fiscal Year 2025 budget that wants to buy six battle force ships and decommission 19. In a break with more than a decade of procurement, the service elected to buy one Virginia-class submarine instead of two. Lawmakers h ..read more

Bayraktar TB2 of Ukrainian Air Force. Ministry of Defense of Photo Kyiv’s ability to rapidly create and field software to a homegrown community of unmanned aerial vehicles specialists is a lesson every NATO nation should take away from the war in Ukraine, the coauthor of a UAV effectiveness study said. Speaking Tuesday at the Wilson Center, Jack Watling, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, said Ukraine, using specialists from its tech sector, has been able to make adaptations “to keep [combat UAVs] effective.” This time frame can be as short as two weeks, especiall ..read more

The following is the April 16, 2024, Congressional Research Service report, Israel and Hamas Conflict In Brief: Overview, U.S. Policy, and Options for Congress. From the report On October 7, 2023, the Palestinian Sunni Islamist group Hamas (a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization, or FTO) led surprise attacks against Israel from the Gaza Strip. More than 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals (including at least 35 U.S. citizens in Israel) were killed. Hamas and other groups also seized 253 hostages on October 7. Iran reportedly provides material support to Hamas, and according to U.S ..read more

Pentagon Press Secretary U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder conducts a press briefing at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., March 8, 2024. Department of Defense PhotoS A Navy ship on its way to Gaza with parts for the temporary pier returned home after experiencing a fire, the Navy said Wednesday. USNS 2nd Lt. John P. Bobo (T-AK-3008) experienced a fire in its engine room on Thursday, April 11, while it was on its way to the Eastern Mediterranean Sea with equipment and personnel for the humanitarian efforts planned via a temporary pier in Gaza, a Navy spokesperson said in a statement to ..read more

A P-8A Poseidon, assigned to the ‘Fighting Tigers’ of Patrol Squadron (VP) 8, lands at Misawa Air Base during scheduled flight operations on Jan. 15, 2021. US Navy Photo China criticized a U.S. Navy surveillance flight through the Taiwan Strait on Wednesday. A statement from the People’s Liberation Army Eastern Theater Command called the P-8A Poseidon aircraft transit “provocative” and said Chinese aircraft tailed and tracked the flight. “The troops of the PLA Eastern Theater Command will remain on high alert at all times and resolutely safeguard China’s national sovereignty as well as regiona ..read more

The following is the 2024 Australian National Defense Strategy released this week. From the report A new approach to Australia’s defence Australia’s strategic environment demands a fundamentally new approach to the defence of Australia and its interests. Accordingly, the Government has urgently assessed the most consequential security risks we face and developed a comprehensive strategy to address them. This new approach is the foundational principle that underpins the National Defence Strategy and is based on the concept of National Defence – a coordinated, whole-of-government and whole-of-na ..read more

Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Izumo-class helicopter destroyer JS Kaga (DDH 184), Indian Navy Rajput-class destroyer INS Ranvijay (D 55) and Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Stockdale (DDG 106) transit the Bay of Bengal as part of MALABAR 2021, Oct. 12, 2021. US Navy Photo The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force will dispatch both its Izumo-class big decks on their largest deployment to date, officials said on Tuesday. Previous Indo-Pacific Deployments featured single Izumo or Hyuga-class big decks for four to five months. Meanwhile, the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Str ..read more

Graduates from recruit company India-203 complete basic training at U.S. Coast Guard Training Center Cape May, N.J., March 3, 2023. US Coast Guard Photo NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — A comprehensive talent realignment initiative that sought to address personnel shortages in the Coast Guard saved about 1,500 billets, a top personnel officer said. The Coast Guard was short 2,500 billets, Rear Adm. Russell Dash, commander of the personnel service center, told the audience last week at Sea Air Space 2024. A lack of personnel, stemming from recruiting challenges, is one of the more immediate crises facing ..read more

Maj. Shane Gentry, an MQ-9A MUX/MALE pilot with Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 3, Marine Aircraft Group (MAG) 24, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing poses for a photo at MAG-24 headquarters, Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, March 25, 2024. US Marine Corps Photo Nearly a decade ago, as a new officer, Maj. Shane Gentry mulled over his Marine Corps job options, including three slots for unmanned aircraft systems training open to his Basic School class. Curiosity about new technology and the desire to deploy drew Gentry into the service’s fledgling UAS pilot community. He knew the Mari ..read more

The following is the April Candian Armed Forces policy paper, Our North, Strong and Free: A Renewed Vision for Canada’s Defence. From the report Canadians have benefitted enormously from the world we helped build. We came of age as a country in an era defined by a respect for international rules that have generated prosperity on an unprecedented scale. That prosperity depends on free and open trade with the world and stable conditions. The return of war in Europe, with Russia’s illegal and unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine, reminds us that military challenges to global stability violat ..read more