Strait of Hormuz

presented by
Allies

Iran’s Largest Warship Sinks In Suspicious Circumstances

TEL AVIV: Iran’s largest warship, the Kharg, caught fire on Wednesday in the Gulf of Oman and sank. The fire, sources here say, was very strange and the smoke generated by the fire demonstrates “something big went wrong.” The Kharg caught fire while sailing in international waters. She was engaged in a training exercise, Iranian […]

Air Warfare

US Ships, Planes Challenge 22 Countries’ Claims — Not Just China’s

WASHINGTON: In 2016, the Defense Department flew aircraft or steamed ships through territories claimed by Albania, Brazil, Italy, Japan, Malta, and, well, China, according to the Pentagon’s annual report released today. So should Beijing be relieved it was not the sole focus of American Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPS) or should it feel slighted that it […]

presented by
Naval Warfare

‘I Go Where I Please:’ Unshackle Navy To Reply To Iran

One of America’s first naval heroes, Commodore Stephen Decatur, was challenged by an Algerian admiral in 1815. Decatur’s reply is now enshrined in international law for ships sailing the seven seas: “I go where I please.” This ethos came to define the mission of the U.S. Navy – ensuring the high seas are free and […]

Congress

New York Times Catches Up: Djibouti And China

Once in a while we feel the need to remind the world that we’ve done something fabulous and are glad to see the competition catch up. Today is one of those days. The New York Times, in a story we are sure will garner close attention on Capitol Hill, at the Pentagon and at NATO […]

Naval Warfare

Sowing The Sea With Fire: The Threat Of Sea Mines

This is the second in our exclusive series on the crucial but neglected question of sea mines and how well — or not — the United States manages this very real global threat. Only 4.7 percent of the US Navy’s 275 warships are dedicated to mine warfare. Those small numbers face Iran’s several thousand naval mines, North Korea’s 50,000, China 100,000 or […]

Air Warfare

Army Shows Cheek, Elbows Its Way Into AirSea Battle Hearing

CAPITOL HILL: With half a million soldiers on active duty, you’d think the Army would be hard to overlook. When the House Armed Services Committee organized a hearing on the hot interservice concept known as “Air-Sea Battle,” though, they kind of forgot to invite the Army. But the largest service elbowed its way onto the […]

presented by
Naval Warfare
Breaking Defense

Rise Of Robot Boats: How The Navy Might Hunt Sea Mines

LAS VEGAS: “Keeping the sailor out of the minefield,” the Navy’s new mantra for mine warfare, means sending the robots in. As part of an annual exercise in July called “Trident Warrior,” the fleet experimented with an unmanned ship developed by Textron subsidiary AAI and known blandly as the Common Unmanned Surface Vessel (CUSV). The […]