AEI/Heritage Weekly Read Board (Navy)

From a HASC Seapower and Projection Forces Product

Upcoming Events

·       Wed 1200-1245 SPF Subcommittee Pre-mark Meeting

·       Wed 1600-1900 US Naval Institute Annual Meeting, National Press Club

·       Thu 1030-1200 SPF Subcommittee Markup

Scuttlebutt (News)

·       Secretary Of Drones: Mabus Creates DASD For Unmanned Secretary Mabus announced a number of unmanned systems initiatives in his speech at Sea-Air-Space.

·       U.S., Philippines Add Muscle to Military Drills The U.S. military and Philippines armed forces kicked off their biggest joint exercises in 15 years on Monday, at a time of distress in Manila over China’s island-building program in the South China Sea.

·       Navy has seven combat ships around Yemen as Saudi-led blockade continues Navy ships are searching vessels for Iranian arms bound for the rebels but U.S. troops are not participating in the Saudi naval blockade.

·       Japan-U.S. guidelines seek to deter China’s naval advances The revised Japan-U.S. defense guidelines will seek to ensure that bilateral cooperation “seamlessly” covers everything from so-called gray-zone contingencies to island invasions, with an eye to deterring China’s military buildup and aggressive naval advances.

Now Hear This (Opinions)

·       Remarks by the Honorable Ray Mabus, Secretary of the Navy, Sea-Air-Space Exposition The Secretary argues that innovation is the kay to maintaining the US Navy’s superiority, and believes that the F-35 should be the last manned strike fighter aircraft the Navy flies.

·       Enemy Cruise Missile, Meet the U.S. Rail Gun SPF member Mike Conaway (R-TX) argues that directed energy weapons systems have the potential to deliver effective offensive and defensive capabilities at a fraction of the cost of current systems.

·       It’s Time for the U.S. Military to Double Down in the Asia-Pacific Col. Stephen Liszewski argues that Congress should not allow the response to immediate crises such as ISIS distract from the importance of long-term challenges like a rising China.

Deep Dives (Analysis)

·       Directed-Energy Weapons: Promise and Prospects CNAS report on the value of directed energy weapons and recommendations for how the U.S. can invest in a cost-effective and time-efficient manner to further mature this important technology.

Fact of the Week:  The USS Carl Vinson’s nine and a half month deployment was the longest for an aircraft carrier since the Vietnam War.  The carrier’s air wing, CVW-17, conducted 2,383 combat missions and dropped 869 precision-guided munitions totaling more than half a million pounds of ordnance. The Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Group is replacing it, with an expected 8 month deployment.