While the second Nagorno-Karabakh war, which in 2020 opposed the Armenian and Azerbaijani armies, demonstrated the full operational effectiveness of Israeli-made Harop and Harpy prowling ammunition in eliminating enemy defences, the war in Ukraine today, in shows versatility, as both sides employ this type of ammunition both for tactical purposes and to strike targets in strategic depth. It is therefore not surprising that industrial and/or national programs to develop this type of ammunition have multiplied in Europe and all over the planet for a few months, as was the case...
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Anticipating delays in the delivery of the Columbias, the US Navy wants to accelerate the extension of the Ohio nuclear submarines
Most often, when additional delays slow down or postpone delivery programs for military equipment, the causes are to be found in technological difficulties or even in budgetary decisions. It is not these factors, however, that have US Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro worried about the delivery of the new Columbia-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines to replace the Ohio-class SSBNs from 2027. Indeed, if 3 years separate the delivery of the first unit to the US Navy in 2027, and the second unit in 2030, and two additional years until the…
Read the articleThe Marine Corps and the US Navy clash over the sizing of the US amphibious fleet
Rightly considered an elite unit within the US forces, the US Marine Corps relies on numerous specific capabilities dedicated to the autonomous execution of aero-amphibious missions. Thus, the corps has, beyond the infantry and assault forces, its own armored vehicles, its own artillery systems, its own anti-aircraft defense, as well as an air fleet made up of more 350 F/A-18 E/F, F-35B and AV-8B combat aircraft, almost 700 CH-53, AH-1, UH-1 and MV-22B helicopters as well as several hundred drones. On the other hand, the transport of the marines and their equipment is ensured by the ships of the US Navy,…
Read the articleThe US Navy wants to sell 6 of its new Littoral Combat Ships within 2 years
To say that the LCS program is no longer favored by the US Navy would be an understatement. Indeed, each new annual budgetary exercise is an opportunity for it to try to withdraw these vessels from service, even though they have only been in service for a few years. Thus, on the occasion of the presentation to Congress last week of the new document framing the planning of American naval construction and changes in the format of the fleet, the American military once again integrated into the document a procedure aimed at to be released in the next 2 years, 4 Freedom class LCS and 2 LCS…
Read the articleThe US Navy wants to produce 4 Constellation frigates each year thanks to a second shipyard
With nearly 83 destroyers and cruisers, the US Navy today has the most formidable naval capacity in terms of anti-aircraft and anti-ballistic defense, as well as in the field of firepower towards the land, all these ships being both equipped with the AEGIS anti-aircraft and anti-missile system and Tomahawk cruise missiles. On the other hand, it suffers, since the withdrawal of the OH Perry frigates, from a major weakness in the field of anti-submarine escort. Indeed, if the Arleigh Burke destroyers do indeed have an AN/SQS-53 hull sonar, a towed sonar and two SeaHawk anti-submarine warfare helicopters, their displacement and…
Read the articleFaced with the Chinese navy, the US Navy aims for the asymmetrical balance of power in the Pacific
A few days ago, the shipyards of Dalian, in the northeast of the country in Liaoning province, simultaneously launched 2 new Type 052D destroyers, the 27th and 28th units of this class designated within NATO under the code Luyang III, while 5 other hulls were observed at various levels of finish on this site. As with previous years, there is little doubt that 2023 will see the arrival of 7-9 new destroyers to the People's Liberation Army Navy. 157 meters long for a displacement of 7.500 tons, these ships…
Read the articleCanberra, London and Washington presented a solid strategy to equip Australia with nuclear attack submarines
The acquisition of nuclear attack submarines (SNA) by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), announced 18 months ago now as part of the creation of the AUKUS alliance between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, had raised many questions about the real feasibility of such a program, but also about the costs which will, without a doubt, be very high to allow the RAN to go from 6 conventional submarines from the Collins class to 8 SNAs of American or British design, even though the country does not have a civilian nuclear industry. The presentation, during the AUKUS Event in San Diego…
Read the articleBoeing announces closure of F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet assembly line in 2025
In 2013, the US Navy announced, as part of the preparation of the 2014 budget, that it no longer intended to order new F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet fighters, the evolution of the F/A-18 Hornet developed in the early 90s to replace the F-14 Tomcat, but also the A-6 Intruder bomber and the EA-6 Growler electronic warfare aircraft. However, as is often the case in the United States, local political and economic considerations led Congress to keep the Boeing production line in Saint Louis on a ventilator for more than a decade, ordering between 12 and 20 additional aircraft each year against the opinion of the US Navy itself. Unfortunately, this respite did not allow...
Read the articleUS Navy LCS mine warfare module soon to be operational
The US Navy's naval construction planning has been chaotic to say the least for the past 30 years, to the point that the most powerful military navy on the planet today faces some emerging capability failures. This is particularly the case for mine warfare, this mission still being carried out to this day by 11 of the 14 minehunters of the Avenger class which entered service between 1987 and 1994. While these ships have already reached their limit of age, the US Navy is indeed unable to remove them from service until an alternative capability enters service,…
Read the articleFacing China, US precision ammunition stocks would only last a week
One week ! This is the time it will take for the US Navy and the US Air Force to deplete its stocks of long-range precision ammunition in the event of a conflict between the United States and China around the island of Taiwan. . This is essentially the observation made by the latest report from the American think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies, or CSIS, which also points to the impossibility for American industry as organized today to meet the needs of a high-intensity war against a great power, if the conflict were to last, as is the case in Ukraine against Russia. And of…
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