A UN tribunal ruling could trigger the next round of brinksmanship in the South China Sea as early as next week. But don’t expect the ruling to end the dispute, especially since the Chinese have already vowed to ignore an adverse ruling. “It’s…not likely to be resolved this year or by one international ruling, no matter how brilliant… Keep reading →

[UPDATED with shock trials] The strangest-looking ship in the Navy is conducting two crucial tests. A broad, triple-hulled “trimaran” design likened to a villain’s vessel from Star Trek, the Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship completed its Initial Operational Test & Evaluation on June 3rd. What’s more, the Navy Sea Systems Command announced yesterday, the USS Coronado (LCS 4) wrapped… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: There’s been a sea change in the Navy. Training and organizations are changing as admirals raised on missiles and torpedoes come to terms with cyber warfare — both as a potential weak point and as a weapon. “I don’t think we could have said it two years ago,” Vice Adm. Jan Tighe told me.… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Trust your robots. Trust your tech industry. Trust your troops. Let go of traditional mechanisms of control — be it a human pilot in the cockpit or a formal requirements document for a program — that increasingly serve to slow you down. That was the message between the lines when Defense Secretary Ashton Carter… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: The upgraded frigate variant of the Littoral Combat Ship isn’t much of an improvement over the controversial original, the Government Accountability Office says, because the Navy was too focused on keeping costs down and production lines humming. But even if you agree with GAO, given how much pressure the Navy is under to grow the… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Retired Gen. Philip Breedlove, just weeks after retiring as NATO’s Supreme Commander, Europe, urged the alliance to reopen “a line of communication” with the Kremlin. While Breedlove’s tenure as SACEUR was wracked by the annexation of Crimea, the invasion of eastern Ukraine, and NATO’s race to strengthen its defenses, his focus was not on… Keep reading →

WASHINGTON: Marine Corps commandant Gen. Robert Neller is getting a new wingman who should help him mightily in the budget wars. The appointment of Glenn “Bluto” Walters as the four-star assistant commandant of the Marine Corps is good news for helicopters and high-tech as well. Walters is a Cobra gunship pilot and technology enthusiast who… Keep reading →

Japan and the US just threw open the door to arms sales between the two longtime allies, something Japan had long resisted. The deal is the latest sign of how fear of a rising China is pushing Japan away from its post-World War II pacifism. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and his Japanese counterpart Gen Nakatani quietly… Keep reading →

OVER THE MALACCA STRAIT: Defense Secretary Ashton Carter and his host, Singaporean Defense Minister Ng Eng Hen, made a stark and clear statement to China before the Shangri-La summit began, boarding America’s preeminent sub-hunting and surveillance plane, the P-8 Poseidon. “How do you like this aircraft?” asked Carter as they boarded the P-8. “I love this… Keep reading →

SINGAPORE: In his speech to the Shangri-La Dialogue here, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter laid out a cautious and carefully crafted vision for security in Asia. Carter called for an “inclusive (and) principled security network,” one that would try to include China and encourage it to abide by international law, rather than seeking to confront and… Keep reading →