It is doubtful that Western sanctions have had any effect on Russia’s behavior but that doesn’t mean that the sanctions don’t work. They will be good bargaining chips some day when things are less emotional.
USA
U.S. Navy wants more submarines but cannot maintain the number they have
The U.S. Navy wants to increase the number of attack submarines from 56 to 66. But a new government report documents that their shipyards cannot maintain even the ones they have already.
Infrastructure projects must be smarter about cybersecurity
Could the Washington Metro be hijacked by ransomware? Andrew Grotto has some suggestions about how to get cybersecurity back on track in infrastructure projects.
We should think about why Russia breaks the INF Treaty
Before the INF Treaty collapses, it is worth pondering why Russia is building a missile that breaks it. I argue that it is because they want a conventional missile akin to Tomahawk. It is silly if we turn this into a nuclear race.
U.S. Navy plans to develop two new classes of submarine
The U.S. Navy plans to develop a new cruise missile submarine and a new attack submarine. It is an expensive solution that comes just days after president Trump’s announcement of defense cuts.
We need better IR theories to explain Russia
Traditional theories about International Relations are simply not good enough to explain what is going on between Russia and the West. Andrej Krickovic delivers the argument in this policy memo for PONARS Eurasia.
Did a Russian frigate track down an Ohio class submarine?
The Russian frigate Admiral Essen tracked down an American Ohio class submarine back in April. That claims a Russian newspaper which puts great pride in the accomplishment. But isn’t it a weird thing to brag about? After all, it does reveal that most of the time you have no clue where the American submarines are.
Article recommendation: The Status Quo Killed 17 US Sailors. The Navy Must Change.
Jon Paris makes a compelling case that the U.S. Navy needs to change its education system and introduce specialized career paths for engineering and operations. This step is well overdue. The idea that one can have the responsibility of either engineering or navigation of a large warship with a one-size-fits-all educational background is just mind boggling.
Lessons for Western armies from the war in Ukraine
Article recommendation: Liam Collins identifies a good list of lessons to be learned from the war in Ukraine about war with a near-pear adversary. Some of the items are old skills that counter-insurgency focused thinking has caused Western armies to forget. Others are truly new.
Leadership culture and a reckless instructor led to U.S. Navy plane crash
A T-45 training aircraft stalled and crashed when the pilot instructor directed the student to perform dangerous maneuvers at low altitude. Leadership culture in the squadron and poor instructor qualifications are among the explanations.
