General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ Post

🌊⚓️ The Red Sea crisis calls for increased collaboration and strategic adaptation by Western naval forces to address evolving threats in the region. By strengthening alliances, investing in advanced technologies, and maintaining a proactive presence, navies can safeguard global trade routes and promote stability in this vital maritime corridor. #RedSea #MaritimeSecurity #WesternNavalForces 🚢🔒 https://lnkd.in/gB4brQgK

#MiddleEastTensions | German-built Sa'ar 6 corvettes are the biggest surface warships #Israel has (Sa'ar is "Storm" in Hebrew), and all four of them are currently in the Red Sea. While their displacement is 1,900 tons — a little more than half of the 3,500 ton displacement of the US Navy's littoral combat ships — their high weapon and sensor density makes them more comparable capability-wise to the US Navy's 8,300 ton displacement Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers (like the USS MASON in the news recently). The biggest exception would be AEGIS capability. SA'AR 6 SPECIFICATIONS: Type: Corvette Displacement: 1,900 long tons Length: 90 m (295 ft 3 in) Range: 4,000 nmi (7,400 km; 4,600 mi) Crew: 70 Sensors & Processing Systems: EL/M-2248 MF-STAR AESA Radar Armament: 1 × 76 mm Oto Melara Main Gun 2 × 25mm Typhoon Remote Weapons Stations 2 × 324 mm (12.76 in) Torpedo Launchers 16 × Gabriel V or 16 × Harpoon Block II Anti-Ship Missiles 16 × Vertical Launch Cells For Barak-8 Surface-to-Air Missiles 40 × Vertical Launch Cells For C-Dome Point Defense System 1 × MH-60 Seahawk Multi-Mission Helicopter MISSION(S): The Sa'ar 6 was adopted for maritime protection, anti-shipping, and prevent threats in the Israeli exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The Sa'ar 6 is also used to defend Israeli shipping lanes in the Mediterranean to import more than 90% of goods for Israel. One of their roles will be to protect natural gas platforms in the Mediterranean Sea against possible seaborne terrorism attacks or rocket threats. This deployment to the Red Sea is expanding from those mission sets, most likely due to threats from the #Houthis in Yemen.

Iran's Naval Forces Experience Communication Blackout. In line with its ambitions as a significant player on the global stage, Iran boasts two separate naval fleets, a departure from the norm seen in most other countries. Read more: https://buff.ly/47vhFH9 #MarinerNews #ShippingNews #MaritimeNews #News #ShippingIndustry

🚢 Unlocking insights with a NCAGS infographic! Dive into some intriguing figures from the Naval Cooperation and Guidance for Shipping. #StraitForward #MerchantShipping #MaritimeSecurity

When it comes to protect a naval fleet, escort isolated high-value units or conduct offensive operations against submarines, navies can rely on CAPTAS-4.

When it comes to protect a naval fleet, escort isolated high-value units or conduct offensive operations against submarines, navies can rely on CAPTAS-4.

This was certainly a great talk, and I'm all on board with it.  I really encourage anyone interested in navy matters to take the time. That said, there are also some great graphics so you won't get 100% out of just listening in your car, but you can come back to those later. The fact that I loved it never prevents me from speaking out on the bits that I was slightly skew on :). I expect many will disagree with me, but the dialog is all part of the fun... I think it has been a bit surprising that some assume that the Chinese are interested only in local or regional hegemony. China may signal local defense as its objective, however, the following indicate that is far from the limits of its endeavors... [] Nuclear submarines: While a wonderful status symbol, if their goal was truly local, they could have much more cost effectively have invested in diesel electric submarines. [] Carriers: Excellent power projection platforms, but if all you are protecting is in range of land based air, how essential are they (again, considering the considerable investment)? [] Overseas basing: The Chinese are certainly investing in local bases (like Cambodia), but now spreading to Djibuti as well. I suspect other bases, especially in Africa (and possibly South America), are also in the works due to the next effort... [] Overseas Influence of all types, ranging from economic adventurism in developing countries (with clear ties to gaining long term influence and potentially basing--look at the number of ports around the world now run by Chinese companies) to strategic efforts like balloon overflights. Also, the focus on the tonnage of shipping vs. the count of shipping really drags the whole debate into a numbers game that misses the point. Looking at Battleforce ship counts or total tonnage is like trying, in 1962, to measure the capability of the North Vietnamese with counts of combat aircraft and tanks (and I am sure that's been done!). The impact of the Maritime Militia, especially, cannot be overstated, especially the impact this is likely to have on rules of engagement: "Western Navy helo fills fishing boat full of 2.75 inch rockets" blasts from the worldwide press... Lastly, I was disappointed by the misunderstanding of shipyard capacity. There are a lot of challenges with US Shipbuilding, but we would be remiss to assume that those problems are entirely solved by finding a different shipyard. Yes, the US produces 3 Large Surface Combatants (DDGs) a year today. But shifting production to overseas only alleviates that problem of pace to the extent that the US is willing to give up strict adherence to current design standards and requirements for domestic sourcing of components. Given those two relaxations--essential for foreign sourcing--domestic shipyard production rates would rise considerably as well. Otherwise, building DDG-51/III in the Far East is likely to go as well as building a FREMM frigate in the US.

15 January 2024 update: US Naval Forces, Central Command, has advised that the security situation in the area between 16N and 12N remains unstable. It is currently not possible to foresee how the security situation develops, but the present security conditions may prevail for still some time. Coalition forces and BIMCO continue to recommend shipping companies to consider avoiding shipping operations in the area and reposition to north of 18N or east of 46E. #BIMCO #RedSea #maritimesecurity #maritimesafety #globaltrade #shippingindustry

When it comes to protect a naval fleet, escort isolated high-value units or conduct offensive operations against submarines, navies can rely on CAPTAS-4.

When it comes to protect a naval fleet, escort isolated high-value units or conduct offensive operations against submarines, navies can rely on CAPTAS-4.