US Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

gpt said:

Turns out ULA has been actively working on this 'space destroyer' concept which is aimed at guarding satellites and if necessary attack enemy satellites

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There it is. Vulcan Centaur's upper stage is being pitched as a tug that can be used to improve the maneuverability of US satellites. So basically instead of disposing the upper stage after the end of a mission, it can remain in orbit to aid US satellites or inspect/attack Chinese satellites

This is quite a good article to get a sense of what's happening between the two nations in orbit:

China will need to be patient waiting for the USMC's "island-hopping" ships

After receiving bids from industry, the Navy canceled the request for proposals for the Landing Ship Medium, a beachable platform crucial to how the Marine Corps envisions itself operating in a conflict with China in the Indo-Pacific under its Force Design plans.

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The USN buys, operates and sustains these USMC ships out of its own budget:

Requirements churn and disagreements between the Navy and Marine Corps over a path forward have plagued the Landing Ship Medium

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, since the program was previously called the Light Amphibious Warship. While the Marine Corps has pushed for a more affordable ship that’s built to commercial standards, the Navy’s requirements for improved survivability have increased the cost. ... While the ship is a key part of the Marine Corps’ Force Design strategy, any platform that fulfills the requirement will get purchased out of the Navy shipbuilding account. With mounting bills to pay out of the shipbuilding budget – including submarines, destroyers and cruisers – the amphibious warships remain a lower priority.

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The USN hasn't forgotten and won't forgive its blighted tactical aircraft future the USMC's F-35B "common airframe" gave them.

A new bipartisan bill called the SHIPS (Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security) for America Act has been introduced into Congress.

Some of it would seek to:

• Add a maritime security adviser to the White House staff and stand up an interagency board to field a national maritime strategy.
• State a goal to build 250 U.S.-flagged commercial ships in the next decade under a new Strategic Commercial Fleet Program.
• Create a 25-percent tax credit for shipyard investments.
• Add a 33-percent tax credit for spending on building new, or upgrading existing, vessels for commercial maritime use.
• Form a rule-making committee for commercial maritime regulations that will require government-funded cargo to be transported on U.S.-flagged vessels. It would also require the same for a portion of imports from China, starting in 2029.
• Found a U.S. Center for Maritime Innovation to coordinate ship design and manufacturing processes.
• Launch a recruiting campaign for commercial maritime and shipbuilding jobs, a retention program for merchant mariner credentials, and investments in the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and state maritime academies

Full article:

This seems like a badly needed measure for the US ship building industry. I am not sure that its provisions will be the magic bullet to help get US shipbuilding on a better path, but it might get the conversation started to have a healthier industry.

EDIT: Has been endorsed by gCaptain as well.

SlothmanAllen said:

Form a rule-making committee for commercial maritime regulations that will require government-funded cargo to be transported on U.S.-flagged vessels. It would also require the same for a portion of imports from China, starting in 2029.

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What does this mean? What’s government-funded cargo? What does it have to do with imports from China?

vincent said:

What does this mean? What’s government-funded cargo? What does it have to do with imports from China?

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Good point. I am not totally sure. I wonder if it is a misquote?

On December 18, 2024, the Department of Defense publicly released its annual report, Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC), commonly known as the China Military Power Report (CMPR)
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This congressionally mandated report charts the current course of the PRC’s national, economic, and military strategy, and offers insights into the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) strategy, current capabilities, and activities, as well as its future modernization goals. The CMPR illustrates why the 2022 National Defense Strategy identified the PRC and its increasingly capable military as the Department’s top pacing challenge.

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The PLAN is the largest navy in the world with a battle force of over 370 platforms, including major surface combatants, submarines, ocean-going amphibious ships, mine warfare ships, aircraft carriers, and fleet auxiliaries. Notably, this figure does not include approximately 60 HOUBEI class patrol combatants that carry anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCM). The PLAN’s overall battle force is expected to grow to 395 ships by 2025 and 435 ships by 2030. Much of this growth will be in major surface combatants. The PLAN’s force structure consists of theater navies with subordinate submarine flotillas, surface ship flotillas, aviation units, and naval bases. The PLAN’s Northern Theater Navy is subordinate to the NTC, the Eastern Theater Navy is subordinate to the ETC, and the Southern Theater Navy is subordinate to the STC.

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As I've said several times before the safest place to be in any USN versus PLAN+CCG+MM conflict is the Taiwan province. Except there won't be any conflict. Deterrence works in this instance.

SlothmanAllen said:

A new bipartisan bill called the SHIPS (Shipbuilding and Harbor Infrastructure for Prosperity and Security) for America Act has been introduced into Congress.

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China started its PLAN+CCG+MM by raising 700M citizens from rural poverty into a healthy, educated urban middle class. The US Congress will never understand that.

RobertC said:

China started its PLAN+CCG+MM by raising 700M citizens from rural poverty into a healthy, educated urban middle class. The US Congress will never understand that.

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I think they should be looking to build a sustainable shipbuilding industry that maximizes the military / civil fusion potential. What I mean by that is while production might not be very high, it would greatly help the surface military ship building side by providing a number of yards with skilled workers that can be called on to build military vessels cheaper and faster.

For example, China builds something like 33 million gross weight tons of ships per year, and that covers a wide variety of ships. Maybe from a civil / military fusion perspective, if the US can build 5 million gross weight tons of bulker, tanker, container and gas (just making up a number and type of ships) they will be able to maximize the civil / military fusion potential from a commercial shipbuilding program.

So they don't need to be the number one shipbuilding in the world to realize the potential of civil / military fusion, you might just need to achieve a certain level of production of a certain type of ships or combination of ship types to get the best value.

SlothmanAllen said:

For example, China builds something like 33 million gross weight tons of ships per year, and that covers a wide variety of ships. Maybe from a civil / military fusion perspective, if the US can build 5 million gross weight tons of bulker, tanker, container and gas (just making up a number and type of ships) they will be able to maximize the civil / military fusion potential from a commercial shipbuilding program.

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As Western MSM loves to say: at what cost? Which private shipping firms are willing to pay astromical prices for shitly made American commercial ships? Jones’ Act already mandated US-built ships for domestic shipping many decades ago. How’s US ship building industry nowadays?

vincent said:

As Western MSM loves to say: at what cost? Which private shipping firms are willing to pay astromical prices for shitly made American commercial ships? Jones’ Act already mandated US-built ships for domestic shipping many decades ago. How’s US ship building industry nowadays?

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Its a good question, and I can't provide you with an answer. I guess only time will tell. If they are serious about this, then it will take more than one bill to make it happen. They will need to look at how it plays out and reconfigure as necessary.