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DEFAERO Report Daily Podcast [Oct 07, 2020]–Latest Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict
On this episode of the DefAero Report Daily Podcast, sponsored by Bell, Amb. Eric Edelman, a former US ambassador to Turkey who is now a counselor at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, Amb. John Evans, a former US ambassador to Armenia, and Eugene Rumer, the director of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, discuss the combined Turkish-Azerbaijani assault on the Armenian enclave of Nagorno Karabakh.
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Virginia Congressman Releases Statement in Response to Esper’s Shipbuilding Plan
According to the Department of Defense website, Esper announced the plan on Oct. 6 during the virtual Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments with the goal to have over 500 manned and unmanned ships in the fleet by 2045. Of that, Esper says the plan is to reach 355 traditional Battle Force ships by 2035.
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Esper Unveils New Details for Bigger Navy, Plans Major Shipbuilding Investment
Defense Secretary Mark Esper today said he has laid out a "credible path" for a new Navy of more than 500 manned and unmanned ships to deter China in the future, necessitating significant new investments in shipbuilding from funds "harvested" elsewhere in the Pentagon. Esper, who spoke at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, said "Battle Force 2045" would position the Navy to grow to more than 355 traditional combat force ships by 2035, officially punting a key campaign...
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Mark Esper: US Must Expand Fleet by 2045 to Retain Naval Dominance
Mark Esper, secretary of the Department of Defense (DoD) and a 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, has said the U.S. Navy must launch fleet expansion efforts to ensure American military dominance against China.
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Secretary of Defense Remarks at CSBA on the NDS and Future Defense Modernization Priorities
Transcript of remarks by Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper and Tom Mahnken, President and CEO, Center for Strategic & Budgetary Assessments
Analysis
Aiki in the South China Sea: Fresh Asymmetric Approaches and Sea Lane Vulnerabilities
Over the last decade, stability in the South China Sea (SCS) has progressively deteriorated because of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) actions. China’s leadership has followed a long-term, multi-pronged strategy. On the military front they have constructed a “Great Wall of Sand”1 through island building, deployed an underwater “Great Wall of Sensors;”2 and completed detailed planning and preparations to establish air defense identification zones3(ADIZ) in the SCS. Despite assurances from the highest levels of the CCP leadership, they have militarized islands in the SCS,4 deployed bombers to the Paracels5 and built up military forces in the region.6 Diplomatically, the CCP has ignored international legal rulings, continued to assert sovereignty over disputed territories,7 and sought to dissuade, protest, and prevent Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPS).8 On the commercial front, the CCP has encouraged its large fishing fleet to overfish within other states’ exclusive economic zones (EEZs).9 When confronted, they have often harassed local fisherman and even purposely collided with them, leading to sinking vessels.10