NAC News – Edition 548
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of January 19th, 2024
Edition: 548 Quote: “What we’re seeing from the Iranians is a message to their protégés, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and the Iraqi groups, let’s not let this thing get out of hand. Iran does not want a war with the United States.” 10 January 2024, Bruce Riedel, The Daily Beast
Rod Hughes: Editor NAC News rhughes@shaw.ca (Comments welcome to help improve this service.) Links to keep in touch with the NAC and RCN can be found at the bottom of this email. Contact Kevin Goheen executivedirector-nac@outlook.com if you wish someone to be added to the NAC News email distribution. (Influencer or good candidates to become a NAC member, and note the first year’s NAC/Branch membership dues are waived)
NOTICES
27 February 2024 7:30 – 18:00 Ottawa time, ShipTech Forum 2024. This year’s theme is “Pushing Fleets Beyond Designed Life”. NAC is an official supporter of the organizer VANGUARD, Canada’s leading trade media that serves the Canadian defence and security industries. Vanguard expects 300+ attendees and 12 exhibitors. As such there is a $50 discount for NAC members who wish to purchase a ticket and the promo code is STF24_NAC. All CAF, CCG, & government personnel can register for FREE. Not Able to Attend in Person: all speaker sessions will be live streamed, to allow for virtual attendance.
NEW 7-8 March 2024 CDA Institute – Ottawa Conference on Security and Defence. The Ottawa Conference on Security & Defence is the largest and longest-standing event of its kind in Canada. Founded in 1932, the Conference of Defence Associations is an umbrella organization for 45 member associations who represent over 400,000 active and retired members of the Canadian Armed Forces. NAC is a member Association.
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THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES
Gen. Wayne Eyre stepping down from position as Canada’s top military commander
Canada Assumes Command of Combined Maritime Forces’ Combined Task Force 150 (Editor – congrats to Capt. (RCN) Colin Matthews. Interesting place to be right now!)
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CANADA
Naval Association of Canada Speaker’s Evening 4 December 2023 – Transcript of Interview with Commander RCN, Vice-Admiral Angus Topshee
Tremors from Red Sea conflict felt in Canada as cargo ships arrive late on East Coast and Could Red Sea attacks reignite supply chain chaos?
Modernizing the ships our coastal communities rely on
Cost of Canadian Coast Guard patrol ships jumps by $500 million in less than a year, MPs told
Lifetime cost of military’s Cyclone choppers set to soar past $14B, government document reveals
Following Canada’s Indigenous coast guard team
How Demography Destroys (or Builds) Armies – Recruitment, Retention and Manpower (Editor – I wasn’t sure what section to put this one in. Food for thought for all nations in a 1:06:04 hr video)
William “Wild Bill” Atkinson – Canadian naval ace shoots down torpedo bombers
Millions of Lives Saved by a Canadian Navy Doctor (Editor – I always love finding a story about these exceptional people. Well done NAC-O member Roger Litwiller and his excellent website (research section worth a poke around) for keeping these stories alive)
Biskupski-Mujanovic: Military’s necessary change in culture should start with men (Editor – complex issue) Glossary on Sexual Misconduct
Lockheed Martin has built 1,000 F-35s (so let’s bust some myths) (Editor – for perspective, a 11:25 min video)
Four more Island-class ferries to be built in Romania
Is seabed mining an economic necessity or a hazard? and Canada’s position on seabed mining in areas beyond national jurisdiction
Lookout: Volume 69, Issue 2, January 15, 2024
NAC Naval Affairs Programme Briefing Note #42 Damage Control
(Editor – Please share to anyone you think may benefit from the knowledge, after all, that’s what our naval affairs programme is all about – educating Canadians)
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USA & AMERICAS
USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: Jan. 16, 2023
USS Gerald R. Ford Arrives Home From Maiden Deployment After 3 Extensions
US Military Most Powerful in 2024, India Beats UK: Global Ranking
HMS Trent diverted to Guyana as Venezuela renews border claim over oil-rich region
Lockheed to test Patriot and Aegis integration in live-fire test
57mm Guided Ammunition (Editor – useful piece of kit! 2:06 min video)
Brazil Commissions New Riachuelo-Class Submarine (Editor – SSN variant mentioned)
Navy tests ‘tactical’ employment of unmanned ships in months-long exercise
U.S. Navy Launches its First Purpose-Built Midsize USV
US Accepts 14th Spearhead Expeditionary Fast Transport Ship
Navy Recovers MH-60R Sea Hawk That Crashed Into San Diego Bay
SNA 2024: Adaptable Deck Launcher, MK 70 Missile Launcher, PAC-3 Missile and SPY-6 Radar (Editor – 14:53 min video)
SNA 2024: Raytheon Barracuda mine warfare system, Sparton undersea warfare solutions (Editor – 10:59 min video)
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INDO-PACIFIC
U.S., Japan and South Korea Drill in East China Sea
N Korea conducts ‘underwater nuclear weapons system’ test – state media
Thirty countries, including Russia, come to China to discuss cooperation in the Pacific details China hosts Western Pacific Naval Symposium Workshop 2024
Australia Rejects China Comments on Sonar Incident
First Australian sailors complete AUKUS nuclear power training
Study: China’s Research Vessels Carry Out Covert Missions for PLA
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EUROPE
Ukraine:
The Ukrainian Navy Blows Up As Much Russian Naval Tonnage As Russian Shipyards Manage To Build
The Black Sea & The Naval War in Ukraine – Drones, Grain, Blockades & the Bridge to Crimea (Editor – useful summary in 1:01:49 hr video)
Ukraine says it shot down 2 Russian command and control aircraft in a significant blow to Moscow
General:
NATO to hold biggest drills since Cold War with 90,000 troops (Editor – Exercise Steadfast Defender 2024)
Unbeatable! Royal Navy’s Super Destroyers in combat action (Editor – 8:03 min video)
UK: Royal Navy carrier strike group deployment to Red Sea halted due to staff shortages
Dire state of the UK Royal Navy’s frigate fleet laid bare
World’s largest modern cargo sailboat christened in France (Editor – Grain de Sail II)
Record Amount of Cocaine Smuggled Through Belgian Ports in 2023
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MIDDLE EAST
Red Sea:
Biden Pushed Operation Prosperity Guardian Despite Strong Objections and US to re-designate Houthis as terror group
Report to Congress on Houthi Attacks in the Red Sea (Editor – Cole’s Notes)
Indian Navy Rescues Crew from US-Owned Ship After Attack Off Yemen
Biden Strikes Deep Into Yemen To Protect Shipping with Ike’s Carrier Air Wing 3, USS Gravely, USS Philippine Sea and USS Mason Struck Houthi Targets (Editor – hard to keep the sequence in order) then Houthis Launch New Attacks in Gulf of Aden Hours After US-UK Strikes then Houthis Fire Anti-Ship Missile at USS Laboon tit-for-tat U.S. Launches Second Strike on Houthi Positions in Yemen and U.S. says it shot down anti-ship cruise missile from Houthi-controlled areas
Ships Warned to Avoid Red Sea After Airstrikes with Container Rates Soar on Concerns of Prolonged Red Sea Disruption and Oil Rises as Tankers Avoid the Red Sea and then more Shell joins BP and numerous shipping giants in putting all Red Sea shipments on ice as vessel attacks escalate
U.S.-owned cargo ship struck by missile off coast of Yemen
Germany To Take Part In EU Red Sea Naval Mission
Netherlands Navy likely to send frigate to Middle East to fight Houthis
Why Is Sri Lanka Joining US-led Patrols in the Red Sea? (Editor – a surprising joiner)
Suez Canal Transits Fall to Lowest Level Since Ever Given Grounding with LNG Carriers Divert From Red Sea as Qatar Warns of Escalation and Red Sea Insurance Soars After US Airstrike yet Despite Warnings, Plenty of Vessels Continue to Use Red Sea Route
General:
Gaza’s Human Crisis Demands a Rethink
Iran’s first VLS missile catamaran (Editor – sharp ship, I wonder if they know how to fight it? A 4:19 min video)
Iran Seized Tanker Located Off Iran’s Qeshm Island (Editor – in the Strait of Hormuz) Report: Crewmembers Aboard Iranian-Held Tanker Are Safe
Illegal Drugs Seized by CMF French-led Combined Task Force 150 in Arabian Sea
Task Force 59 Launches New Unmanned Task Group 59.1
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GLOBAL INTERESTS
When it comes to climate change, we should be paying more attention to our oceans
Two U.S. Navy Sailors Missing Off Coast of Somalia with Two Missing Navy SEALs Helped Interdict Ship Transporting Weapons to Houthis
IMB: Rise in Piracy, Successful Somali-Based Hijacking a Cause for Concern and IMB Piracy & Armed Robbery Map 2024
Navigating Efficient Seas: The Art of Optimal Speed Routing
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SCUTTLEBUTT
MILITARY SEALIFT COMMAND 2021 – What’s Going on With Shipping? Memorial Day Part 1 Edition (Editor – logistics, logistics, logistics, a good explanation in an older 40 min video)
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THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
21 January 1975 HMCS Assiniboine rescues eight crew members from a merchant ship foundering off Nova Scotia in a daring Sea King helicopter rescue.
22 January 1942 The Canadian Naval Board is established.
24 January 1932 HMC Ships Skeena and Vancouver land armed parties at Acajutla, El Salvador, to protect British subjects threatened in a revolution.
24 January 1946 HMCS Warrior, the RCN’s first aircraft carrier, is commissioned and Nos.803, 825, 826, and 883 Squadrons (already manned by Canadians) are transferred from the Royal Navy.
26 January 1955 Cabinet approves the entry of members of the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service as members of the RCN Regular Force.
SIGNIFICANT RCN DATES – If you see any omissions or errors please inform me, and any more modern significant dates are also welcomed. The list draws primarily from the Directory of History and Heritage’s comprehensive “Significant Dates in Canadian Military History”, the now defunct “Canada Channel”, “Legion Magazine”, The Naval Service of Canada, Its Official History Vol 1-3, NAC member Roger Litwiller’s excellent web site, encyclopedic guidance from NAC member Fraser McKee, the Uboat.net site, and anywhere else I can find credible information. For the merchant ship history, a special thanks to NAC member Bill Dziadyk for his able assistance and detailed work. The RCN lost 1,965 men and 24 ships during the War, most of them in the Atlantic. A comprehensive list of the staggering merchant losses – sunk, damaged, or lost – Canadian Merchant Ship Losses of the Second World War, 1939-1945 by Rob Fisher {Revised June 2001}, and for the loss of individual personnel RCN Ship Histories, Convoy Escort Movements, Casualty Lists 1939-1947)
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