What is a Corvette? And What Next?
With everyone talking about them, what IS a naval corvette? Chuck Hill discusses what they are, why they are important, and where they might go.| Center for International Maritime Security
By Phil Bozzelli and Paul Giarra The Duke of Wellington’s aphorism “The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton,” has been widely accepted as a validation of sports and their greater relevance to warfighting and victory. We take that statement at face value but go further. Using the renewed emphasis upon … Continue reading The Playing Fields: Sports and Warfighting Readiness→| Center for International Maritime Security
By Michael Hanson The world took note of the meteoric growth of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA), both in size and capability. Specifically, the PLA and PLAN’s amphibious capabilities development is impressive and alarming. According to many experts, the reason for this rapid development is the forceful reintegration of the island of Taiwan into the … Continue reading China’s Coming Small Wars→| Center for International Maritime Security
By Steve Brock and Hunter Stires With shipping and shipbuilding receiving high-level political and diplomatic attention across two administrations after decades of neglect, the United States has the chance to realize a much-needed maritime revival. Having initiated a change in course from the past forty years of stagnation, Washington should double down on its winning … Continue reading Maritime Statecraft and its Future→| Center for International Maritime Security
Articles Due: December 8, 2025 Week Dates: January 5-9, 2026 Story Length: 1,5000-3,000 Words Submit to: Content@cimsec.org By Dmitry Filipoff The U.S. Surface Warfare Officer community has operated on a generalist career path since 1899. SWOs are responsible for matters of both operational and material readiness, while the surface fleets of other navies, as well as … Continue reading Call for Articles: Should the U.S. Surface Warfare Community Specialize?→| Center for International Maritime Security
By Drake Long On April 29, a small seabed mining enterprise known as The Metals Company (TMC) formally submitted an application to NOAA to commence commercial-scale mining in an area of the ocean known as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. This followed an executive order issued by the White House explicitly ordering the expedition of seabed mining … Continue reading Strategic Minerals and the False Promise of Seabed Mining→| Center for International Maritime Security
By LCDR Jeffrey Bolstad (ASW/SUW WTI) and LT Matthew Bain (ASW/SUW WTI) In his recent CIMSEC article, “Reprioritize SWO Tactical Qualifications for the High-End Fight,” LT Seth Breen underscores a pressing challenge for the Surface Warfare Officer (SWO) community – achieving tactical proficiency commensurate with the demands of great power conflict. While his argument addresses … Continue reading Building Tactical Excellence: How SWCTC Supports LT Breen’s Call for Higher SWO Profici...| Center for International Maritime Security
By Dan Katz Ten years ago, the Chinese Communist Party, under the leadership of Xi Jinping, introduced two major policy initiatives: Made in China 2025 and military-civil fusion. Each represents an upgrade of existing policies aimed at boosting China’s economic and military strength, and now receives more attention and resources. Made in China 2025 aims … Continue reading Made In China 2025’s Impact on Chinese Shipbuilding→| Center for International Maritime Security
By Dmitry Filipoff For the past two weeks, CIMSEC featured short notes submitted to our Call for Notes to the New CNO. In this special series, authors conveyed their thoughts on what they believe are the most pressing issues for the U.S. Navy’s new top leader, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle. Authors wrote … Continue reading Notes to the New CNO Series Concludes on CIMSEC→| Center for International Maritime Security
Notes to the New CNO Series By Jacob Wiencek The U.S. Navy faces multiple, simultaneous pressures that necessitate equal levels of attention. We face legendary shipyard pressures with critical projects far behind schedule. While much physical and digital ink will continue to be spilled on these issues, and deservedly, there are three additional areas that … Continue reading Three Focus Areas for the New CNO→| Center for International Maritime Security
Notes to the New CNO Series By Roshan Kulatunga Subtle intellect remains the most essential trait for individuals steering maritime power. Yet the acquisition of maritime wisdom is not an overnight endeavor, it is cultivated through sustained engagement with centuries of thought, strategic practice, and the lived experiences of sailors, commanders, and statesmen. Renowned military … Continue reading Navigate the Future Through Maritime Wisdom→| Center for International Maritime Security
Notes to the New CNO Series By Nicholas A. Kristof In his remarks at his assumption of office ceremony, Admiral Caudle stated that, “Great power competition is sharpening, threats and capabilities are proliferating, technological disruption is accelerating, the maritime domain is increasingly contested and the margin for error is shrinking. To prevail in this environment, we … Continue reading Technical Interoperability in Contested Environments is a Must→| Center for International Maritime Security
Notes to the New CNO Series By Jason Lancaster Despite U.S. and allied development aid contributions dwarfing PRC contributions in the South Pacific, the PRC has made significant regional gains in influence. PRC competition means the region can no longer be treated as a geostrategic backwater. Its 14 countries are small but their economic exclusion … Continue reading Rugby and Rivalry: Use Sports Diplomacy to Counter China in the South Pacific→| Center for International Maritime Security
Notes to the New CNO Series By James Kraska The U.S. Navy must rebuild its capacity to shape and influence international maritime law. Since the first Code of Naval Warfare was published at the U.S. Naval War College in 1900 through the negotiations of the Law of the Sea Convention in the 1970s, the U.S. … Continue reading Conduct Legal Preparation of the Battlespace→| Center for International Maritime Security
Notes to the New CNO Series By Steven Bancroft and Benjamin Van Horrick The Amphibious Ready Group/Marine Expeditionary Unit (ARG/MEU) team serves as the cornerstone of America’s forward-deployed, rapid-response capability. The MEU’s ability to blend land, air, and sea power to project maritime force and respond to global crises gives the joint force an exquisite … Continue reading The Imperative for Integrated Maritime Operations→| Center for International Maritime Security
Notes to the New CNO Series By Shelley Gallup and Ben DiDonato In past wars, small and well-armed ships have been a necessary complement to the large, multipurpose ships that dominate today’s U.S. Navy. China understands this and utilizes a full range of maritime capabilities to outmaneuver us. These ships can easily overwhelm the navies … Continue reading Start Building Small Warships→| Center for International Maritime Security
Notes to the New CNO Series By Captain Renato Scarfi, (Italian Navy, Ret.) and Captain Gian Carlo Poddighe (Italian Navy, Ret.) Today, the new global order imposes a different vision of alliances. On the Western side, we are experiencing a temporary crisis of the values of transatlantic ties due to the political winds swaying, typical … Continue reading The Indian Ocean: An Opportunity to Strengthen Alliances and Deter China→| Center for International Maritime Security
Notes to the New CNO Series By Paul Nickell The new CNO’s vision to place the Sailor at the center of the Foundry, the Fleet, and the Way We Fight provides a powerful focus for the U.S. Navy. The enduring question is how we build the intellectual foundation to connect these pillars. While our service … Continue reading To Win the Fight, We Must First Win the Mind: Create NDP-1.1 Naval Warfighting→| Center for International Maritime Security
Notes to the New CNO Series By Richard Mosier Since the fielding of the Harpoon missile in the 1970s and the original Tomahawk Anti-ship Missile (TASM) in 1982, maritime over-the-horizon targeting has been an insufficient and largely unresolved ISR capability requirement for the U.S. Navy. The Navy has had limited long-range sensors for detection and … Continue reading Expand the Navy’s Over-the Horizon Targeting Solutions→| Center for International Maritime Security
Notes to the New CNO Series By Nicholas Weising Admiral Daryl Caudle’s tenure as CNO began on August 25th, 2025, meaning his four-year term includes the end of the Davidson window in 2027, when China will have reached its milestone of developing sufficient defense capability to forcefully annex Taiwan. The key to China succeeding is … Continue reading Anchor Acquisition and Force Development on Targeting China’s C4ISR→| Center for International Maritime Security
Notes to the New CNO Series By Craig Koerner The U.S. model of delivering firepower continues to predominantly take the form of short-range weapons delivered from smart and expensive tactical platforms, defined as platforms which primarily use organic sensors to find and engage targets. These are quickly becoming obsolete in modern warfare given the rise … Continue reading A Navy for War in the Age of Intelligent Missiles→| Center for International Maritime Security
With everyone talking about them, what IS a naval corvette? Chuck Hill discusses what they are, why they are important, and where they might go.| Center for International Maritime Security
Notes to the New CNO Series By Andrew Pfau and Bridger Smith Shore-based team trainers – attack centers – are critical for submarine crews preparing for deployment to exercise the full range of tactical skills in a challenging training environment. These trainers focus on modeling complex ocean environments, sensors, and warships, resulting in a high-cost … Continue reading The Submarine Force Needs More Flexible Training Tools→| Center for International Maritime Security
Notes to the New CNO Series By Ryan Walker It came as a great surprise to me that, despite disliking being a submariner in a shipyard, I quite enjoyed working as a test engineer/technician at Electric Boat. Shipyards have defined my adult life, and despite my current career forcing me to move away from them, … Continue reading Revisiting A Modest Proposal for Improving Shipyard Production and Repair Capacity→| Center for International Maritime Security
Notes to the New CNO Series By Dmitry Filipoff “After their examination, the recruits should then receive the military mark, and be taught the use of their arms by constant and daily exercise. But this essential custom has been abolished by the relaxation introduced by a long peace. We cannot now expect to find a … Continue reading Fix the Navy’s Flawed System of Warfighting Development→| Center for International Maritime Security
Notes to the New CNO Series By CDR Paul Viscovich, USN (Ret.) Which part of a spear makes it lethal? The shaft. Without its alignment of all vectors behind the tip, a spear is no more deadly than a stone. Likewise, unless the Foundry and Fleet behave like a shaft, focusing all their energy toward … Continue reading What Unifies the Foundry, Fleet, and Fighting Triad? Warfighting Focus→| Center for International Maritime Security
Notes to the New CNO Series By John Cordle A common saying in safety organizations is to consider the “half-life of scared” as a measure of the decay of institutional urgency after an accident. In 2017 the U.S. Navy lost 17 sailors in two tragic collisions that prompted an assessment of how the Navy looked … Continue reading We are at Risk of Forgetting the Lessons of the 2017 Collisions→| Center for International Maritime Security
Notes to the New CNO Series By Vince Vanterpool In support of developing a new Navy Deterrence Concept, the U.S. Navy needs to develop and train to new tactics and techniques in how to operate just below the threshold of armed conflict. The PRC and PLAN are very comfortable in this realm under the doctrine … Continue reading Train to Win Below the Threshold of War→| Center for International Maritime Security
Notes to the New CNO Series By Alan Brechbill Admiral Caudle’s first message to the fleet outlined three priorities: the Foundry; the Fleet and the way we Fight. These priorities cannot be realized without acknowledging the simple fact that the next war at sea will be decided first in space. Ships and Sailors operating inside … Continue reading Sink the Kill Chain: A Navy Space Guide to Protecting Ships and Sailors→| Center for International Maritime Security
Notes to the New CNO Series By Michael Posey To maintain maritime superiority in this era of trans-regional, multi-domain warfare, the Navy must accelerate human-machine teaming within Maritime Operations Centers (MOCs). Our adversaries, including our pacing challenge, China, invest heavily in adopting AI technology, a consequential technology for command and control. MOCs serve as the … Continue reading Accelerate Human-Machine Teaming in the Maritime Operations Center→| Center for International Maritime Security
Notes to the New CNO Series By Peter Dombrowski With Admiral Caudle assuming the post of Chief of Naval Operations, the Navy has a timely opportunity to realign its strategic narrative with its emerging operational reality, especially in the Indo-Pacific. After years of experimentation with distributed maritime operations, integration of unmanned systems, and renewed industrial … Continue reading Change the Navy’s Narrative: The Future Fight and the Hybrid Fleet→| Center for International Maritime Security
Notes to the New CNO Series By Chris Rielage Navy thinkers have already laid the intellectual groundwork for aggressive change. Senior leaders now need to follow through with equally radical actions. It has been just under two years since the last Call for Notes to the New CNO, written for Admiral Lisa Franchetti – and … Continue reading Sir, Be Radical→| Center for International Maritime Security
By Dmitry Filipoff For the next two weeks, CIMSEC will be featuring short notes submitted to our Call for Notes to the New CNO. In this special series, authors convey their thoughts on what they believe are the most pressing issues for the U.S. Navy’s new top leader, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle. … Continue reading Notes to the New CNO Series Kicks Off on CIMSEC→| Center for International Maritime Security
By Brian Kerg Commander William Spears, U.S. Navy, joins the program to discuss his article, “What Moral Leadership Looks Like,” which examines the philosophical approach of Admiral Stockdale during his time as a POW in North Vietnam. Commander William C. Spears is a submarine warfare officer in the U.S. Navy and the author of Stoicism as … Continue reading Sea Control 586: What Moral Leadership Looks Like with William Spears→| Center for International Maritime Security
Stories Due: November 10, 2025 Week Dates: December 1-5, 2025 Story Length: 1,5000-3,000 Words Submit to: Content@cimsec.org By Dmitry Filipoff In annual tradition, CIMSEC will be running a series of short stories looking to explore the nature of conflict and competition through fiction. Fiction has long served as a powerful means for exploring hypotheticals and envisioning … Continue reading Call for Articles: Short Story Fiction→| Center for International Maritime Security
By Dmitry Filipoff Submissions Due: September 12, 2025 Week Dates: September 22-26, 2025 Submission Length: 500 words Submit to: Content@cimsec.org In 500 words or less, what do you want the new Chief of Naval Operations to know? CIMSEC is launching a special series featuring short articles that look to convey pressing points to the U.S. Navy’s … Continue reading Call for Notes to the New CNO→| Center for International Maritime Security
By Benjamin Massengale Introduction Much has been written over the last two decades about how cost-effective naval mine warfare can be for the U.S. Navy in great power war. Mines have demonstrated their utility in the Ukraine conflict by both deterring Russia from executing amphibious landings and interfering with Ukrainian grain exports. China has repeatedly … Continue reading It is Time for Naval Mines to Enter the Missile Age→| Center for International Maritime Security
By Jason Lancaster Guadalcanal, the Coral Sea, Tarawa, New Guinea, and Iron Bottom Sound highlight the strategic location of the South Pacific during the Second World War. Today, U.S. and allied preeminence in this vital region is under threat. The People’s Republic of China (PRC,) through a sophisticated blend of economic inducements, political influence, and … Continue reading Countering the People’s Republic of China’s Maritime Insurgency in the South Pacific→| Center for International Maritime Security
By Marcus Jones In March 2025 testimony before the House Armed Services Committee’s Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, Ronald O’Rourke, naval analyst for the Congressional Research Service since 1984, sharpened an excellent recommendation he has raised over more than a decade: the U.S. Navy should establish a dedicated institutional mechanism for systematically capturing, analyzing, and … Continue reading Design, Decide, Forget: Why the Navy Needs a Lessons-Learned Center for ...| Center for International Maritime Security
By Jonathan Selling Retired USN Commander Chuck Ridgway joins the podcast to discuss his article “What Imperial Germany Teaches About China’s Naval Basing Ambitions,” which appeared in the May issue of Proceedings. Commander Ridgway is a retired U.S. Navy surface warfare and a reserve Africa foreign area officer. After leaving active duty, he worked for … Continue reading Sea Control 585: Imperial Germany and China’s Basing Ambitions with Chuck Ridgway→| Center for International Maritime Security
By Claude Berube Proposals Due: September 22, 2025 Virtual Event Date: December 6, 2025 Presentation Length: 15 minutes Submit to: Content@cimsec.org Navies have had a major influence on science fiction for decades. From the fleets of Star Trek and Star Wars, to the warships of Battlestar Galactica and The Expanse, naval power has often been used … Continue reading Call for NavyCon 2025 Presentations: The Influence of Navies on Science Fiction, NASA, and Space→| Center for International Maritime Security
By Bill Bray In July 1944, at the height of the greatest naval war in human history and arguably the U.S. Navy’s finest hour, a Secretary of the Navy “Board to Study the Methods of Educating Naval Officers” concluded that the process to award appointments to the U.S. Naval Academy was failing to produce “the … Continue reading U.S. Naval Academy Admissions and the Meritocracy Ideal→| Center for International Maritime Security
By Seth Breen As the U.S. Navy pivots toward preparing for high-end maritime conflict, the SWO community must ask itself a difficult question – Are we allocating our limited time to develop the warfighters we need, or are we clinging to legacy requirements that no longer align with the modern threat environment? Train for the … Continue reading Reprioritize SWO Tactical Qualifications for the High-End Fight→| Center for International Maritime Security
By Jim Halsell The Taiwan Strait remains one of the most volatile flashpoints in the world. With the People’s Republic of China (PRC) accelerating its coercive behavior aimed at “reunifying” Taiwan with the mainland, the United States must adopt a clearer, more deliberate strategy to bolster deterrence and reassure regional partners. One measure that should … Continue reading It’s Time to Invite Taiwan to RIMPAC→| Center for International Maritime Security
By Dick Mosier The US military is expanding its inventory of long-range maritime strike missiles such as the Precision Strike Missile (PrSM), Maritime Strike Tomahawk (MST), Standard Missile 6 (SM-6), Long-Range Anti-ship Missile (LRASM), and Naval Strike Missile (NSM). These capable weapons all have ranges well beyond the effective range of the sensor systems organic … Continue reading A System of Systems Analysis is Needed for Maritime Strike→| Center for International Maritime Security
By Tyler Hacker The following article is adapted from a new report by Tyler Hacker at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CSBA), Arsenal of Democracy: Myth or Model? Lessons for 21st-Century Industrial Mobilization Planning. As conflicts from Europe to the Middle East draw on U.S. munition stocks, many of which are already insufficient … Continue reading Arsenal of Democracy: Myth or Model? Lessons for 21st-Century Industrial Mobilization Planning→| Center for International Maritime Security
By Capt. John Cordle, USN (ret.) and Capt. Holman Agard, USN There are times when “the way things are” are no longer acceptable. Radical change, with incremental and careful execution, is urgently needed within the US Navy’s Surface Ship Repair Maintenance enterprise to rectify the shortcomings of two decades of well-intentioned initiatives that rendered a … Continue reading Bringing Command and Accountability Back to Surface Fleet Maintenance→| Center for International Maritime Security
By Brian Kerg Major Chris Denzel of the United States Marine Corps and Mr. Sebastian Bae of the Center for Naval Analyses to discuss their experience supporting wargaming in the Pacific, specifically in support of bilateral wargames involving the U.S. and Japan. Chris Denzel is an intelligence officer and operational planner. He is currently serving … Continue reading Sea Control 584: Wargaming in the Pacific with Chris Denzel and Sebastian Bae→| Center for International Maritime Security
By Jonathan Selling Professor Ronald Po joins Jonathan to discuss his new book, Shaping the Blue Dragon: Maritime China in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which covers the maritime policies of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Download Sea Control 583: Shaping the Blue Dragon with Ronald Po Links 1. Dr Ronald C. Po profile. 2. Shaping … Continue reading Sea Control 583: Shaping the Blue Dragon with Ronald Po→| Center for International Maritime Security
By William C. Spears It has been twenty years since the passing of Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale, a celebrated American leader and moralist whose heroic example continues to inspire new generations. Stockdale’s story is commonly regarded at a surface level, reduced to that told in his citation for the Congressional Medal of Honor. The simplified … Continue reading What Moral Leadership Looks Like→| Center for International Maritime Security
By J. Overton Daniel Banks joins the show to talk about this writing and research into the logistics networks with host J. Overton. Banks focuses on the maritime and naval networks that helped Guiseppe Garibaldi succeed in the reunification of Italy in 1860. Daniel Banks is a postdoctoral fellow in Global History and Governance at … Continue reading Sea Control 582: Guns, Ships and Money→| Center for International Maritime Security
By Brian Kerg Captains Brendan Costello and Tyler Muniz of the United States Marine Corps join Brian to discuss their article “The Marine Littoral Regiment’s Missing Link” published in the Marine Corps Gazette. Download Sea Control 518 Notes Brendan Costello and Tyler Muniz, “The Marine Littoral Regiment’s Missing Link,” Marine Corps Gazette (15 August, 2024) … Continue reading Sea Control 581: The MLR’s Missing Link→| Center for International Maritime Security
By Brian Kerg Majors Aaron Barlow, Sean Harper and Captain Patrick Reilly join Brian on the podcast to discuss their article for CIMSEC “Building Resilient Kill Chains for the Stand in Force.” Download Sea Control 580: Building Resilient Kill Chains Links 1. Aaron Barlow, Patrick Reilly, and Sean Harper, “Building Resilient Kill Chains for the … Continue reading Sea Control 580: Building Resilient Kill Chains→| Center for International Maritime Security
by Ju Hyung Kim When people think about the U.S.-ROK alliance, they often envision the Korean Peninsula: joint ground drills, combined air exercises, and the perennial challenge of deterring a North Korean invasion. But the next chapter of this alliance is unfolding at sea. With the U.S. Navy stretched across multiple theaters—from the Mediterranean to … Continue reading Why the U.S. Should Support South Korea’s Naval Expansion→| Center for International Maritime Security
By Brian Kerg Major Ben Van Horrick and LtCol Scott ‘Chuck’ Blyleven of the United States Marine Corps join the program to discuss the article, “Partnering Will Determine the First Days of Conflict in the Western Pacific.” Download Sea Control 579: Partnering for Conflict in the Western Pacific Links 1. “Partnering Will Determine the First … Continue reading Sea Control 579: Partnering for Conflict in the Western Pacific→| Center for International Maritime Security
By Ryan D. Martinson While much of the international attention on China’s naval buildup is focused on its rapidly modernizing surface fleet, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is also taking bold steps to field a first-rate submarine force. By the end of this year, the service could have as many as 25 Yuan-class submarines, … Continue reading Exposed Undersea: PLA Navy Officer Reflections on China’s Not-So-Silent Service→| Center for International Maritime Security
By Brian Kerg Naval War College Professor of Strategy Andrew Erickson joins the program to talk about his recent book, Chinese Amphibious Warfare, the most current and authoritative assessment of PLA amphibious capabilities. Dr. Andrew S. Erickson is Professor of Strategy (tenured full professor) in the U.S. Naval War College (NWC)’s China Maritime Studies Institute (CMSI). … Continue reading Sea Control 578: Chinese Amphibious Warfare with Andrew Erickson→| Center for International Maritime Security
By Dmitry Filipoff From June 16-20, CIMSEC featured a series of articles written for the African Maritime Forces Summit (AMFS) 2025. The summit, hosted in Mauritius from June 23-26, addresses African regional maritime security through the lens of the Western Indian Ocean. AMFS seeks to enhance regional maritime security by convening key maritime leaders to … Continue reading African Maritime Forces Week Concludes on CIMSEC→| Center for International Maritime Security
African Maritime Forces Week By Pascaline Alexandre, Africa Center for Competitive Intelligence (ACCI) Introduction In recent years, maritime security in the Western Indian Ocean1 (WIO) has risen to the forefront of global priorities, driven by the rapid expansion of international trade and the strategic importance of the world’s oceans. As shipping lanes grow busier, the … Continue reading From Fragmentation to Framework: The Evolution of Regional Maritime Governance in the Western Ind...| Center for International Maritime Security
African Maritime Forces Week By Mr. Timothy Walker, Institute for Security Studies, South Africa Introduction Developing robust regional maritime security mechanisms in Southern Africa necessitates greater emphasis on the Southern African Development Community’s (SADC) strategic oversight and operational capacity. This paper briefly charts SADC’s maritime security strategy and architecture, spotlighting relevant geographic features, institutions, and … Continue reading Rebuilding SADC...| Center for International Maritime Security
African Maritime Forces Week By Raj Mohabeer, IOC and Kiruja Micheni, Djibouti Code of Conduct/Jeddah Amendment, International Maritime Organization Introduction The Western Indian Ocean (WIO) and Red Sea region features a diverse and evolving array of maritime security architectures and initiatives. From international treaties to strategic partnerships and operational centres, these frameworks aim to counter … Continue reading Developing Robust Regional Maritime Security Mechanisms for the...| Center for International Maritime Security
African Maritime Forces Week By Dr. Abhishek Mishra, Associate Fellow, Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses (MP-IDSA), New Delhi Maritime security in an African context is increasingly assuming prominence within the wider African security agenda.1 Despite the continent being surrounded by water on all sides, “the process of developing an agenda for maritime … Continue reading India’s Evolving Role in Supporting African Maritime Security Architecture→| Center for International Maritime Security
