No. 307 November 2020

November 2020

Front cover

The assault carrier HMAS Adelaide leads a task group out of Sydney, headed for raining in the East Australian Exercise Area. See ‘Asia-Pac Carriers’ P24/27.

Photo by LSIS Jarrod Mulvihill/RAN

Contents

NEWS

 

US MARINE CORPS JETS

ABOARD UK CARRIER – P2/3

NAVIES – P4, P6, & P8
• Australian navy readies itself for BMD role.
• Turkey wants three assault carriers.
• Germany axes corvettes LIFEX for new ships.
• Ambitious JMSDF frigate build underway.
• Black Widow exercise off USA.
• UK triples size of carrier base in Oman.

DEFENCE INDUSTRY – P14/15
• Singapore submarine begins sea trials.
• UK Type 31 programme progress.
• New USN LCAC flies away.

BEIRUT BLAST WARSHIP REPAIRED – P16

FRENCH SPY SHIP IN THE BLACK SEA – P22

LIBYA-BOUND SHIP BOARDED & DIVERTED – P30

 

COMMENTARIES

ODIN’s EYE – P5
Boris Johnson’s review may be a ‘Terminator Trap’.

FOLLY TO CUT RN ASW FRIGATES – P33/35
UK must not cut anti-submarine warships.

 

FEATURES & ANALYSIS

CHINESE NAVY NOW WORLD’S BIGGEST – P9
Beijing’s maritime forces also aspire to be the most powerful.

UK DEPLOYS SEA BASE VESSELS – P10/11
Royal Navy’s Littoral Response Group in Med.

NATO SURGES WARSHIPS – P12/13
North and south, the Alliance is busy at sea.

FUTURE WARS: RUSSIA v. THE WEST – P18/21
How might naval combat in the Atlantic and the Med unfold in 2033? Part of a new series imagining how future conflicts could play out.

ASIA-PAC CARRIER RACE HOTS UP – P24/27
Several nations create fixed-wing flattops.

MYSTERY SSN SEAWOLF SURFACES – P28/29
A special kind of submarine visits Scotland.

USN SEEKING TO HIT HARDER – P31/32
The Americans want longer reach at sea.

END IN SIGHT FOR AMAZING AMAZONS – P36/37
After decades in service Pakistan pays off T21s.

FROM THE COLD WAR INTO THE FUTURE – P38
A bold museum proposal surfaces at Plymouth.

TWILIGHT OF THE BATTLEWAGONS – P39/42
The long finale of the battleship.

BRITAIN’S ‘FORGOTTEN ADMIRAL’ – P43/44
A look at the fighting life of Bruce Fraser.

OBITUARY – P45/46

BOOK REVIEWS – P47/48