Welcome to the CavasShips Podcast with Christopher P. Cavas and Chris Servello…a weekly podcast looking at naval and maritime events and issues of the day – in the US, across the seas and around the world. This week…we’ve been on the road – to the Navy League’s three-day Sea-Air-Space symposium just outside Washington DC, and to Norfolk. We’ll dive into what we saw and heard and also review some of the week’s other naval developments.
Please send us feedback by DM’ing @CavasShips or @CSSProvision or you can email chriscavas@gmail.com or cservello@defaeroreport.com.
This Week’s Naval Round Up:
China continued major sea and air activity all around the independent island country of Taiwan, peaking between April 8th and 10th with what China called Joint Sword security patrol exercises. Multiple ships and aircraft supported by land-based missiles took part, including the SHANDONG, one of China’s two operational aircraft carriers. The Chinese forces were closely watched by Taiwanese forces, with one Chinese video showing a Taiwanese frigate only about a mile from the Chinese ship. The video ended with a statement, “The complete reunification of our country will be and can be realized.”
The US destroyer MILIUS carried out a freedom of navigation, or FONOPS, passage April 10 in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, passing within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef. China, as usual protested the transit, which was similar to another FONOPS by the MILIUS on March 24 near the Paracel Islands.
The British nuclear-powered attack submarine HMS AUDACIOUS returned to His Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde in Faslane, Scotland around April 7 after a 363-day NATO deployment centered on the Mediterranean Sea. It was the longest cruise to date by an Astute-class submarine.
The Royal Thai Navy took delivery of its first Chinese-built Type 071ET landing transport dock, named CHANG, on April 12 at the Hudong-Zhonghua shipyard near Shanghai. The 25,000-ton ship is similar in form, size and function to the US Navy’s San Antonio-class LPDs. Eight similar ships are in service with China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy, or PLAN. The head of the Thai Navy said at the delivery ceremony the CHANG would also be used to support Thailand’s first submarine, also under construction in China.
A US Navy preliminary investigation found multiple errors made by both ships in an incident last November when the amphibious ship HARPERS FERRY and destroyer MOMSEN were maneuvering in San Diego Bay and were confused as to each other’s intentions, causing both ships to stop. While finding fault, the report from the commander of Naval Surface Forces also praised two HARPERS FERRY junior officers who, in the midst of confusion, gave decisive orders that avoided a collision. In addition to being visible to thousands of people around San Diego Bay, the November 29 incident was caught on video by the local San Diego Web Cam as seen from its camera atop the Cabrillo National Monument on Point Loma. On April 12, San Diego Web Cam announced its camera atop Cabrillo was ordered to be taken down, apparently – as our media colleague Sam Lagrone of USNI News reported – as a result of Naval Criminal Investigative Service concerns about force protection, although the cameras do not show restricted areas not otherwise widely visible to the public.
The aircraft carrier GEORGE H W BUSH, cruiser LEYTE GULF and destroyer DELBERT D BLACK passed westbound through the Strait of Gibraltar April 12 after operating in the Mediterranean Sea since late last August. BUSH, with Carrier Air Wing 7 embarked, is headed for Norfolk, Virginia to conclude its deployment. USS GERALD R FORD is slated to deploy in a few weeks to take up station in the Mediterranean – the ship’s first full, combat-ready deployment.
In new ship news, Turkey on April 10 commissioned its new assault ship ANADOLU in a ceremony at the Sedef Shipyard in Istanbul where it was built. Based on a design from the Spanish firm Navantia, ANADOLU is the largest warship ever built in Turkey, with a full-load displacement of over 27,400 tons and length of 758 feet. Originally intended to operate US-built F-35B Joint Strike Fighters, that plan was scuttled when Turkey was booted from the JSF program after buying a Russian missile system. The ship now will primarily operate unmanned jet aircraft made in Turkey by Baykar.
Also in new ship news, Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine will christen and launch the littoral combat ship CLEVELAND LCS 31 April 15 in Marinette, Wisconsin. The event marks the launch of the last Freedom-class LCS and the last sideways launch at the shipyard, which has long featured spectacular launches where a ship is almost tossed into the waterway, a necessity that — while hard on the hull — is required where there’s simply not much room for a more traditional launch. After the CLEVELAND’s launch, Fincantieri will immediately begin construction of a new ship lift, capable of lowering a vessel into the water with virtually no structural stresses. The system will first be used for the first of four Multimission Combat Ships Lockheed Martin is building for Saudi Arabia, and will be used for all Constellation-class frigates built for the US Navy in Marinette.
