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China’s new aircraft supercarrier challenges U.S. dominance in Pacific

The Fujian and its strike group represent a strategic game changer that will bring Beijing closer to its goal of eroding U.S. maritime primacy in its backyard.

China’s efforts to blunt American maritime power in the Pacific, a region the United States has long considered its domain, received a major boost this month with the official launch of its third — and most advanced by far — aircraft carrier, the Fujian.

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15 November 2025 0

Fighting From the MOC

MOC Intelligence Professionals Enable Decision Advantage for the High-End Fight

NIP Readbook, Fall/Winter 2025… by Lieutenant Bryan Smith, U.S. Navy

The Chief of Naval Operations’ “Fight from the Maritime Operations Center (MOC)” strategic priority represents a fundamental rethinking of how the Navy executes at the operational level of war. The MOC is no longer just a coordination hub—it must operate as the fleet commander’s primary warfighting platform. In a future “high end” fight, our adversaries will benefit from the significant recent investments they have made in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), as well as increasingly accurate long-range fires. Decisions made at the MOCs are integral to the U.S. Navy’s ability to conduct long-range fires while maneuvering to reduce unit vulnerability and proactively driving fleet replenishment to sustain combat operations.

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15 November 2025 0

The Navy’s “Red Crown”: Guardians of the Skies – The Role of PIRAZ Stations

Featured image: “The Spooks” of the USS Fox (DLG–33/CG-33) – Positive Identification Radar Advisory Zone, PIRAZ, Gulf of Tonkin, 1971. Special thanks to Bill Scholz for allowing his picture to be used on this post.

During the Vietnam War and other major conflicts, the U.S. Navy operated a select group of ships known as PIRAZ stations, short for Positive Identification Radar Advisory Zone. These vessels, often referred to by their radio callsign “Red Crown,” formed the backbone of radar coverage and command coordination for friendly aircraft in designated combat zones.

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12 November 2025 0

Pentagon revises cyber force generation model to increase lethality

The Department of Defense is revising its cyber force generation model to give U.S. Cyber Command more control over recruitment and training as the Pentagon works to counter China in the cyber domain.

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8 November 2025 0

U.S. Unveils Philippine Task Force to Deter Chinese Coercion

This post has been updated with a statement from U.S. Pacific Fleet.

American and Philippine defense secretaries unveiled a task force designed to deter Chinese coercion in the South China Sea and enhance alliance defense cooperation.

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3 November 2025 0

The U.S. Navy’s Big Ticonderoga-Class Mistake Still Stings

Key Points and Summary – The U.S. Navy’s ambitious Cruiser Modernization Program for its aging Ticonderoga-class ships was a high-profile failure.

-A damning GAO report revealed the Navy wasted $1.84 billion modernizing four cruisers that were ultimately divested before ever deploying.

-The program was plagued by soaring costs (over $500 million per ship), poor contractor performance, and the extreme technical difficulty of integrating modern systems onto 1980s-era hulls.

-The Navy ultimately concluded it was no longer cost-effective, canceling the program in favor of the new DDG(X) destroyer.

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29 October 2025 0