Combined
CVN
Friday, March 24, 2023
Thursday, March 23, 2023
Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Friday, March 17, 2023
On Midrats 19 March 2023 - Episode 650: Keeping America's Dominance at Sea with Jerry Hendrix
Please join us at 5 pm EDT for Midrats Episode 650: Keeping America's Dominance at Sea with Jerry Hendrix
Except for those over a 85, no one alive has ever existed at a time when the US Navy was not the premier naval power - and no one alive at all has known a world where the US Navy was not the premier naval power in the Pacific.
Though on paper it could be challenged in the first third of the 20th Century by the Royal Navy, and was challenged in a very real way by the Imperial Japanese Navy in the Pacific in the early mid-century, after the 1930s no industrial power could hope to compete with the United States in production and warships ready to fight at sea in a major conflict.
During the Cold War, there were a couple of decades where the Soviet Union could put a fleet to sea to give the US Navy regional concern, but never really on an ocean wide scale.
As we approach the end of the first quarter of the 21st Century, a rising power is presenting a challenge in the Pacific the US Navy, and its political leaders, seem to have trouble accepting.
The People's Republic of China is clear that it wants the global power the USA presently has - including on the high seas.
Returning to Midrats to discuss his recent article in The Atlantic, "The Age of American Naval Dominance is Over" is Jerry Hendrix, PhD.
Jerry is a retired USN Captain, author, and a senior fellow with the Sagamore Institute, in Indianapolis. His most recent book is To Provide and Maintain a Navy (2020).
If you do miss the show live, you can pick up this episode and others and add Midrats to your podcast list simply by going to you use Apple Podcasts here. Or on Spreaker. Or on Spotify.
Monday, March 13, 2023
Sunday, March 12, 2023
On Midrats 12 March 2023 -Episode 649: Spring Forward Midrats Melee
As we ended last week's show with a whole list of topics we wanted to discuss, this Sunday we're going to pick up right where we left off with a Midrats Maritime Melee!
From submarines to Australia to the opening of mud season in Ukraine, we'll cover the latest - or at least the more interesting - topics in the national security arena.
If you do miss the show live, you can pick up this episode and others and add Midrats to your podcast list simply by going to you use Apple Podcasts here. Or on Spreaker. Or on Spotify.
"Sea Mine Warfare"
Korean War quote about Wonson: “The U.S. Navy has lost control of the seas in Korean waters to a nation without a Navy, using pre-World War I weapons, laid by vessels that were utilized at the time of the birth of Christ.”Rear Admiral Allen “Hoke” Smith.
What happens if a modern nation takes sea mines seriously?
See Chinese Mine Warfare: A PLA Navy 'Assassin's Mace' Capability(pdf) (2009):
.While photos of a first Chinese carrier will no doubt cause a stir, the Chinese navy has in recent times focused much attention upon a decidedly more mundane and nonphotogenic arena of naval warfare: sea mines. This focus has, in combination with other asymmetric forms of naval warfare, had a significant impact on the balance of power in East Asia.
People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) strategists contend that sea mines are “easy to lay and difficult to sweep; their concealment potential is strong; their destructive power is high; and the threat value is long-lasting.”3 Key objectives for a Chinese offensive mine strategy would be “blockading enemy bases, harbors and sea lanes; destroying enemy sea transport capabilities; attacking or restricting warship mobility; and crippling and exhausting enemy combat strength.”
While somewhat dated, the analysis holds true. Mines are easy to lay, hard to clear, and potential show stoppers.