All posts by Dmitry Filipoff

Warfighting Flotilla

Flotilla SITREP: Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, First F-35C Deployment and Marine Littoral Regiment

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By Dmitry Filipoff

This month the CIMSEC Warfighting Flotilla will be discussing current events, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict, as well as the latest developments in naval force development.

Down below is a look at the invites for our upcoming March discussions. We will be holding sessions on the Russia-Ukraine war, the Navy’s first F-35C deployment, and the standup of the first Marine Littoral Regiment. If you haven’t already, sign up through the form below to become a Flotilla member and receive the invites to our upcoming off-the-record March sessions.

Last month the CIMSEC Warfighting Flotilla held sessions focused on the naval dimensions of the Russia-Ukraine crisis, Navy cyber effectiveness, and balancing short-term demands with overall combat readiness. These forthright conversations addressed critical opportunities and shortfalls, and helped connect like-minded individuals focused on advancing naval force development and warfighting readiness.

Feel free to visit the Flotilla homepage to learn more about this community, its activities, and what drives it.

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Russia-Ukraine War

Major conflict has broken out between Russia and Ukraine. Russia is receiving broad international condemnation and punishment while embattled Ukraine is earning widespread support. How may this conflict play out over the coming weeks and months? How could NATO respond and reinforce itself? Join us to discuss the many dimensions of this new major European conflict.

Read Ahead: Michael Kofman thread on Russian military effectiveness so far.
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Navy’s First F-35C Deployment

The Navy just completed its first ever deployment of the F-35C onboard the USS Carl Vinson. With this new aircraft comes an opportunity to reform the carrier air wing, including with respect to tactics, composition, and concepts of operation. How can the Navy make the most of the F-35C and adapt the air wing of the future to field this new platform? What challenges may the Navy face in transitioning much of naval aviation to the F-35? Join us to discuss these questions and more as we consider the Navy’s fielding of this fifth-generation aircraft.

Read Aheads: “Three takeaways from the US Navy’s first F-35C deployment,” by Megan Eckstein

“What it is Like to Fly an F-35: Interviews with Three F-35 Pilots,” by Kris Osborn
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Standing Up the First Marine Littoral Regiment

The Marine Corps is ushering in a wave of reform to make itself more capable in great power competition. Among these reforms is a new formation — the Marine Littoral Regiment. MLRs will be a centerpiece of the new EABO and DMO warfighting concepts, and are intended to employ a variety of novel capabilities and tactics. How could the Marines make full use of the MLRs and fully implement the new formation? What challenges must be managed in transforming Marine units into these new littoral regiments? Join us to discuss these questions and more as we consider the implementation of Marine Littoral Regiments.

Read Ahead: “Standup of Marine littoral regiment will usher new gear into Pacific theater,” by Megan Eckstein
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Completed February Sessions

Russia’s Black Sea Fleet and The Role of Naval Power in the Russia-Ukraine Crisis

The Russia-Ukraine crisis is brewing with more than 100,000 Russian troops alongside Ukraine’s borders and 140 Russian Navy vessels engaged in exercises. In the event of a significant Russian incursion, how could Russia’s Black Sea Fleet be brought to bear? What operations could be conducted and toward what objectives? Join us to discuss these questions and more as we contemplate the naval dimensions of this major crisis.

Read Ahead: “How Russia’s Black Sea Fleet Could Change the Equation in Ukraine,” by Dr Sidharth Kaushal and Sam Cranny-Evans
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Navy Cryptologic and Cyber Warfare Effectiveness

Cyber warfare has long been heralded by Navy and DoD leaders as a critical force multiplier and major arena of competition. But is the Navy well-structured to seize the opportunity of cyber, or effectively defend itself from threats emanating from this domain? To what extent does the Navy’s cryptologic and cyber communities have the resident expertise, training, and integration to be effective? Join us to discuss these questions and more as we consider the Navy’s cyber effectiveness.

Read Ahead: “Navy Cryptologic Warfare Officers Cannot Do Cyber,” by LCDR Derek Bernsen, USNR
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Going from Short Term “Can-Do” to “Combat Ready”

The Navy has long operated under a “can-do” logic that sought to maximize the availability of the fleet for operational tasking. But after operating under such logic for decades, many fundamentals of combat readiness have atrophied. How can the Navy restore more balance to the relationship between its availability and readiness? What practices have been corroded by can-do culture, and what opportunities could be seized with a culture change? Join us to discuss these questions and more as we consider the effects of “can-do” culture on the Navy’s combat readiness.

Read Ahead: “Change Can-do to Combat Ready,” by LCDR Aaron Marchant, USN
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Dmitry Filipoff is CIMSEC’s Director of Online Content and Community Manager of the Warfighting Flotilla. Contact him at Content@cimsec.org.

Call for Articles

Updated Call for Articles: Russia-Ukraine War

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Submissions Due: April 4, 2022
Topic Week Dates: April 11-15, 2022
Article Length: 1,000-3,000 words
Submit to: Content@cimsec.org

By Dmitry Filipoff

A month ago CIMSEC launched a call for articles on Russian naval power and maritime strategy as interest surged in tandem with the worsening Russia-Ukraine crisis. We are updating the call for articles with a new deadline and broader scope now that the crisis has broken out into full-scale war.

In addition to the naval and maritime themes of the earlier call for articles, authors are invited to look at the broader dimensions of this raging conflict. How may NATO react and adapt to this Russian aggression? How may the security architecture of Europe and the world be affected by this conflict? How are Russian and Ukrainian forces performing in combat, and what warfighting lessons deserve broader appreciation? Authors are invited to consider these questions and more as we make sense of this major conflict.

Clearly the situation remains fluid and reliable information can be difficult to find. Nonetheless, we will organize submissions into a thematic topic week to provide context and analysis, whatever the state of the conflict at the time. CIMSEC always welcomes submissions on topics of defense and foreign policy, naval affairs, and maritime security regardless of fluid developments or any deadline. Please feel free to send your ideas, articles, and thoughts to Content@cimsec.org at any time. 

Dmitry Filipoff is CIMSEC’s Director of Online Content. Contact him at Content@cimsec.org.

Featured Image: Russian Tunguska air-defense platform. (Photo via Twitter)

Announcements, Wargaming

Announcing The CIMSEC Naval Wargaming Community Server — Demonstration on February 18

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By Dmitry Filipoff

Today CIMSEC is launching a new platform dedicated to naval wargaming — our very own CIMSEC Wargaming Discord server. On this public server, members of the CIMSEC community will gather to play and spectate wargames focused on naval operations and tactics, among other varieties. Through wargaming we can flex our tactical thinking, debate force structure and operating concepts, and generally have a good time with our navalist friends and colleagues.

Join our public CIMSEC Wargaming Discord here.

This community can play all kinds of wargames available today. But for our initial organized activities, we will be mainly focusing on a hotly anticipated and newly released naval wargaming title — Nebulous Fleet Command. Among available naval wargames, Nebulous strongly stands out. Whether in terms of missile salvo combat and sensor mechanics, or force structure and fleet customization, Nebulous is an especially engaging and highly refined naval combat wargame.

For our first gathering on Friday, February 18 from 730-8pm (Eastern Time), join me on our Discord server to watch a live demonstration of Nebulous Fleet Command. (Owning the game is not necessary to spectate.) Feel free to stick around for further fun and exploration. Check out our server channels for Nebulous gameplay guides, development progress updates, and media of in-game content. Enjoy some Nebulous clips below of fleet customization and high-intensity naval combat.

The heavy cruiser USS Nimitz defends against an anti-ship missile salvo.

In the face of heavy jamming, a naval formation uses illuminators to target and fire an anti-ship missile salvo.

Customizing the heavy cruiser USS Nimitz in the fleet editor, and swapping between heavy cannons, railguns, and vertical launch systems, followed by anti-ship missile variants.

Soon we will announce the timing of our regular community fight nights, and some competitive wargaming tournaments may even be in the offing. Join our public wargaming server today and stay tuned for more updates.

Dmitry Filipoff is CIMSEC’s Director of Online Content. Contact him at Content@cimsec.org.

Featured Image: Screenshot of Nebulous Fleet Command by Dmitry Filipoff

Call for Articles

Call for Articles: Russian Naval Power and Maritime Strategy

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The terms of this call for articles have been updated. Read the new call for articles here.

Submissions Due: March 4, 2022
Topic Week Dates: March 14-18, 2022
Article Length: 1,000-3,000 words
Submit to: Content@cimsec.org

By Dmitry Filipoff

The current Russia-Ukraine crisis has cast a shadow over Europe as more than 100,000 Russian troops border Ukraine and 140 Russian Navy vessels exercise at sea. Russian naval power, especially forces in the Black Sea, could feature significantly in a major contingency involving Ukraine.

The preservation of Russian naval power featured prominently in the modern origins of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. As the homeport of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol came at risk of being under the control of a western-aligned Ukraine, Russia seized control of the Crimean peninsula in part to preserve its naval power. Now these same forces may be brought to bear against Ukraine in a new European conflict.

What is the state of Russia’s naval power today, and how could its naval forces be brought to bear against Ukraine? Or in an even more dire scenario, against NATO? How are Russian naval capabilities evolving, such as in the undersea domain and with respect to hypersonics? What is Russia’s maritime strategy and how are its maritime interests evolving?

Authors are invited to answer these questions and more as we consider the roles and evolution of Russian naval power and maritime strategy. Send all submissions to Content@cimsec.org. 

Dmitry Filipoff is CIMSEC’s Director of Online Content. Contact him at Content@cimsec.org.

Featured Image: Russian Navy ships of the Black Sea Fleet. (Photo via Sputnik/Vasily Batanov)