Stories Due: November 18, 2024
Week Dates: December 2-6, 2024
Story Length: 1,5000-3,000 Words
Submit to: [email protected]

By Dmitry Filipoff

Fiction has long served as a powerful means for exploring hypotheticals and envisioning alternatives. In annual tradition, CIMSEC will be running a series of short stories looking to explore the nature of conflict and competition through fiction. 

Authors can explore the future and flesh out concepts for how potential clashes and warfighting challenges may play out. They can probe the past, and use historical fiction to explore alternative histories. Authors are invited to craft gripping narratives that illuminate the unforeseen and carve realistic detail into visions of future conflict.

Send all submissions to [email protected].

For past CIMSEC Fiction Weeks, feel free to view our 2023, 2022, 2021, and 2020 fiction lineups.

Dmitry Filipoff is CIMSEC’s Director of Online Content. Contact him at [email protected].

Featured Image: Futuristic warship art generated by Midjourney AI. 

Articles Due: October 21, 2024
Topic Week Dates: November 11-15, 2024
Article Length: 1,500-3,000 Words
Submit to: [email protected]

By Dmitry Filipoff

PRC President Xi Jinping has instructed the People’s Liberation Army to be able to invade Taiwan by 2027. While this capability benchmark does not necessarily indicate a predetermined policy of invasion, it has served as a driving force behind the PLA’s rapid modernization. The 2027 date has also fueled intense speculation in the U.S. that war with China may only be a few years away.

But has this date crystallized the focus of the U.S. military as much as it has for the PLA? If senior leaders are genuinely concerned that war could be soon at hand, is the U.S. military truly acting like it, in terms of its operations, readiness, and sense of urgency? 

Authors are invited to submit analysis and recommendations on what the U.S. military and its allies can do in the near term to enhance readiness for war with China by 2027. How can the sense of urgency be more clearly communicated, and how can that urgency be more effectively translated into concrete changes to warfighting readiness? How can leaders across all levels take a hard look at their responsibilities and adapt for potentially looming war?

It is unclear to what extent the critical tension between near-term readiness and long-term modernization can be resolved within this short timespan. As the U.S. military struggled to break away from decades of short-term habits and thinking focused on low-end operations, China diligently maintained its focus on expansive modernization for the high-end fight. China has effectively stolen a march on the U.S. when it comes to military modernization, and has now achieved a level of capability that may leave the U.S. military believing it has little choice but to stay the course on near-term thinking. As the 2027 date looms, this disparity in generational strategic focus may come to a head, with potentially serious consequences for the rules-based order.

Send all submissions to [email protected].

Dmitry Filipoff is CIMSEC’s Director of Online Content. Contact him at [email protected].

Featured Image: PLA Navy Type-055 guided-missile destroyer Wuxi steams during a maritime training exercise. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Wang Zezhou)

Articles Due: June 10, 2024
Topic Week Dates: June 24-28, 2024
Article Length: 1,5000-3,000 Words
Submit to: [email protected]

By Dmitry Filipoff

Navies are preparing for more intense contingencies with the return of great power competition. Missions focused on power projection and reinforcing rules-based order at sea now have to compete with the major demands of high-end warfighting and deterrence.

Compared to the missions of previous decades, great power war at sea may involve much larger forces fighting across a broader maritime expanse. This scale of naval conflict is reflected in the concept of fleet-level warfare, where fleets become the principal unit of action for modern war at sea. As navies prepare for high-end naval warfighting, they may have to undergo substantial reorganization and retraining to fight as fleets, much like great power navies did in the interwar period and through both world wars.

What are the possible concepts of operation for gaining victory in fleet-level warfare? Does fleet-level warfare entail new force packages and force generation models? Is fleet warfare effectively captured through warfighting concepts such as Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO)? How can Maritime Operations Centers and fleet commanders be prepared to effectively command fleet-level warfare? Authors invited to submit analysis on these questions and more as we consider how to best prepare for and win in fleet-level warfare.

Send all submissions to [email protected].

Dmitry Filipoff is CIMSEC’s Director of Online Content. Contact him at [email protected].

Featured Image: April 12, 2018 – PLA Navy warships steam in formation. (Li Gang/Xinhua via AP)

Articles Due: April 15, 2024
Topic Week Dates: April 29-May 3, 2024
Article Length: 1,5000-3,000 Words
Submit to: [email protected]

By Dmitry Filipoff

The Red Sea has become a scene of major action as an international coalition protects shipping from Houthi attacks. Warships have shot down dozens of missiles and drones in a bid to secure vital sea lanes, but commercial ships continue to take hits. The attacks have managed to heavily influence the operations and decision-making of major shipping companies, prompting global economic consequences. The coalition has gone on the offensive and struck Houthi targets with an aim toward degrading their capability to continue the strike campaign, but the threat persists. 

The combat operations in the Red Sea offer a variety of lessons and insights. From the tactical management of air defense capability, to the strategic employment of navies in defense of global commons, the Red Sea has become an exemplary case of the challenges of war at sea and the importance of naval power. 

What can we learn from the operations in the Red Sea? How may navies process this experience to improve their warfighting skill and their strategic employment? How may naval power be brought to bear against the Houthi threat to decisively conclude this operation and restore stability? Authors are invited to address these questions and more as we examine the significance of this uniquely maritime crisis. Send all submissions to [email protected].

Dmitry Filipoff is CIMSEC’s Director of Online Content. Contact him at [email protected].

Featured Image: The Red Sea as seen from space. (NASA photo)