{"id":21449,"date":"2015-07-07T12:30:06","date_gmt":"2015-07-07T02:30:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=21449"},"modified":"2015-07-07T15:17:03","modified_gmt":"2015-07-07T05:17:03","slug":"sea-air-and-land-updates-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/sea-air-and-land-updates-10\/","title":{"rendered":"Sea, air and land updates"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a>Sea<\/strong> State<\/strong><\/p>\n The two-week long Talisman Sabre exercise<\/a> began on Sunday, with 40 Japanese personnel joining Australian, New Zealand and American forces for the first time. John Lee, a China specialist from the University of Sydney, was quick to note<\/a> the message that the Allies are sending to their Chinese counterparts by including Japan in the training exercises. For a slightly different take, have a look at opinions from ASPI\u2019s Andrew Davies and ANU\u2019s John Blaxland here<\/a>. This year\u2019s Talisman<\/a> Sabre will focus on \u2018the planning and conduct of mid-intensity and high-end\u2019 warfare.<\/p>\n Senior Captain Zhao Yi, a professor at China\u2019s National Defence University, has warned India<\/a> about the dangers of believing that the Indian Ocean is part of its \u2018backyard\u2019. The comes in the wake of the release of the PLA\u2019s White Paper, which highlights that the PLA\u2019s navy will be enhanced for \u2018open seas protection\u2019. Zhao argued that the possibility of regional clashes can\u2019t be eliminated unless India changes its rhetoric. India\u2019s concern over China\u2019s push into the Indian Ocean has been spurred by a number of events, including when Chinese submarines popped up<\/a> in Sri Lanka last year and Pakistan last month<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Diplomat<\/em> has run a piece outlining the construction timeline of Russia\u2019s new naval facility, the Rybachiy Nuclear Submarine Base<\/a>. According to Admiral Viktor Chirkov, the Russian Navy\u2019s Commander in Chief, Russia\u2019s Borei<\/em>-class submarines will have a new home by 1 October.<\/p>\n Flight Path<\/strong><\/p>\n Ever wondered what a war between China and the US would look like? Peter W. Singer and August Cole\u2019s new fictional novel Ghost Fleet: A Novel of the Next World War<\/em> does just that. The most interesting aspect of the hypothesis relates to America losing its technological advantage<\/a> to rising Chinese innovation. Two notable aspects contributing to the US\u2019 technological decline are aircraft carriers and over-engineered and over-promised aircraft. According to The Economist<\/em><\/a>, the authors hint at the need to spend more money on dogfighting drones and weapons\u2014like laser beams\u2014that can engage faster than missiles. For more, you can listen to a War on the Rocks <\/em>podcast with the authors here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Speaking of dogfights, aviation wonks have been in overdrive since a leaked report<\/a> found the F-35 Join Strike Fighter is incapable of beating the F-16 in a dogfight. The test pilot found the F-35 had limited energy manoeuvrability (making it ineffective for killing or surviving attacks) and an over-large mobility limiting helmet. Despite the critique, proponents of the F-35 have reiterated that it was never designed<\/a> for dogfighting scenarios, and rather, it was designed to overcome rival aircraft at a medium- to long-range distance. While some argue the goal<\/a> of aerial combat is to achieve victory then avoid potential counterattack, critics point out that there\u2019s no way to guarantee<\/a> a future air war without dogfights.<\/p>\n Rapid Fire<\/strong><\/p>\n Brookings recently hosted the first \u2018Brookings Debate,\u2019 with experts seeking to answer the question: should the US put boots on the ground to fight ISIS?<\/a> A before and after poll of the audience indicated that while few opinions changed, those that did switched to the \u2018no\u2019 camp.<\/p>\n Critics of the US plan to open all combat roles to women in 2016 argue that even if roles are opened there won\u2019t be enough interest<\/a> to warrant the change. Australia could be a strong case for this argument as despite opening all its roles to women in 2011 to encourage a more gender inclusive environment,\u00a0women still constitute only 14% of the Australian Defence Force<\/a>. Dr Megan McKenzie, author of Beyond the Band of Brothers: the US Military and the Myth that Women Can\u2019t Fight<\/a><\/em>, argues that simply opening those roles to women isn\u2019t sufficient to support gender equality and that more directed strategies need to be devised, such as targeting a cultural change in leadership roles.<\/p>\n