Good morning, and welcome to the Global Situation Report for Friday, 31 May 2024.
- GAO: NEW NAVY FRIGATE MIGHT NOT MEET SERVICE LIFE: According to a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report, the U.S. Navy’s Constellation-class frigate is unlikely to meet its expected service life due to a redesign that will add too much weight to allow for mid-life modernization.
- As of October 2023, the Navy had not finalized a ship design, despite starting production in 2022. Several modules that are currently under construction have not even been 75% completed in 3D modeling.
- The Navy is considering getting around this by lowering the top speed requirement of the vessel.
- The Department of Defense is stalling the production of the second frigate of this class until the design is complete, per the GAO’s recommendation.
Why It Matters: The Navy is entirely dependent on allies to fill the frigate role (close-range ship-to-ship fighting) and is likely to remain so for the foreseeable future. The Navy is largely using extant systems, such as an Italian Frigate for the base design and well-known combat and engineering systems, and still is years behind production with potential years cut off at the end of service. – J.V.
- Global Rollup
- Houthis are claiming an “accurate and direct” strike on the USS Dwight D Eisenhower, a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, in response to the U.S.-U.K. joint strikes in Yemen. (This is not the first time they’ve claimed an “accurate and direct” strike. They seem to have a translation issue that confuses a missile launch and a missile strike. – J.V.)
- The Philippines busted a potential Chinese spy in a suburb of Manila. Liu Yuhang was found with a multi-band directional antenna system, radio transceivers, a Huawei router, portable power supplies, numerous IDs, an aerial drone, and numerous firearms he did not have permission to possess. Liu had previously coerced a man into delivering unidentified communication hacking devices to Liu’s residence.
- According to Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council’s recent survey, 79.5% of Taiwanese supported President Lai’s assertion that China was trying to infiltrate Taiwan, 76.6% disagreed with China’s assertion that Taiwan is part of China, and 88.5% of respondents said only Taiwan could decide Taiwan’s fate. (Broad support like this could sway Beijing into thinking that peaceful reunification is no longer possible. – J.V.)
- Poland arrested nine people in connection with several acts of sabotage and arson. The Prime Minister, Donald Tusk, said that the people acted on behalf of Russia but stopped short of saying they were Russian or paid by Russia. This is causing several other countries to take a second look at recent arson cases in their borders.
- Russia threatened a more expansive war in Europe after several NATO members authorized Ukraine to use their weapons to strike inside Russia. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg subsequently dismissed the threat because “This is nothing new” and “Russia has escalated by invading another country.”
- France is expected to announce the deployment of a military training cadre to Ukraine when Ukrainian President Volodomir Zelensky visits France next week, according to diplomatic sources speaking on condition of anonymity. The training would focus on operating and maintaining Western warplanes and demining.
THAT’S A WRAP: This does it for today’s edition. Thank you for reading. If you know folks who would also like to receive this email, would you please forward it to them? We appreciate you spreading the word. – M.S.