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17 Feb, 5 tweets, 3 min read
Any ideas out there on what this new building is near the Hambantota port in Sri Lanka?

It's pretty big, over 300m long. Most recent image is from 8-2020, with other images from earlier in and before construction.
Here it is in relation to the port. You can see how big it is in perspective.
I somehow never noticed this before. Apparently a few years back before it got overgrown and altered, it was a clearer "China SLK", indicating a China-Sri Lanka joint venture, comity, etc.
Apparently I'm not the only person to have noticed this in recent months: colombogazette.com/2020/08/11/sat…
Ok, this article says the facility is a cement plant being built by Lanwa Sanstha Cement. The company looks to be a Sri Lankan company as far as I can tell, though I'm not sure of ultimate ownership. economynext.com/sri-lankas-lan…

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More from @tshugart3

Thomas Shugart Profile picture
18 Feb
My written testimony for today's @USCC_GOV hearing on cross-Strait deterrence is now available on the commission's web site. You can see it here: uscc.gov/sites/default/…
If you've been following me for a while, you'll see some familiar themes, as well as some new material and information. Image
My overall assessment of the state of cross-Strait deterrence, which is underlaid in large part by the associated military balance, is that we're entering a period of deep uncertainty. Image
Read 15 tweets
Thomas Shugart Profile picture
16 Feb
As I said within this article, “When seen in combination with the ongoing major expansion of China’s nuclear submarine shipyard capacity, an expansion of China’s diesel submarine production capacity as well may point toward...
...a strong effort to try to erode the advantage in undersea warfare that the U.S. and its allies currently enjoy.”
Here's a comparison of the rough size (as best I can tell) of the two shipyards, the older one in green and the newer one (roughly 8X larger) in red. ImageImage
Read 6 tweets
Thomas Shugart Profile picture
16 Feb
Current situation: Image
UPDATE: a spicy fight Image
How it went: sound on to hear Fleet Commander calling targets, issuing orders to our 180-person fleet. And watch me trying desperately to keep up as enemy ships are killed before I can even target them...
Read 6 tweets
Thomas Shugart Profile picture
4 Jan
A few thoughts about tugs:

As I've been reading Beans, Bullets, and Black Oil, a 1952 book about logistics in the Pacific in WWII, I've been struck how often the topic of tugs has come up: ships that were saved because of their presence, or perhaps lost due to their absence.
Some examples that jumped right out: that the carrier USS Yorktown might have been saved at Midway, had the Navy yet appreciated the value of fleet tugs.
That the carrier USS Hornet and destroyer USS Porter might have been saved at the Battle of the Santa Cruz islands if tugs had been available:
Read 15 tweets
Thomas Shugart Profile picture
2 Jan
Logging in and getting ready for what promises to be one of the largest multiplayer virtual fleet battles in history:
We already have 6000+ players logged on in our alliance's forward staging area, just waiting to go into the fight. My corporation has already sent in a 256-person fleet, and is forming up four more to go soon:
Finally undocked, fleet standing by for orders.
Read 10 tweets
Thomas Shugart Profile picture
2 Dec 20
Here's a 3-part axiom I think US defense thinkers & planners should consider in devising concepts for the defense of US/allied vital interests in the Western Pacific.

Plans for major conflict against the PLA should not rely on any of the following to win:
- Units or forces that require anything but episodic communication or data flow.

(Ex.: UxVs that rely on consistent human oversight to do their job, esp. given current policy restraints on lethal autonomous weapons.)
- Any important fixed and hard-to-repair object or facility on or within the 2nd island chain.

(Ex.: fuel tanks, HQ buildings, repair facilities, comms equipment, etc.)
Read 5 tweets

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