Chinese Navy – Chinese build five nuclear subs

Financial Times – China has surprised the Pentagon with the pace of development of a new class of submarine that threatens the nuclear balance by providing Beijing with a more robust nuclear deterrent. The Chinese navy is developing a fleet of five nuclear ballistic missile submarines. The Jin class submarines would provide a much stronger nuclear deterrent because they would be armed with the new long-range JL-2 missile.
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US Navy – How the Navy Bought a Lemon from Northrop Grumman

Aviation Week – The General Accountability Office explains in a new report how the Navy’s Advanced SEAL Delivery System program got so messed up that the service had to cancel its orders last year in favor of an ASDS improvement program. GAO says the Navy paid $885 million over 13 years for the first and only ASDS which is so flawed that it’s only available for limited operational use, prompting Congress to ask for a detailed investigation.
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Geopolitics / Economics – The End of National Currency

Foreign Affairs – Global financial instability has sparked a surge in “monetary nationalism” — the idea that countries must make and control their own currencies. But globalization and monetary nationalism are a dangerous combination, a cause of financial crises and geopolitical tension. The world needs to abandon unwanted currencies, replacing them with dollars, euros, and multinational currencies as yet unborn.
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Canadian Navy – Ottawa to proceed with plan to acquire six Arctic patrol ships

Canadian Press – A key federal cabinet committee has given the go-ahead for a plan to construct six corvette-sized Arctic patrol vessels. The patrol vessels, which are almost as large as the navy’s frigates, are a step down from the armed Arctic icebreakers that the Conservatives promised in the last election campaign and will likely not be in service before 2015.
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Geopolitics / Civil-Military Relations – Bush and the Generals

Foreign Affairs – The rift between U.S. military and civilian leaders did not start with George W. Bush, but his administration’s meddling and disregard for military expertise have made it worse. The new defense secretary must restore a division of labor that gives soldiers authority over tactics and civilians authority over strategy — or risk discrediting civilian control of the military even further.
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