Daily Telegraph – Jump jets to fall victim to spending cuts
New jump jets for the next generation of Royal Navy aircraft carriers will be cancelled to save money.
Daily Telegraph – Jump jets to fall victim to spending cuts
New jump jets for the next generation of Royal Navy aircraft carriers will be cancelled to save money.
Associated Press – Chinese navy to hold drills in Yellow Sea
China said Sunday its navy will stage live-ammunition drills in the Yellow Sea this week, after it condemned U.S.-South Korean joint naval exercises in the region and vowed to respond in kind.
Daily Telegraph – Russian subs stalk Trident in echo of Cold War
Russian submarines are hunting down British Vanguard boats in a return to Cold War tactics not seen for 25 years, Navy chiefs have warned.
Virginian Pilot – Kearsarge group deploys early for Pakistan mission
The Navy dispatched a second wave of ships Friday to support relief efforts in Pakistan, although the vessels may not reach the flood-ravaged country until October.
BBC – Somali pirate admits attacking US warship
A Somali man has admitted attacking a US warship in April after mistaking it for a merchant vessel.
Los Angeles Times – Marines in Afghanistan prepared for a long haul
A year since the U.S. troop buildup began with battalions descending on the Helmand River Valley, optimism about a quick defeat of the Taliban has given way to more sober assessments.
Aviation Week and Space Technology – Tight Budgets, Needs Alter USN Unmanned Efforts
Fiscal constraints will be a major driving factor in the capabilities that the U.S. Navy will seek in unmanned vehicles in the coming years, says the chief of naval operations, Adm. Gary Roughead. However, unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) will be called upon to fill what he calls a “capability gap” in the Navy’s ability to collect intelligence in the maritime domain.
Aviation Week and Space Technology – US Navy Envisions Many Unmanned Platforms
The U.S. Navy’s ambitious pursuit of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) was, if anything, simply a glimmer in the eye of a few rogues in the service just a decade or so ago. Fast forward to the present, and the Navy has emerged with funded programs, a cohesive vision and a procurement corps aggressively engaging industry—three things that any U.S. project needs to garner support, and money, from Congress.
Daily Telegraph – Royal Navy underfunding has left it ‘inadequate’ for vital tasks, report finds
Britain must to invest in large numbers of cheaper warships if the “dangerously weak” Royal Navy is to guarantee the country’s maritime security, an academic paper has said.
Daily Telegraph – Royal Navy may need to borrow US fighter jets
Britain could be forced to “borrow” American warplanes for its new aircraft carriers as the Armed Forces’ core capabilities are eroded by budget cuts.
University of Sydney – The Gathering Storm: China’s Challenge to US Power in Asia
Transcript of the fourth annual Michael Hintze Lecture in International Security, delivered by Professor John Mearsheimer.
(Thanks to Cris for the link!)
RIA Novosti – French warships for Russia to be armed with Ka-52 helicopters
Mistral-class helicopter carriers, which Russia plans to buy from France, will be armed with Russian Ka-52 Alligator helicopters.
Express Tribune – With ‘enemies’ like these, who needs friends?
Aboard the USS Peleliu, off of Pakistan.
Defense Technology International – USMC Digs In To Save EFV
Secretary of Defense Gates may have met his match when taking on the U.S. Marine Corps and its expeditionary fighting vehicle (EFV), which Gates has started to speculate – quite publicly – might not be worth the risk and cost.
Defense Technology International – Bulava to Resume Test Launches
The test launches of Russia’s new Bulava submarine-launched ballistic missile will resume at the end of August or beginning of September.
Defense Technology International – From Mine Sweeping to Swat Valley Rescues
The MH-53E Sea Dragon helos of Navy Mine Countermeasures Squadron (HM-15) Detachment 2 – which arrived in Pakistan seven days ago – normally tow a mine-sweeping sled at sea level. For the fuel-eating flight from Pakistan’s Ghazi Air Force Base and the climb over the mountains, they can safely take on only about 10,000 pounds of cargo or 80 people.
Associated Press – Russia leases nuclear sub to India
The Nerpa submarine manned by an Indian crew has sailed to India.
Defense Technology International – China Report – No Alarmism Allowed
Bill Sweetman writes that the Pentagon’s new report on China’s military power is so muted that it is no longer even called that. Although the filename includes the acronym CMPR – China Military Power Report – the title is “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China”, which reads a little as if China’s military was expanding and modernizing all by itself. China’s leaders are not as inhibited, dropping hints in recent days that first tests are imminent of the Dong Feng 21D (DF-21D) anti-ship ballistic missile system, accompanied by artwork showing its intended mission.
Virginian Pilot – Navy’s riverine patrol: Peacekeeping in a war zone
US Navy Riverine Squadron 1 is halfway through a six-month tour. Traditionally, the mission of riverines is to secure inland waterways such as rivers and swamps. They are known for their integral role in the Vietnam War, and they come well-equipped for combat. During this deployment, however, the squadron’s 200 sailors have not engaged in any firefights. Instead, like most U.S. forces in Iraq these days, their mission focuses on peacekeeping.
Wall Street Journal – U.S. Sounds Alarm at China’s Military Buildup
In its annual report to Congress on Chinese military capabilities, the Pentagon voiced alarm over China’s military buildup, saying it was expanding its advantage over Taiwan and investing heavily in ballistic and cruise missile capabilities that could one day pose a challenge to U.S. dominance in the western Pacific.
Virginian Pilot – Ashland returns with a story to tell: Pirates
Few Navy vessels have been attacked by Somalis since at least the 1800s – making the USS Ashland a rare ship to have a brush with piracy.
AOLNews – The Few. The Proud. The New Marines?
Declaring “the maritime soul of the Marine Corps” is at stake, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has ordered a review of the seaborne service that since 9/11 has functioned more like a “second land army.”
Wall Street Journal – Who’s a Pirate? It’s Not So Simple
Prosecuting pirates is the modern world’s approach to the scourge of Somali piracy, but there’s a problem: Nobody seems able to say, legally, exactly what a pirate is.
An interesting series of articles on America’s growing intelligence-industrial complex.
Washington Post – A hidden world, growing beyond control
Washington Post – National Security Inc.
Washington Post – The secrets next door
…and the home page of the series with many other references – Washington Post – Top Secret America
Associated Press – US sends Marine ship, helicopters for flood aid
The United States is more than tripling the number of helicopters it is providing to help in flood-ravaged Pakistan. The USS Peleliu is now off the coast near Karachi, carrying 19 helicopters and a complement of about 1,000 Marines.
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