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.

Daily Telegraph – Iran navy produces armed copy of Bladerunner 51 speedboat

Iran says it will mass produce armed replicas of the Bladerunner 51, the British-built speedboat hailed among the fastest in the world, for its navy in the Gulf.

Defense Technology International – Amphibious Ops Under Fire

Navy Undersecretary Bob Work gave an intense and PowerPoint-free summary of the “after-Afghanistan” future of the Marine Corps recently at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

BBC – US and Vietnam stage joint naval activities

The US and Vietnam are conducting joint naval exercises in the South China Sea, a sign of increasing military ties between the two former enemies.

Florida Times – Underwater guards? Forget SEALs, it’s sea lions, dolphins

Boats with intimidating displays of weapons patrol the waters at the port at Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base. But if underwater intruders elude a patrol boat’s sophisticated electronic surveillance, something else waits in the depths that Navy officials say cannot be fooled. For five years, 10 California sea lions and four Atlantic bottlenose dolphins have provided underwater security for Ohio-class submarines ported at Kings Bay as part of the Swimmer Interdiction Security System.

AFP – Iran navy equipped with four new submarines

Iran’s navy on Sunday took delivery of four new mini submarines of the home-produced Ghadir class.

CBS – U.S. Navy Successfully Uses Laser to Shoot Down Drones

The U.S. Navy has used a a laser weapon to shoot down four unmanned aerial vehicles in a test that rings up memories of Ronald Reagan’s “Star Wars” missile defense shield in the 1980s.

(Thanks to Jordan for the link!)

Defense Technology International – Build Up Naval, Air Forces After Current Wars, Experts Say

A blue-ribbon panel of bipartisan national security experts is warning Congress that there should be no peace dividend after the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan wind down, because U.S. naval and air forces will have to grow in light of China and North Korea.

Defense Technology International – France To Build LHDs for Russia

Russia is ordering two Mistral-class amphibious assault ships (or BPCs) from France, with contract talks now underway. The previously reported plan was formally confirmed by embattled French president Nicolas Sarkozy, in a speech to workers at the shipyard where the vessels are to be built.

Associated Press – Chinese missile could shift Pacific power balance

U.S. naval planners are scrambling to deal with what analysts say is a game-changing weapon being developed by China – an unprecedented carrier-killing missile called the Dong Feng 21D that could be launched from land with enough accuracy to penetrate the defenses of even the most advanced moving aircraft carrier at a distance of more than 1,500 kilometers (900 miles).

Defense Technology International – Caution, Helix on Deck

The Cold War must be over…Russian and Ukrainian Kamov Ka-27 Helix naval helicopters have been conducting deck landing trials on US Navy warships.

BBC – South Korea begins massive military drill

South Korea has launched its biggest-ever anti-submarine exercises, the military says, despite warnings of retaliation from the North.

CBC – Navy helicopter contract renegotiated

The federal government is dropping key performance standards for navy helicopters due this fall in exchange for the manufacturer’s promise to guarantee another $80 million in work to Canadian aerospace.

(Thanks to Justin for the link!)