Monthly Archives: September 2004

US Navy – Navy Outlines New Vision for Unmanned Underwater Vehicles

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Sea Power – Military robotics may be a long way from Isaac Asimovís vision of evolved, synthetic intelligence in I, Robot. However, thinking machines already have become familiar sights, flying above or rolling through todayís battle spaces. The U.S. Navy now is on the verge of unveiling a revised master plan that charts the course for new generations of warrior robots to help dominate the seas as well.

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Wargaming – The Global War Game

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US Naval War College – The Newport Papers are extended research projects that the editor, the Dean of Naval Warfare Studies, and the President of the Naval War College consider of particular interest to policy makers, scholars, and analysts, and judge worthy of extensive, selective distribution.

Here are two Newport papers that trace the evolution of the US Navy’s Global War Game and its effect on US policy and strategy during the Cold War. Fascinating reading. Both papers are in PDF format.

Global War Game: The First Five Years (1979-1983)

Global War Game: Second Series (1984ñ1988)

US Navy – Navy's '60s-era Sea Knight helicopters make their last flights

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Virginian Pilot – The helicopter the Navy has been trying to get rid of for a decade finally has retired, after 40 years of not only moving troops and cargo but rescuing hundreds of downed sailors and aviators. The last two Navy CH-46D Sea Knight helicopters, assigned to Helicopter Combat support Squadron Eight, made their final flights Thursday at Norfolk Naval Station. The entire line is being replaced by the newer MH-60S Night Hawk series of helicopters.
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Iraq – What Went Wrong in Iraq

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Foriegn Affairs – Although the early U.S. blunders in the occupation of Iraq are well known, their consequences are just now becoming clear. The Bush administration was never willing to commit the resources necessary to secure the country and did not make the most of the resources it had. U.S. officials did get a number of things right, but they never understood-or even listened to-the country they were seeking to rebuild. As a result, the democratic future of Iraq now hangs in the balance.

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US Navy – New Command Will Unify Navy's Maritime Force Protection Units

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Sea Power – Force protection has been a hot issue for the U.S. Navy since the terrorist bombing of the destroyer USS Cole in 2000 and the beginning of the global war on terrorism. The subsequent buildup of the Navyís force protection units and weapons will culminate next month with the establishment of a new fleet-wide command to bring them under a single umbrella.

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Disarmament – The Wrong Deterrence

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Washington Post – Bruce Blair states the the threat of loose nuclear weapons is one of our own making???and that the current deterrent practices of the two nuclear superpowers are not only anachronistic, they are thwarting our ability to protect ourselves against the real threats.

He also relates how the US Navy’s communication system with its Trident-class ballistic missile submarines was found to be vulnerable to terrorist hackers???
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