Reuters – Sri Lanka navy kills 26 rebels in ocean gunfight
Sri Lanka’s navy killed 26 Tamil Tigers and destroyed four boats during a six-hour sea battle on Monday on the coast just off the sliver of land where the separatists are fighting a final stand.
Virginian Pilot – After shaky start, ship gets its sea legs
The maiden voyage of the San Antonio could be summed up in a few words: Deployment. Breakdown. Repair. Loss. Pirates. And the crew, steaming home to Norfolk on Friday from a seven-month deployment to the Middle East, would add another: vindication.
RIA Novosti – Russia wants up to 10 submarines in Black Sea Fleet
Russia’s Black Sea Fleet must have 8-10 submarines in active service and the Navy plans to commission new Lada class vessels to meet the requirement.
Small Wars Journal – Crunch Time in Afghanistan-Pakistan
Counterinsurgency expert David Kilcullen analyzes the current state of affairs in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Washignton Post – Japan Readies Missile Defense System
Japan ordered its military on Friday to destroy a North Korean missile or its debris, if the launch fails and falling pieces of the rocket seem to imperil Japanese territory. Japan ordered two destroyers equipped with American-built Aegis anti-missile systems into the Sea of Japan, and said it would soon move Patriot land-to-air missiles to the country’s northern coast, over which the North Korean rocket is likely to fly.
…and the US Navy is standing by to assist: CNN – U.S., Japan mobilize for N. Korean launch
BBC – Russian ‘Arctic military’ plan
Russia has announced plans to set up a military force to protect its interests in the Arctic.
ITAR-TASS – Russia to build 6 nuclear subs with long-range cruise missiles
Russia will build at least six multipurpose nuclear-powered submarines with long-range cruise missiles for the Navy.
Defense and the National Interest – Tactics Over Strategy Again?
Bill Lind’s analysis of the recent run in between the U.S. surveillance ship Impeccable and the Chinese Navy.
The Times – Introducing the axis of upheaval
Niall Ferguson writes that the financial crisis is bad enough; but combined with empires in decline and ethnic disintegration, it is a recipe for disaster.
Defense Technology International – Audacious Statement
Building the fourth of what is now anticipated to be a seven-boat Astute-class submarine fleet is now underway. First delivery of the class – delayed by around four years – has yet to be confirmed.
BBC – Sub deaths caused by ‘failures’
An explosion which killed two British submariners was caused by “systemic failures”, a coroner has ruled.
AFP – China tells Japan it wants aircraft carrier
China will not remain the world’s only major nation without an aircraft carrier indefinitely, state press Monday cited the nation’s defence minister as telling his Japanese counterpart.
Washington Post – A Conversation With David Kilcullen
Counterinsurgency expert David Kilcullen on the current situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan…
Defense Technology International – What Fighters Do
Bill Sweetman, editor of Defense Technology International, shares his PowerPoint presentation entitled “Fighters in the Long War” that explains the relevance of the manned fighter aircraft as a weapon in the 21st century. An extremely well thought out presentation from a dean of military aviation…
The presentation is stored here: http://www.sendspace.com/file/z2v3l1
Esquire – Obama’s New Map of the World
Thomas P.M. Barnett writes that as he assumes leadership of this freaked-out world, the success of our new president’s foreign policy — and presidency — will depend on the thinking he does inside the box.
Los Angeles Times – In It Together Part 5
The fifth and final part of a series by David Zucchino following 3 friends through boot camp to deployment and back. They joined on the buddy program with high hopes. It’s been a hard road.
Los Angeles Times – In It Together Part 4
Part 4 of a series by David Zucchino following 3 friends through boot camp to deployment and back. They’ve learned to take lives. Now the friends will risk their own.
Los Angeles Times – In It Together Part 3
Part 3 of a series by David Zucchino following 3 friends through boot camp to deployment and back. Thirteen weeks of boot camp put Daryl, Daniel and Steven through grueling challenges. They learn how to focus, how to kill a man, how to ignore pain.
Los Angeles Times – In It Together Part 2
Part 2 of a series by David Zucchino following 3 friends through boot camp to deployment and back. Three best friends headed off as Daniel, Daryl and Steven. Now they’ll all answer to ‘Recruit!’
Foreign Policy – China wages maritime “lawfare”
China’s bold and dangerous maneuvers against the USNS Impeccable, a U.S. Navy military survey vessel that was operating about 120 km from the island of Hainan in the East China Sea, is the latest salvo in China’s ongoing campaign to upset traditional notions of freedom of navigation in order to deny access to its coastal waters, or littorals, by foreign warships and aircraft. The event marks the first test of the Obama administration regarding China’s efforts to reshape the international law of the sea.
Los Angeles Times – In It Together Part 1
Part 1 of a series by David Zucchino following 3 friends through boot camp to deployment and back. Three good friends prepare for the same boot camp platoon as part of the buddy program. They are eager, but their parents are torn.
The Atlantic – The Last Ace
Mark Bowden writes that American air superiority has been so complete for so long that we take it for granted. For more than half a century, we’ve made only rare use of the aerial-combat skills of a man like Cesar Rodriguez, who retired two years ago with more air-to-air kills than any other active-duty fighter pilot. But our technological edge is eroding—Russia, China, India, North Korea, and Pakistan all now fly fighter jets with capabilities equal or superior to those of the F-15, the backbone of American air power since the Carter era. Now we have a choice. We can stock the Air Force with the expensive, cutting-edge F‑22—maintaining our technological superiority at great expense to our Treasury. Or we can go back to a time when the cost of air supremacy was paid in the blood of men like Rodriguez.
The Times – Analysis: so much more than a naval water fight
If the nightmare scenario of a superpower war in Asia were to materialise, the South China Sea could be where it all starts
Foreign Affairs – America’s Edge: Power in the Networked Century
The United States’ unique ability to capitalize on connectivity will make the twenty-first century an American century.
Bloomberg – Navies Combat Somali Pirates With Choppers, Internet Chat Room
When nine Somali pirates attacked a German-operated cargo freighter in the Gulf of Aden last week, they were in for a high-tech surprise. An international force of three vessels and two helicopters responded, using sophisticated communications methods that included GPS navigation and even an Internet chat room. Less than three hours later, the buccaneers were in the brig. The successful operation by U.S. and European Union anti- pirate forces showed how progress is being made in freeing the Indian Ocean of pirates.
NOSI - Naval Open Source Intelligence™ 
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