Defense Technology International – Surprise Present for the French Navy
Many in the French navy, disappointed that president Nicolas Sarkozy postponed a decision early this summer on whether or not to procure a second aircraft carrier, got a surprise Christmas present last week when Defense Minister Hervé Morin announced he was ordering a third Mistral-class BPC.
AFP – Australian navy ship races to rescue French sailor
An Australian navy frigate was racing against deteriorating weather conditions Saturday to reach a French yachtsman badly injured during a solo round-the-world race.
Virginian Pilot – Navy appears to have made decision to put carrier in Florida
The Navy appears to be moving full steam ahead with plans to homeport a nuclear carrier in Florida, despite the service’s insistence that no decision has been made.
Defense Technology International – USS Bunker Hill Undergoes Sea Trials
The USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) completed sea trials to test its newly modernized hull, mechanical and electrical (HM&E) systems Dec. 12. The ship is the first of 22 Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers to undergo a total capability upgrade as part of the Cruiser Modernization Program.
BBC – Chinese ships will fight pirates
China has announced it is to send naval ships to fight rampant piracy in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia.
BBC – Passengers rescued from navy ship
The Chilean Navy said Wednesday that the British Navy ice patrol ship HMS Endurance that lost engine power at the eastern mouth of the Strait of Magellan on the southern tip of South America is now safely anchored.
Defense Technology International – Out In The Open
The X-47B unmanned combat air system (UCAS) demonstrator – the US Navy’s first tail-less, stealthy unmanned aircraft, was unveiled at Northrop Grumman’s Palmdale, Calif., site on Dec.16.
Washington Post – A Gentler Hegemony
Robert D. Kaplan writes that the US is declining slower than we think….
Virginian Pilot – New ship uses technology to bring the fight to shore
Aboard the littoral combat ship USS Freedom…
Associated Press – Naval patrols fail to deter pirates
Rear Admiral Giovanni Gumiero is going on a pirate hunt.
From the deck of an Italian destroyer cruising the pirate-infested waters off Somalia’s coast, he has all the modern tools at his fingertips – radar, sonar, infrared cameras, helicopters, a cannon that can sink a ship 10 miles, or 16 kilometers, away – to take on a centuries-old problem that harks back to the days of schooners and eye patches.
BBC – UN approves piracy land pursuit
The United Nations Security Council has unanimously approved a US resolution allowing countries to pursue Somali pirates on land as well as at sea.
BBC – Russian warships in Cuban visit
A group of Russian warships is to visit Cuba for the first time since the Soviet era.
The Economist – Let the sun shine in
Satellites that beam solar power to earth have often appeared in science fiction. Will they ever become reality?
Economist – Naval gazing
China’s Hainan island – A curious blend of beaches, babes and naval bases.
New York Times – ‘Terror’ Is The Enemy
Philip Bobbitt gives his views on how the war on terror should be waged in the future.
New York Times – Official History Spotlights Iraq Rebuilding Blunders
An unpublished 513-page federal history of the American-led reconstruction of Iraq depicts an effort crippled before the invasion by Pentagon planners who were hostile to the idea of rebuilding a foreign country, and then molded into a $100 billion failure by bureaucratic turf wars, spiraling violence and ignorance of the basic elements of Iraqi society and infrastructure.
BBC – Indian navy ‘captures 23 pirates’
The Indian navy says it has arrested 23 Somali and Yemeni pirates who tried to storm a ship in the Gulf of Aden.
Foreign Affairs – The Latter-Day Sultan: Power and Politics in Iran
The real decision-maker in Iran is Supreme Leader Khamenei not President Ahmedinejad. Blaming Iran’s problems on President Ahmadinejad inaccurately suggests that Iran’s problems will go away when Ahmadinejad does.
Defense Technology International – Charles de Gaulle Overhaul Completed
New Republic – Obama Versus Osama
John Nagl’s view of what it will take to “win” in Afghanistan…
Daily Telegraph – Two aircraft carriers delayed for two years to rescue MoD from budget shortfall
Two major aircraft carriers designed to boost Britain’s world standing will be delayed for two years as part of a package of measures to rescue the Ministry of Defence from a £1.5 billion budget shortfall.
Wall Street Journal – On the Lawless Seas, It’s Not Easy Putting Somali Pirates in the Dock
Though piracy is a globally recognized crime, few governments are willing to navigate the legal and logistical barriers that impede convicting seaborn bandits.
Defense Technology International – It’s an Airplane. It’s a Submarine. It’s Possible?
DARPA is seeking concepts for an aircraft that can clandestinely insert and extract an eight-person special-forces team. The mission is to take off from a runway, fly 1,000nm as a conventional aircraft, fly another 100nm close to the surface, then travel the final 12nm to the coast underwater. Transit should take less than 8 hours, including any time required to land on water and reconfigure from aircraft to submarine – and the vehicle should be able to loiter near the coastline – on or under the surface – for three days in sea state 5. Then return the same way…
New York Times – The other Middle East
Robert D. Kaplan writes that South Asia and the Middle East are now part of one long continuum…
The Times – Royal Navy admiral Phillip Jones heads EU Somali pirate task force
A Royal Navy admiral took charge yesterday of the European Union’s first naval task force, assembled to protect international shipping in the waters off Somalia amid calls for a United Nations pirate court to be set up to try those apprehended at sea.
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