Russian Navy – What did Russia’s recent naval wargames in the Caspian Sea actually achieve?

• Radio Free Europe: Caspian: Results Of Russian War Games Still A Mystery

Background – Wargaming – The Pentagon answers the acusations that Millenium Challenge 02 was fixed.

• Virginian Pilot: Pentagon leaders defend war game

Background – Wargaming – How the US military is utilizing computer-based wargaming more and more.

• ABC: A Play for Better Soldier

Background – Iraq – James F. Dunnigan nicely summarizes the reasons for and against invading Iraq.

• StrategyPage: Invading Iraq For All The Wrong Reasons

Background – Russia – Does Russia really know what it is doing in arming China?

• Moscow Times: Arming China Makes U.S. Nervous
  

US Navy – How the US Navy hospital ships Comfort and Mercy could be better utilized.

• US Naval Institute Proceedings: Counter the Violence with Comfort and Mercy

Indian Navy – An Indian task force is making a port call in Singapore.

• The Straits Times: Three Indian navy ships here on visit

US Navy – The cockpit design of the Joint Strike Fighter is being fine-tuned.

• Aviation Week: F-35 Cockpit Targets Information Integration

US Coast Guard – The new Coast Guard commandant focuses on Readiness, People, Stewardship.

• Sea Power: Charting a New Course for the 21st Century

Background – Alliances – David Isby on why the alliances are key to the US’s success in the war on terrorism, and why we must do more to form them and aid them.

• Washington Times: Brothers in Arms

Royal Navy – The UK is coming close to deciding on what type of aircraft carrier they would like to build and what type of aircraft they would like to fly from it.

• Jane’s: Carrier Countdown

US Marine Corps – The crucial role that intelligence played in establishing and operating Camp Rhino inside Afghanistan.

• Marine Corps Gazette: A New Operating Environment

Royal Australian Navy – Australia has commissioned its fourth Anzac-class frigate.

• Australian Associated Press: Latest warship commissioned

Canadian Navy – The frigate HMCS Ottawa returns home after 6 months in the Arabian Sea.

• CBC: Frigate returns home from war on terrorism
  

US Coast Guard – Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Teams gear up for homeland-security mission.

• Sea Power: The Goal-Line Defense Paradigm

Background – Nation-Building – A fascinating look at how US Special Forces are conducting nation-building inside Afghanistan. An interesting quote from Afghanis: “Only America puts its peacekeepers in the sky???”

• New York Times Magazine: Nation-Building Lite

Royal Marines – A review of 45 Commando’s deployment to Afghanistan.

• Jane’s: Reviewing the UK Afghan deployment

Background – UK – Why the British military has concerns about attacking Iraq.

• The Economist: Windy Soldiers

Background – Wargaming – More by William Arkin on what exactly Millenium Challenge was supposed to be simulating.

• Washington Post: Iraq or Iran?
  Clarifying the Geography and Politics of the Pentagon’s War Game

Background – Wargaming – Was Millenium Challenge 02 rigged?

• Virginian Pilot: War game was rigged, ”enemy” commander charges

Indian Navy – An excellent review of the history and current operations of the Indian Navy.

• Naval War College Review: The Indian End of the Telescope

US Navy – The USS Abraham Lincoln makes a port call in Japan, an unusual event for a nuclear-powered carrier.

• Ashai Shimbum: Nuke-powered carrier calls on Sasebo

Taiwanese Navy – Taiwan will spend 50% of its defense budget in the future on upgrading its navy with Kidd-class destroyers, submarines, P-3 Orions and MH-53 helicopters.

• Taipei Times: Navy pushed to the front lines of defense spending
  

Royal Navy – The Astute submarine program has fallen 18 months behind schedule.

• Jane’s: Astute submarine program hit by design delays

US Navy – How the Chief of Naval Operations is turning the US Navy around.

• Virginian Pilot: At the top, still learning

US Coast Guard – The reinforced importance of port security to the US Coast Guard.

• Sea Power: Port Security–A Mission Renewed

Pakistani Navy – Pakistan is interested in exporting Agosta-class submarines, now that it has learned how to build them.

• BBC: Pakistan ready to build submarines

US Navy – What the US Navy of 2020 could look like???according to participants at a conference sponsored by the Office for Naval Research.

• UPI: Navy 2020: Lasers, maglev, agile vaccines
  

US Navy – The Military Sealift Command is chartering sealift to take arms to the Middle East.

• Reuters: U.S. Navy Retracts Denial of Arms Shipment to Gulf

Royal Navy – The cargo ship hijacked off Somali is now said to be North Korean, rather than British.

• Agence France-Presse: Pirates seek $1.8m for ship, crew

Background – Iran – An excellent essay by a Naval War College professor, with many insights into the current state of Iran and Iranians after a visit there in 2001.

• Naval War College Review: Letter From Iran

US Marine Corps – Miscellaneous aviation notes, including how Marine Corp and Navy air may be integrated.

• Sea Power: Osprey Program Restructured

US Navy – More on the recently completed wargame Millenium Challenge 2002.

• Boston Globe: US takes new tack in war games

Background – Iran – An overview of the current situation in Iran and why the future of Iran is crucial to peace in the Middle East and to success in the war on terrorism.

• The Atlantic: Iran on the Brink

US Marines – The Marines are looking to replace the M16A2 assault rifle.

• San Diego Union Tribune: Marines set sights on new basic rifle

US Navy – The US came very close to losing the submarine USS Dolphin.

• San Diego Union Tribune: Report: Sub came close to sinking
  

US Navy – The USS John F Kennedy will soon be home.

• Associated Press: USS Kennedy Battle Group Returning
  

US Navy – More on the new rules of engagement the US Navy is seeking for boarding ships at sea.

• Associated Press: US may seek power to stop ships abroad

US Navy – Aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.

• Sea Power: The Real Thing

Royal Navy – HMS Cumberland is searching off of Somalia for a British-flagged tanker which has been said to have been hijacked.

• BBC: Royal Navy search for ‘hijacked ship’
  

US Marine Corps – Where and how expeditionary warfare is taught to Marines.

• Marine Corps Gazette: Expeditionary Warfare School: The Schoolhouse for Expeditionary Maneuver Warfare

Royal Navy – The captain of HMS Nottingham, which ran aground off of Australia, will be rewarded for helping to save the ship.

• Daily Telegraph: Commander ‘who ran aground’ revealed to be ship’s saviour

US Navy – Exercise Millenium Challenge 02 is over.

• Virginian Pilot: Elaborate special-operations war game wraps up
  

History – US Marines – Another look at the Battle for Guadalcanal.

• Sea Power: A Return to “The Ridge”-Guadalcanal Plus Sixty

US Navy – An interview with the Secretary of the Navy

• Virginian Pilot: Q&A: Navy leader says job is ”not fun” after 9/11

Background – Russia – How Russia may attempt to extend its sphere of influence in the future.

• Jane’s: Russia’s sphere of influence
  

Background – Information Warfare – High Power Microwave weapons, designed to attack electronic systems, may be ready for use against Iraq.

• New Scientist: “E-Bomb” may see first combat use against Iraq

US Navy – The US is evaluating the Norwegian patrol boat Skjold this summer.

• TechTV: Navy Tests High Tech Stealth Boat

Indian Navy – India will resume exercises with the US Navy in the fall.

• Rediff: Indian, US navies to resume joint exercises in October

US Navy – The US is looking for more partners to contribute escort vessels to fight the war on piracy.

• The Straits Times: US seeks more escort vessels for its ships

NAVINT – Anthony Preston’s miscellaneous naval news from Australia, Indonesia, Brunei, Iran, Kuwait, Norway and India.

• Sea Power: Australian Naval Budget Receives Major Funding Boost

Taiwanese Navy – To placate China, Taiwan cancels an antisubmarine exercise.

• BBC: Taiwan cancels war games

Russian Navy – Russia is beginning naval exercises in the Caspian Sea.

• Radio Free Europe: Russia: Are Moscow’s War Games In Caspian Muscle Flexing?

US Navy – The US Navy is being sued over its deployment of low frequency active sonar.

• CNN: Environmental groups sue over Navy sonar
  

Background – Iraq – Sir John Keegan on why an attack on Iraq must use all available military forces.

• Daily Telegraph: A ‘light’ war won’t work in Iraq
  

Background – Iraq and Wargaming – William Arkin on how a wargame previously covered here, Millennium Challenge 02, is in reality a wargame for testing different strategies to use against Iraq. The overall theme is to demonstrate the capability to conduct “rapid decisive operations” – that is the use of a much wider range of government resources – diplomatic, economic, covert – and the power to employ the most appropriate of those forces to achieve a desired political or military outcome rather than a level of destruction of the enemy.

• Washington Post Dot Mil: Meet Country X –
  An Innovative Pentagon War Game Fine Tunes a U.S. Attack on Iraq

Indian Navy – India’s new Krivak-class guided missile frigates will be delivered by the end of the year.

• Hindustan Times: Stealth frigates to be delivered to India by year end

Royal Navy – A list of Royal Navy ships that could be used against Iraq in the near future.

• The Times: MoD needs decision ‘within weeks’
  

Russian Navy – Although Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania plan on joining NATO, Russia intends to maintain a strong naval presence in the Baltic Sea.

Meanwhile, the aircraft carrier Kuznetsov is said to be in drydock until 2004, due to problems with its engines. Its airwing has been training in the Ukraine at an airfield the simulates the carrier’s deck.

• The Moscow Times: Saber-Rattling No Solution

US Coast Guard – A look at how the Coast Guard is balancing its new home defense mission with its other traditional roles.

• Christian Science Monitor: Coast Guard cuts new path in terror war

US Navy – How P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft have been used in the war on terror.

• Sea Power: Navy P-3 Operations in the War on Terrorism

Royal Navy – The aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal will soon deploy to the Mediterranean Sea.

• BBC: UK denies Iraq war move
  

Royal Navy – HMS Nottingham begins its journey back to Australia.

• CNN: Stranded U.K. Navy ship begins long trip home

South Korean Navy – South Korea is salvaging its warship that was sunk by North Korea in June.

• BBC: S Korea to salvage clash boat
  

Thai Navy – Thailand’s new navy chief says he will not push for the acquisition of submarines.

• Bangkok Post: New chief won’t seek subs

Background – Saudi Arabia – Thomas Ricks on how the US government may be warming to the idea that the Saudi’s are at the root of many of the US’s troubles.

• Washington Post: Briefing Depicted Saudis as Enemies

History – An entertaining article on how the US National Park Service is attempting to preserve and present Cold War artifacts – namely missile silos.

• Washington Post: Rethinking the Unthinkable

Background – Special Operations – William Arkin on the future of US special operations – as hoped for by Special Operations Command.

• Los Angeles Times: Dressed–and Equipped–to Kill
  

US Navy – Naval lessons learned in Afghanistan.

• US Naval Institute Proceedings: What Can We Learn from Enduring Freedom?

Japanese Coast Guard – Japan is forming an organization of volunteer coastwatchers to look for environmental accidents, suspicious incidents and terrorists.

• Daily Yomiuri: 100,000 volunteers to watch coast

History – Beira patrol – A review of Britain’s naval blockade of the newly independent state of Rhodesia from 1966-1975, and what lessons may be drawn from it for current and future UN naval blockade operations.

• Naval War College Review: The Beira Patrol: Britainís Broken Blockade against Rhodesia

Background – War on Terrorism – Why the war on terror is lagging behind in South-East Asia.

• Economist: The elusive enemy

US Navy – Thomas Ricks on how it is being proposed that SEALs become more aggressive in boarding and searching suspicious vessels around the world.

• Washington Post: Aggressive New Tactics Proposed for Terror War

US Navy – How the Joint Strike Fighter is transformational.

• Sea Power: Transformation vs. Tradition

Russian Navy – What questions about the Kursk have been left unanswered by the final report?

• BBC: Kursk closure leaves questions unanswered
  

Background – Intelligence – An excellent Power Point brief on the naval intelligence lessons learned to date in Operation Enduring Freedom.

• Naval Intelligence Professionals: Operation Enduring Freedom – Intelligence Lessons Learned – An Unofficial Quick Look

Royal Navy – England will sink two Type-22 frigates it cannot find buyers for.

• Reuters: Navy to blow up two of its own ships

US Navy – Aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, with her F/A-18E squadrons.

• Los Angeles Times: Navy’s New Hornet Carries a Bigger Sting Than Predecessor
  

Background – Iraq – Thomas Ricks on the US military’s reservations over invading Iraq.

• Washington Post: Generals, Officials Are Split Over Iraq

US Navy – More on the Gold Team’s design for the DD(X).

• Sea Power: Gold Team Selected to Build DD(X) Family of Warships

Argentine Navy – Argentina has given up in its attempt to rescue a German ship trapped in Antarctica.

• Reuters: German Boat Stuck in Antarctica After Rescue Fails

Taiwanese Navy – More about the negotiations between Taiwan and the US over diesel submarine acquisition.

• Associated Press: Taiwan submarine deal in doubt
• Reuters: Taiwan Says Politics Complicates U.S. Sub Deal

Background – Iran – Reuel Marc Gerecht on how Iran is now ripe for a democratic revolution to replace its corrupt theocracy.

• Weekly Standard: Regime Change in Iran?

Taiwanese Navy – Negotiations over submarines being supplied to Taiwan get down to brass tacks.

• Ha’aretz: Israel could take part in U.S.-Taiwan submarine deal
• Taipei Times: Navy wraps up week-long sub talks

Royal Navy – HMS Cumberland will be exercising with the Pakistani Navy.

• The News International: Pakistan keen to buy second-hand warships: UK

Canadian Navy – Canada will exercise in the Arctic for the first time in 13 years, in Exercise Narwhal Ranger, to assert its sovereignty over the region.

• Halifax Herald: Navy to show flag in Arctic

Background – Iraq – Is the US considering a third-generation warfare plan for attacking Iraq?

• New York Times: U.S. Exploring Baghdad Strike as Iraq Option

US Marines – An update on the MV-22 Osprey flight test program.

• Sea Power: Everything Will Be Evaluated

US Navy – UN sanctions against Iraq are going to be more stringently enforced at sea.

• Associated Press: Intercepts of Iraqi Vessels Widened
  

US Marines – A review of non-lethal weapons currently under development.

• Time: Beyond the Rubber Bullet
  

US Merchant Marine – A thorough review of what ails the US Merchant Marine.

• Sea Power: A Real Wake-Up Call: The Continuing Decline of the U.S.-Flag Merchant Fleet