US Military – Background – the Bush administration has asked one of the Pentagon’s most controversial thinkers, Andrew Marshall, to conduct a review of the US military and report back within weeks to provide a vision for the future. The report is expected to substantially influence future defense policy and is expected to be highly controversial.

• Washington Post: Pentagon Study May Bring Big Shake-Up
  Unconventional Defense Thinker Conducting Review

US Navy – How some things never change in damage control???

• Virginian Pilot: Ancient bundles still save lives at sea
  

US Navy – Chipping and painting, the bane of sailor’s lives, may come to an end in the US Navy.

• Boston Globe: Chipping away at a Navy tradition

Royal Australian Navy – An illustration of the destructive power of a Mk 48 torpedo fired from a Collins-class submarine as it sinks a Leander-class frigate.

• Jane’s: Death of a destroyer escort
  

US Navy – The search for survivors from the Japanese fishing trawler sunk by the USS Greeneville continues???

• CNN:
  Search for ship survivors resumes as hopes fade

Russian Navy – An excellent essay demonstrating the huge gap between hope and reality in the Russian Navy.

• Christian Science Monitor: Cold realities of Russia’s Navy

US Navy – The USS Greeneville, a Los Angeles-class nuclear attack submarine, sunk a Japanese fishing trawler off of Hawaii during an emergency surfacing exercise. Japan has asked for the trawler to be raised. This is not an isolated incident, fishing trawlers are sunk accidentally by submarines on a regular basis.

• BBC: Raise trawler from ocean floor
  

• BBC: Danger from the deep

Royal Navy – The new Astute-class nuclear submarines under constructions may be modified to allow them to carry women crew members.

• Times of London (registration required): New sub could make way for women crew

US Navy – The contract for the design and building of CVN-77, the last Nimitz-class carrier, has been awarded to Newport News. This ship will serve as a bridge to the next generation aircraft carrier, CVNX-1.

• Jane’s: CVN 77 contract paves way for next carrier class

Background – Naval Forces – The sermon from the mount, for 2000-2001, on the naval scene world wide. Please note this is a long essay, but should make for good weekend reading???

• Jane’s Fighting Ships: Fighting Ships 2000-2001

Ghanian Navy – The US will give two patrol ships to the Ghanian Navy, to help it patrol its coastal waters in the Atlantic.

• Reuters: U.S. to Give Ghana Two Naval Ships, Train Troops

Ukranian Navy – Elements of the Ukranian Navy participated in search and rescue operations last week after a passenger and cargo ship sank in the Black Sea.

• Associated Press: Ukrainian navy, air force continue search for ship-sinking victims

Malaysian Navy – A Malaysian Navy patrol boat fired on a trawler carrying illegal immigrants. One person was killed.

• BBC: Malaysian navy fires on trawler
  

Southeast Asia – Background – Thailand and Malaysia grow closer together, as evidenced by the resumption of Thai-Malaysian naval exercises this year and the scaling back of US-Thai exercises this year. The result will lead to a shifting of US resources to the Phillipines and Singapore to counterbalance this action.

• Stratfor: Thailand-Malaysia Redrawing Strategic Map of Southeast Asia

Indian Navy – The Indian Navy has been giving assistance to earthquake victims using converted hospital ships to treat casualties and supply ships to deliver emergency supplies.

• Express India: Navy treats quake victims
• Rediff: Navy and Army: The Peacetime Warriors of Kutch
• Rediff: Two navy ships converted into hospitals

US Navy – Human error aboard the USS Denver was found to be the cause of the collision between the Denver and the USS Yukon last July.

• San Diego Union Tribune: Denver’s skipper is blamed for collision

US Navy – The commander of the USS Tarawa Amphibious Ready Group was relieved of his command for using inappropriate language which caused morale problems within his command.

• San Diego Union Tribune: Amphibious flotilla boss is relieved of command

US Navy – An insightful essay that insists the US Navy needs to overcome a number of post-Cold War myths. Things are not really as bad as they seem, this essay wants us to believe. We need to start focusing not on the two-major- theater-war standard, but instead on clustered responses to failed states.

• US Navy Institute Proceedings: Top 10 post Cold War myths

US Military – Background – A well thought out essay by William Arkin on why Bill Cohen was the worst Secretary of Defense, ever???

• Washington Post: The Man Who Never Was

US Military – Space Background – A recently conducted government-sponsored war game that focused on warfare in space showed the US miltary is more vulnerable than it should be, with potentially diastrous consequences.

• New Scientist: War games: A virtual space war reveals the US’s over-reliance on commercial satellites

US Navy – The team lead by General Dynamics has revealed their design for the DD-21 Zumwalt-class land attack destroyer. It is nothing short of revolutionary.

• Jane’s: Blue team reveals DD-21 design details

US Navy – The US Navy continues to test its potential anti-ballistic missile system.

• Honolulu Star-Bulletin: Navy rates Kauai missile test a winner

US Navy – The US Navy will soon commission its last warship with steam propulsion, the USS Iwo Jima.

• Stars and Stripes: End of an Era: Navy Readies Last Warship With Steam Propulsion

US Navy – Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Vern E. Clark has issued an explanation of why the captain of the USS Cole was not punished for what happened to his ship.

• Virginian Pilot: Don’t misread Cole ruling, Admiral tells commanders

Taiwan – Background – The U.S. and Taiwan are jointly operating a Signals Intelligence gathering facility on Taiwan.

• Jane’s: Taiwan-USA link up on SIGINT
  

US Marines – 6th Fleet Marines are training Israeli units in combat in urban terrain tactics.

• Times of India: Israeli commandos training with US Marines

Indian Navy – The Indian Navy is rushing ships and resources to aid earthquake victims in Bhuj and other parts of the Gujarat.

• Deccan Herald: Western naval command rushes 2 ships to Gujarat

US Navy – US Navy cryptographers have been assigned to the Pine Gap intelligence gathering facility in Australia to monitor more closely naval movements in South East Asia.

• The Australian: Elite US spy unit sent to Pine Gap
  

US Navy – A thorough review of the past and future career of the E-2 Hawkeye Airborne Early Warning aircraft.

• Jane’s: Hawkeye fixes gaze on emerging missions

French Navy – The French Navy has developed a new high explosive “insensitive munition” bomb for use on its aircraft carrier, as the weapon’s magazine for these bombs in located near the nuclear reactor on the Charles de Gaulle.

• Jane’s: New BANG for carrier strike aircraft
  

Taiwanese Navy -The US may be asked by Taiwan to sell it the 4 Kidd-class guided missile destroyers, as replacements for its Gearing-class destroyers. The Kidd’s would help Taiwan counter China’s new Russian-made Sovremenny- class destroyers and Kilo-class submarines.

• New York Times (registration required): Taiwan Is Likely to Ask the U.S. to Sell It 4 Destroyers

Indian Navy – The Indian Navy has just commissioned a new guided missile destroyer INS Mumbai, and a new guided missile corvette, INS Kirch.

• Times of India: Navy gets 2 new ships

US Navy – The US Navy (and US military) is in for some big changes from the Bush administration — but no one knows just what those changes will entail???

• CNN: Administration to reassess national security strategies
• Virginian Pilot: Defense secretary appointee makes Navy no promises

US Navy – The commission investigating the attack on the USS Cole has issued its report, finding no one to blame for the incident.

• Jane’s: Cole attack highlights inadequate security

US Navy – Newport News Shipbuilding has come under attack for failing to keep costs down on Navy contracts.

• Wall Street Journal: Newport News draws fire
  over cost-cutting efforts

US Coast Guard – The US Coast Guard is assisting in the clean up of the oil spill off the Galapagos Islands.

• CNN:
  Oil spill off Galapagos Islands threatens rare species

• BBC: Galapagos oil tanker ‘breaking up’

Russian Navy – Further analysis by academics of seismic data from the Kursk lends credence to the theory that an explosion, not a collision with another submarine, is what sunk the Kursk.

• BBC: ‘Blast sank Kursk, not collision’

Pakistan Navy – the Pakistani Navy is looking to acquire nuclear weapons for its fleet to provide a counterbalance against a larger and stronger Indian Navy.

• Times of India: Pakistan nuclearising its Navy

Pakistani Navy – The Pakistani Navy will acquire 1 and construct 3 warships from China over the next decade. They will also develop Gawadar Port on the Makran coast in Baluchistan as an alternatiive to the main seaport Karachi, which is vulnerable to Indian warships.

• Times of India: Chinese warships for Pakistan Navy

US Navy – An update on the DD-21 program, which is moving forward towards selection of a final design and builder.

• NY Times: A New Destroyer May Force Choice on the Bush Team

Royal Navy – A breakdown of which ships in the Royal Navy currently use depleted uranium ammunition.

• The Times: Navy to withdraw uranium shells

US Navy – A sailor aboard the Trident submarine USS Alaska has been charged with sabotage.

• Associated Press: Nuclear submarine crew member charged with sabotage

Russian Navy – Two Russian warships will visit the Indian Ocean for the first time since the breakup of the Soviet Union, and visit the International Fleet Review in Mumbai.

• Times of India: Russia to send 2 warships for Indian fleet review

East Asian Background – A number of East Asian navies – such as Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore – are acquiring submarines to guard their coastlines and shipping lanes. The submarine’s stealthy nature and tremendous firepower are its main selling points.

• International Herald Tribune: East Asians Acquiring Submarines to Guard Sea-Lanes

Royal Navy – A look at how the shipbuilding industry in the UK is undergoing a profound change in order to become more efficient.

• Financial Times: Warships take time to plot a new course