– Daily Telegraph – Britain has officially denied sending a nuclear-armed submarine to the South Atlantic amid rising diplomatic tensions with Argentina over the Falkland Islands.

– Daily Telegraph – A decision on the choice of the Royal Navy’s new combat jet has been delayed yet again following disagreements between senior officers and defence ministers.

– Royal Navy – Aircraft carrier costs will be half what you think, US tells ministers – The US Navy has intervened over the adaptation of a British aircraft carrier for a new generation of fighter jets, to assure ministers that the cost will be less than half the Ministry of Defence’s estimate.

– Daily Telegraph – A former First Sea Lord laments the Royal Navy’s lack of ships – but what it needs most is a maritime strategy.

– Guardian – Defence secretary wants to switch back to version of Joint Strike Fighter ministers dismissed as more costly and less effective.

– BBC – Peru has cancelled a visit by a Royal Navy frigate as an act of solidarity with Argentina in its dispute with the UK over the Falkland Islands.

– Economist – A climate of nationalist agitation.

– Daily Telegraph – Britain could be left without an aircraft carrier equipped with fighter jets for the next decade after soaring costs threw Ministry of Defence plans into doubt.

– Defense Technology International – The U.K. has given the go ahead for the short-range air defense system for its Type 26 Global Combat Ship and also the existing Type 23 frigates.

– Daily Telegraph – A new generation of British-built airships may be bought by the Royal Navy to resupply ships, follwoing their use by the US Army on the front line in Afghanistan.

– Flight – The Royal Navy and Fleet Air Arm entered a period of forced transformation 16 months ago, when the UK government approved major cuts to their equipment and personnel structures as part of its Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR). However, with a final tranche of about 300 staff cuts having been confirmed in mid-January, the head of the UK’s “senior service” is looking firmly to the future.

– Daily Telegraph – Argentina has stepped up its sabre-rattling rhetoric over the Falkland Islands by accusing Britain of sending nuclear missiles on submarines to the South Atlantic.

– Daily Telegraph – The Royal Navy’s most sophisticated warship is being sent to the South Atlantic in a move that will send a powerful message to Argentina.

– Daily Telegraph – Britain will find it “impossible” to win back the Falkland Islands if Argentina invades them again, General Sir Michael Jackson has warned.

– Daily Telegraph – Britain’s nuclear deterrent would have to remain in Scotland even if the country voted for independence, Royal Navy chiefs have concluded.

– Daily Telegraph – Argentina does not have the military capability to invade the Falkland Islands, Gerald Howarth, a Defence Minister, has claimed.

– Royal United Services Institute – The victory of Scottish nationalists in the recent Scottish Parliamentary elections brings closer the possibility of Scotland’s independence. With Britain’s nuclear arsenal located largely in Scotland, policymakers must now consider what independence would entail for the security of the United Kingdom.

– Daily Telegraph – The Royal Navy’s multi-billion pound fighter plane programme is under threat amid claims that its new all-purpose jets cannot land on aircraft carriers.

– Daily Telegraph – The Royal Navy may be forced to release suspected pirates captured in the Indian Ocean because no country is willing to prosecute them.

– Daily Telegraph – Britain could send military reinforcements to the Gulf if the dispute with Iran escalates, according to Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary.

– Daily Telegraph – Holly Watt reports from the RFA Fort Victoria in the Indian Ocean as a raid by the Royal Navy on a fishing boat leads to the arrest of 14 suspected pirates.

– The Economist – Another diplomatic victory for President Fernández of Argentina.

– Daily Telegraph – The Royal Navy’s most formidable warship is being sent to the Gulf for its first mission as tensions rise in the strategically vital region, it can be disclosed.

– Daily Telegraph – A nuclear submarine should be sent to the Falkland Islands to illustrate Britain’s anger at a decision by South American countries to ban boats bearing the island’s flag, the former head of the Royal Navy said.

– BBC – Women are to be allowed to serve on Royal Navy submarines, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has confirmed.