– Associated Press – The deployment of the nuclear-powered USS Enterprise along the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group marks only the fourth time in the past decade that the Navy has had two aircraft carriers operating at the same time in the region.

– New York Times – The Navy’s newest ship is designed to battle Iranian attack boats, clear mines from the Strait of Hormuz, chase down Somali pirates and keep watch on China’s warships. The ones built here even look menacing, like Darth Vader on the sea.

(Thanks to Eric for the link!)

– The Age – United States military aircraft, including drones undertaking surveillance operations over the South China Sea, could be based on Australia’s Cocos and Keeling Islands in the Indian Ocean.

– Virginian Pilot – Driven by pressures to cut spending in its 2013 budget, the Navy wants to take two extra years to build the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, which is to be constructed at Newport News Shipbuilding.

– Los Angeles Times – The U.S. Navy is upgrading its defensive and offensive capabilities in the Persian Gulf to counter threats from Iran to seize the Strait of Hormuz and block the flow of oil, the chief of naval operations said Friday.

– US Naval Institute Proceedings – Combining Aegis with the new Joint Strike Fighter will enhance coverage and lead to a global honeycomb of defensive capabilities.

– US Naval Institute Proceedings – An August article in Proceedings laid out “Ten Realities for the New CNO.” Here, the new CNO offers his vision of the Navy 15 years hence, which touches on several of those same issues.

– US Naval Institute Proceedings – Sometimes a heavyweight has to shake up his punch-repertoire—the U.S. military should heed that lesson.

– Virginian Pilot – 3,000 sailors will lose their jobs in the coming months as part of an unprecedented and drastic effort to thin the Navy’s ranks in overcrowded job fields. It marks the first time the service will lay off thousands of sailors who are in the middle of enlistment contracts. In the months since the move was announced, it has become widely unpopular and controversial.

– Defense Technology International – The U.S. Navy has begun firing the first of two prototype electromagnetic railgun launchers as it moves a step closer to deploying the long-range, high-speed weapon on its warships.

– Wall Street Journal – The Pentagon is beefing up U.S. sea- and land-based defenses in the Persian Gulf to counter any attempt by Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz.

– American Interest – A more detailed look at how Air Sea battle is supposed to work in practice.

– Washington Post – As the Obama administration reorients its military strategy toward Asia and the vital maritime trade routes in the Pacific, the bulk of the responsibility will fall on the Navy, which was largely sidelined during the land wars of the last decade.

– Aviation Week – The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, long touted as the follow-on to the EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft, is no longer heir-apparent as the king of nonkinetic warfare. The often-delayed Lockheed Martin JSF program is being more narrowly focused on its conventional attack role. Jamming is no longer a priority for the stealthy fighter. The airframes expected to carry the Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) are conventional-signature unmanned aerial systems and will be followed by stealthy unmanned designs.

– US Navy – USS Abraham Lincoln in Strait of Hormuz voyage – The US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln has sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, close to the coast of Iran, for the second time in recent weeks.

– Associated Press – The top U.S. Navy official in the Gulf said Sunday he takes Iran’s military capabilities seriously but insists his forces are prepared to confront any Iranian aggression in the region.

– Military Times – Four Navy frigates and a patrol squadron operating in the 4th Fleet area of responsibility have joined a new multi-national effort to combat illicit trafficking routes in Central America.

– Popular Mechanics – America’s aircraft carriers face fresh threats. But will the new breed of warplanes that meet those threats be flown by top Navy pilots, or will they be incredibly advanced autonomous UAVs? The dogfight for the future of navy flying is on.

– New York Times – C.J. Chivers looks at the survival training naval aviators must undergo regularly.

– Virginian Pilot – The crew of this warship has glimpsed American land for the first time in nearly 11 months, marking the last leg in what’s become the longest U.S. Navy ship deployment in nearly 40 years.

– San Diego Union Tribune – For at least the fourth time in its young history, the San Diego-based littoral combat ship Freedom has developed a serious mechanical or structural problem, the latest which caused the vessel to experience minor flooding while it was operating off Southern California.

– New York Times – CJ Chivers visits the Red Shirts aboard the USS John C. Stennis.

– Washington Post – Two decades after evicting U.S. forces from their biggest base in the Pacific, the Philippines is in talks with the Obama administration about expanding the American military presence in the island nation, the latest in a series of strategic moves aimed at China.

– DefenseIQ – Liquid Robotics Inc. is a Sunnyvale, California-based company that has developed the Wave Glider, a self-propelled and continuous Unmanned Maritime Vehicle (UMV). The company’s Wave Glider uses wave and solar energy to power itself for long periods of time, with some deployments having lasted years at a time.

(Thanks to Worda for the link!)

– Washington Post – The Pentagon is rushing to send a large floating base for commando teams to the Middle East as tensions rise with Iran, al-Qaeda in Yemen and Somali pirates, among other threats. In response to requests from U.S. Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, the Navy is converting the USS Ponce, an aging warship it had planned to decommission into a makeshift staging base for the commandos. Unofficially dubbed a “mothership,” the floating base could accommodate smaller high-speed boats and helicopters commonly used by Navy SEALs, procurement documents show.