– BBC – France has launched its first missions against Islamic State (IS) militants from its Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier.
RAF search after ‘Russian submarine spotted off Scotland’
– BBC – An RAF plane is “conducting activity” off the Scottish coast, the Ministry of Defence says, amid reports of a Russian submarine being spotted in the area.
The Real Threat to America’s Military (And It’s Not China, Russia or Iran)
– National Interest – We can reallocate resources within services, or allocate resources away from the military, but we cannot reallocate resources across services.
Making Places, Not Bases a Reality
– US Naval Institute Proceedings – The number of U.S. military bases overseas—especially those that can accommodate fighter aircraft—has declined. Establishing ‘frontier bases’ provided by the host nation could be the solution.
Navy Warships to Sail by Mischief Reef
– Washington Free Beacon – Navy warships will sail close to a second disputed Chinese island in the South China Sea soon in a further challenge to Beijing’s military buildup and maritime control.
The Doomsday Scam
– New York Times Magazine – C.J. Chivers writes that for decades, aspiring bomb makers — including ISIS — have desperately tried to get their hands on a lethal substance called red mercury. There’s a reason that they never have.
Russian Ship Enters Red Sea on Anti-Piracy Mission
– Mil.Today – The Russian Northern Fleet’s large anti-submarine warfare ship Vice-Admiral Kulakov has passed through the Suez Canal and entered the Red Sea as part of its long-distance mission.
The Chinese Navy and the Quest for Access
– National Interest – In a quiet but undoubtedly significant event, Admiral Wu Shengli (吴胜利), commander of the People’s Liberation Army Navy and a member of the PRC’s Central Military Commission recently visited Malaysia with an entourage of 10 senior officials. During his visit, Admiral Wu secured agreement from the Malaysian Navy for the ships of the PLA Navy to use the port of Kota Kinabalu in Malaysian Borneo as a “stopover location” to “strengthen defence ties between the two countries.”
Marine Corps Aviation Must Adapt To Become More ‘Value-Added’ to Naval Force
– USNI News – The Navy and Marine Corps should explore ways to make Marine aircraft a more useful part of the naval battle force – using alternate mixes of aircraft types on amphibious ship flight decks, finding additional missions for those aircraft, and pursuing increased connectivity to the rest of the naval fleet.
U.S. Navy, PLA Plan Exercise as South China Sea Gets Less Focus
– Bloomberg – The U.S. navy will participate in an exercise with a People’s Liberation Army vessel during its visit to China as increased tensions in the disputed South China Sea haven’t set back a “cordial” relationship.
Carrier USS Harry S. Truman to Deploy to Middle East on Monday
– USNI News – The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (CSG) — centered on nuclear aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-71) — is slated to depart Naval Station Norfolk on Monday to join the U.S. led coalition against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS or ISIL).
Doomsday Nuclear Torpedo Leak Gives Insight to Russian Strategic Mindset, Ballistic Missile Defense Anxiety
– USNI News – A proposed Russian submarine launched doomsday weapon — the existence of which was almost certainly leaked by the Kremlin — gives clues to the Russian mindset for the development of new strategic weapons in the face of the West’s increasing ballistic missile defense capability and Russia’s shrinking national assets.
Making Expeditionary Force 21 Work
– US Naval Institute Proceedings – A worst-case ‘pre-mortem’ analysis of the Marine Corps’ latest operating concept is the way ‘to avoid failure when failure is not an option.’
The Perils of Energy Independence
– US Naval Institute Proceedings – When it comes to weaning ourselves from foreign oil, the United States should be careful what it wishes for—especially in light of its potential impact on U.S. Pacific Command’s operations in ‘China’s backyard.’
Cuba, the Coast Guard, and Chaos
– US Naval Institute Proceedings – As relations between Cuba and the United States trend toward amiable, the Florida Straits maritime domain could become chaotic.
Chinese Websites Produce Intelligence Windfall
– Washington Free Beacon – What the US is learning using open source intelligence on the Chinese military.
Russia Reveals Secret Nuclear-Armed Drone Sub
– Washington Free Beacon – A Russian document shown on state-run television confirmed that Moscow is developing a high-speed drone submarine capable of delivering a nuclear warhead.
The Age of Unmanned Systems
– US Naval Institute Proceedings – UAS must be fully integrated into the Navy’s fleet to enhance our ability to provide all-domain access.
What’s Important About Underwater Internet Cables
– The Atlantic – Submarine cables don’t come up in the news that often, but if they do it seems to be in two forms: short articles reminding everyone that the Telegeography Submarine Cable Map exists, and short articles of hand-wavey reminders that submarine cables are vulnerable to harm (from tectonic plates, ship anchors, sharks, and terrorists, among others).
China Tests Anti-Satellite Missile
– Washington Free Beacon – China recently conducted a flight test of a new missile capable of knocking out U.S. satellites as part of Beijing’s growing space warfare arsenal.
Navy Developing Software To Give Standard Missile-6 Additional Mission Capabilities
– USNI News – The Navy’s surface ship weapons office is developing software to bring additional mission sets to the Standard Missile-6 surface-to-air missile, which may be ready for fielding in the next year or two.
Can the U.S. Military Halt Its Brain Drain?
– The Atlantic – The Pentagon worries its rigid personnel system is driving away the officers it will need for the conflicts of the 21st century.
Rough seas ahead for the US Navy
– Boston Globe – James Holmes on what the future looks like for the US Navy.
Could tensions in South China Sea lead to armed confrontation?
– Stars and Stripes – China will likely ramp up its efforts to expand and militarize disputed islands in the South China Sea — an area critical to the global economy — as a result of the U.S. Navy’s more assertive patrols in the region, China experts say.
Council Looking Into Using JHSV as Afloat Command and Control Platform for Marines
– USNI News – The Auxiliary Platforms and Payloads Council at the Pentagon has focused its efforts on using the Expeditionary Fast Transport for Marines’ afloat command and control requirements, as well as looking at technical enablers to allow Marines to operate from the Littoral Combat Ship.
NOSI - Naval Open Source Intelligence™ 
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