– BBC – Vietnamese naval ships and Chinese vessels have collided in the South China Sea, Vietnamese officials say. The incident happened as the Vietnamese navy was trying to prevent the Chinese from setting up an oil rig in an area claimed by both nations.
Russian Navy – Russia to deploy new submarines, ships to Black Sea fleet
– Reuters – Russia will beef up its Black Sea fleet this year with new submarines and warships, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was quoted as saying on Tuesday, following the annexation of the Crimean peninsula.
Iranian Navy – Mockup of American Carrier to be Used as Target in Iranian Exercise
– USNI News – A mock-up of an American aircraft carrier will be used as a target by Iranian naval forces in an upcoming exercise.
Geopolitcs / Syria – The Red Line and the Rat Line
– New York Review of Books – Seymour M. Hersh on Obama, Erdoğan and the Syrian rebels. A very interesting look at who is really behind the chemical weapon attacks in Syria…
Iraq – What We Left Behind in Iraq
– New Yorker – Dexter Filkins on the state of Iraq today – an increasingly authoritarian leader, a return of sectarian violence, and a nation worried for its future.
US Marine Corps – Pilot reaction to flying the F-35B
– Aviation Week – Ever since the F-35B short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) version of the Joint Strike Fighter first flew in the hands of BAE Systems’ test pilot Graham Tomlinson in June 2008 we have heard plenty about the easy and precise nature of the jet’s controllability. Commenting about STOVL operations in particular, pilots tend to focus on the ‘push button’ ease of vertical landings compared to the Harrier and the unusual (until you get used to it) ‘walnuts in a blender’ sound that comes from the lift fan. However virtually everything we have heard so far has been from seasoned military or industry test pilots who were involved in the development and evaluation of the F-35B, or leading instructor pilots assigned to initial training. But now that an increasing number of regular U.S. Marine Corps squadron pilots are flying the F-35B at MCAS Yuma, Arizona, with VMFA-121, what do they think?
Royal Navy – George Osborne orders new icebreaker for UK polar science
– BBC – UK science is to get one of the biggest, most capable polar research vessels in the world.
Fourth Generation Warfare – An Officer Corps That Can’t Score
– The American Conservative – William Lind writes that the most curious thing about our four defeats in Fourth Generation War—Lebanon, Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan—is the utter silence in the American officer corps. Defeat in Vietnam bred a generation of military reformers, men such as Col. John Boyd USAF, Col. Mike Wyly USMC, and Col. Huba Wass de Czege USA, each of whom led a major effort to reorient his service. Today, the landscape is barren. Not a military voice is heard calling for thoughtful, substantive change. Just more money, please.
US Navy – U.S. to Test Seabed Resupply Systems by 2016
– DefenseTech – The Pentagon wants to set up a network of seafloor-bedded “nodes” that would include anything from supplies to weaponry to be called to the surface for military action when needed.
Geopolitics / Indian Ocean – Duqm could become the next Singapore
– StratFor – Robert D. Kaplan writes that a noteworthy geopolitical shift is emerging that the media have yet to report on. In future years, a sizable portion of the US Navy’s forces in the Middle East could be spending less time in the Arabian Gulf and more time in the adjacent Indian Ocean. Manama in Bahrain will continue to be the headquarters of the Fifth Fleet. But American warships and their crews, as well as the myriad supply and repair services for them, could be increasingly focused on the brand new Omani port of Duqm, located outside the Arabian Gulf on the Arabian Sea, which, in turn, forms the western half of the Indian Ocean.
Chinese Navy – The Real Reason China Wants Aircraft Carriers
– Real Clear Defense – China’s carrier plans target US alliances, not the US Navy.
Russian Navy – Russian intelligence ship operating off U.S. East Coast
– Washington Times – A Russian intelligence-gathering ship has been operating off the U.S. East Coast and near the Gulf of Mexico for the past month.
US Navy – Stealth Vs. Electronic Attack
– USNI News – The U.S. Navy will need to use a combination of stealth and electronic warfare capabilities to defeat advanced anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) threats in the future, chief of naval operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert said on April 16 at the U.S. Naval Institute annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
Royal Navy – Royal Navy submarine abandons search for MH370
– Daily Telegraph – The Royal Navy’s HMS Tireless has been stood down from the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet.
US Navy – Building the Surface Fleet of Tomorrow
– US Naval Institute Proceedings – The Navy must maintain the current surface force while it procures the future one.
Spanish Navy – Spain Asks U.S. for More Help to Fix Flawed Sub
– USNI News – In a recent U.S. visit, the Spanish Secretary of State for Defense Pedro Argüelles asked American officials for more help to correct design problems with its S-80 diesel-electric submarine program.
US Navy – USS Taylor Returns to Black Sea, 3 NATO Ships Now in Region
– USNI News – U.S. Navy frigate USS Taylor (FFG-50) has returned to the Black Sea for the second time in as many months.
Russian Navy – Russia Will Begin Sea Trials of New Nuclear Subs this Summer
– USNI News – Two of Russia’s newest nuclear submarines will begin sea trials this summer. Borey-class Vladimir Monomakh nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) and the Yasen-class attack boat (SSN) Severodvinsk will depart the Sevmash shipyard in Northern Russia, pending ice melt.
Norwegian Navy – Norway’s Naval Strike Missile Aims for the Pacific
– Defense News – When navies gather this summer in the warm waters near Hawaii for the biannual Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercises, among them will be at least one warship more at home in the cold waters of the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. The Norwegian frigate Fridtjof Nansen will take part in RIMPAC, aiming to launch a Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile (NSM) at a target ship provided by the US Navy.
US Navy – Future Lock
– Aviation Week – This month has been a U.S. Navy futurist’s dream. The Navy not only detailed major milestones for its electromagnetic railgun and the Laser Weapon System (LaWS), but christened its most technologically advanced – as well as controversial – destroyer in the fleet: the DDG-1000 Zumwalt.
Chinese Navy – China Has Begun Listening for American Submarines
– War is Boring – China has begin installing sensitive hydrophones on the floor of the China Seas in an effort to detect and track submarines belonging to the U.S. and its allies.
US Navy – Out of fuel, out of time and one chance to land
– Virginian Pilot – The aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower was finally in sight. The pilot of the F/A-18 Super Hornet hurriedly flipped switches and pushed levers. The aviator in the backseat leaned forward, straining to see the flight deck floating in the distance. The jet’s right engine had locked up, its landing gear had jammed, and the main fuel tank was almost empty. At nearly 350 mph, the Super Hornet hurtled over the warm waters of the North Arabian Sea last April. The pilot had made some tough decisions that day; several hadn’t gone his way. Now he was out of options. He had one chance to land. A look at an F/A-18 Super Hornet crash investigation.
US Navy – Big, Boxy & Cheap, Naval Seabases Are All the Rage
– War is Boring – After 70 years of experimentation, U.S. Navy wants more ships as floating outposts.
US Navy – Strength in Numbers: The Remarkable Potential of (Really) Small Combatants
– US Naval War College Review – On the advantages of small surface combatants…
Chinese Navy – China’s Undersea Nuke Arsenal Could Match U.K. and France
– War is Boring – Beijing prepares its fifth missile submarine.
NOSI - Naval Open Source Intelligence™ 
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