– BBC – French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius has confirmed the controversial sale of two warships to Russia will go ahead, saying many jobs are at stake.
Chinese Navy – Annual Report To Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China 2014
– US Department of Defense – Read the US government’s latest official view on the Chinese Navy.
US Navy – Ideas Pour in to US Navy’s Small Ship Task Force
– Defense News – The task force working to come up with ideas for the US Navy’s small surface combatant (SSC) got a major data download Thursday, as industry submitted their proposals for modified or entirely new designs.
US Navy – Navy Considers it’s Beyond-the-Horizon Future
– DOD Buzz – The Navy is in the early phases of considering new sensors, aircraft and weapons it could add to its beyond-the-horizon strike and cruise missile intercept system.
Vietnamese Navy – Japan to Provide Vietnam Patrol Boats Next Year
– USNI News – Vietnam’s Vice Defense Minister Nguyen Chi Vinh told Reuters on Monday at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that the country expects to receive patrol boats from Japan early next year.
US Navy – Fleet Forces’ top ship slated for lay-up
– Navy Times – The East Coast’s busiest ship is also its best.
Russian Navy – France Might Withhold 2nd Mistral Ship From Russia
– Defense News – French defense officials are exploring ideas to avoid delivering a second helicopter carrier to Russia, including looking for an alternative client for the Sevastopol.
US Navy – Navy Quietly Downscales Destroyer Upgrades
– USNI News – The Navy has quietly reduced the scope of upgrades to its guided missile destroyers in a move that could make up to a quarter of the fleet a target of early decommissioning due to obsolescence. Out of 28 early Arleigh Burke-class DDGs (Flight I/II), 21 will not receive a full upgrade to their Aegis combat systems and instead have a midlife upgrade that will focus on the mechanical health of the ship and some will have upgrades to the ships’ anti-submarine warfare systems as part of a cost saving strategy.
Afghanistan – Marine general talks Afghanistan
– San Diego Union Tribune – Q & A with Brig. Gen. Daniel Yoo, southwest NATO commander.
Geopolitics / Pakistan – Pakistan: Worse Than We Knew
– New York Review of Books – Ahmed Rashid on the current situation in Pakistan.
French Navy – Third NATO Ship Enters Black Sea, Russia Vows Increased Military Air Presence
– USNI News – A French frigate entered the Black Sea on Wednesday, growing the number of NATO surface warships in the region to three.
Indian Navy – India Is Trying to Get Serious About Carrier Air Power
– Was is Boring – Since China’s aircraft carrier Liaoning began sea trials in summer 2011, naval and air power observers have been closely watching the development of Beijing’s once-secretive carrier program. Meanwhile, India—an established flattop operator—has also been making important progress deploying air power at sea.
Ukranian Navy – Ukrainian Navy is Slowly Rebuilding
– USNI News – Ukraine has recovered 28 ships from the Russian government following the Russian occupation of Crimea in March, according to information from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense.
US Navy – USS Bataan moves into Mediterranean
– AP – The US Navy warship USS Bataan has moved into the Mediterranean Sea and could be used, if needed, for any possible evacuation of American personnel from Libya.
Chinese Navy – China’s Underwater A2/AD Strategy
– The Diplomat – New research suggests China is deploying a fixed ocean-floor acoustic arrays system for anti-submarine warfare.
US Navy – Sailors drive potent new riverine boat in Persian Gulf
– Navy Times – It’s small, fast, heavily armed, networked and one of a kind. But the new coastal command boat just starting to operate in this region is giving sailors in the Persian Gulf a taste of the swift and bad-ass boats coming to the brown-water Navy.
Dutch Navy – The Dutch Were Powerless When Russian Warships Entered Their Waters
– War is Boring – Russia’s only aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov recently passed through the English Channel and into The Netherlands’ exclusive economic zone. But the Dutch navy had no ships available for escort duty.
Swedish Navy – Tomorrow’s Stealthy Subs Could Sink America’s Navy
– Aviation Week – The U.S. military is relying on sub-hunting tech that’s decades old. Meanwhile, the targets they’re trying to find are getting quieter and more invisible by the day.
Geopolitics – The Gift of American Power
– Real Clear World – Robert D. Kaplan states that great powers are rarely appreciated in their own time, for the benevolent order they spread goes unacknowledged by those who benefit most from what they provide. Global civilization — and the system of legal norms that arises from it — survives to a significant extent because the American military remains robust and widely deployed. And that, in turn, is not a situation that is necessarily permanent, or one that can ever be taken for granted.
US Marines – Pacific Pathways: Army prepares new tack for deploying forces in Pacific
– Stars and Stripes – Analysts and some military leaders have questioned whether the US Army’s Pacific Pathways initiative will duplicate Marines’ skills and assets and is a “solution in search of a problem.”
US Navy – U.S. Sends Guided Missile Cruiser to Black Sea, 2 NATO Ships in Region
– USNI News – A Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser will enter the Black Sea on Friday “to promote peace and stability in the region,” the Navy announced on Thursday.
Iranian Navy – The Pasdaran have published on Twitter how they would attack a US ship in the Strait of Hormuz
– The Aviationist – The IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps), the branch of Iran’s military whose role is to protect Tehran’s Islamic system, have published on Twitter an interesting drawing showing how they imagine an attack to an enemy warship entering the Persian Gulf.
Russian Navy – China and Russia Kick Off Joint Naval Drills
– USNI News – The People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) and the Russian Navy kicked off a week of naval exercises. Joint Sea Exercise 2014 — which will be held in the East China Sea —is the third bilateral exercise between Russia and China in as many years.
Chinese Navy – Can China’s New Destroyer Find U.S. Stealth Fighters?
– USNI News – Can China’s new Type 052D Luyang III destroyers successfully see through the stealth of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter?
Piracy – The World’s Most Violent Pirates
– USNI News – West Africa is home to the world’s most violent pirates—who are now capable of overwhelming armed guards. Last month pirates killed a crewmember during an attack on German-owned oil tanker. Instead of fighting off the pirates, the embarked security team retreated to the ship’s citadel safe room.
For the shipping and insurance worlds, the widespread adoption of armed guards aboard vessels essentially “solved” Somali piracy, as no vessel employing them has been hijacked by pirates. An attempt to transfer this panacea to the pirate-prone waters of West Africa, however, has proved inadequate and ill-suited to local conditions.
NOSI - Naval Open Source Intelligence™ 
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