Chinese Navy – Watch This Space: China’s New Air Defense Zone

Wall Street Journal – Effective 10 a.m. on Nov. 23, Beijing declared an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) covering a significant portion of the East China Sea. The Chinese air force soon conducted its first patrol in the zone, with two large reconnaissance aircraft monitoring the area, early warning aircraft supporting and fighters providing cover.

Canadian Navy – The Future of Canada’s Navy

Real Clear Defense – Maritime power is hardly the first thing that comes to mind when one thinks of Canada. Yet, Canada’s coastline is the longest in the world, amounting to 243,000 kilometres. With access to three oceans – Atlantic, Arctic, and Pacific – the world’s waterways are certainly integral to Canadian security. That the Royal Canadian Navy has been neglected in the budgets of successive Canadian governments has played some part in building the perception of the country as a non-actor in maritime affairs. But the tide may be turning.

US Navy – Navy Shifts Plans to Acquire a Tougher UCLASS

USNI News – The U.S. Navy appears to have shifted its position on the requirements for its next generation carrier-based unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Instead of developing the planned Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) to only conduct operations in uncontested airspace, the service will instead pursue a design that can be adapted over time to operating against higher threat levels.

Chinese Navy – 1st Sub-launched Nuke Missile Among China’s Recent Strides

Defense News – For the first time in the country’s history, China’s sea-based nuclear deterrent nears initial operational capability (IOC), according to a forthcoming report by a US congressional commission on China. China’s JL-2 submarine-launched ballistic missile could reach IOC later this year, according to an early draft of the report by the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

Russian Navy – Russia’s Future Subs Could Be Smaller, Quieter, Cheaper—And Totally Unsuitable

War is Boring – In coming decades, the Russian navy could replace its nuclear-powered submarines with battery-powered models that are smaller, harder to detect and cheaper to build. But the non-nuclear approach to future subs is risky, particularly for under-ice Arctic operations. It’s not for no reason that the world’s leading undersea power, the United States, is committed to an all-nuke sub fleet.

Operations Other Than War – The Navy’s Strategy for Saving the World

War is Boring – On Nov. 13, 2013, the U.S. Pacific Fleet activated the San Diego-based USNS Mercy, one of America’s two giant hospital ships, to help out in The Philippines after the archipelago nation was devastated by one of history’s biggest recorded storms. Mercy’s deployment is part of wider humanitarian strategy.

Operations Other Than War – Navy Activates Hospital Ship Mercy for Philippines Disaster Relief

USNI News – The Navy is activating the hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH-19) to the Philippines as part of the ongoing U.S. disaster effort following Super Typhoon Haiyan. If ordered to deploy, Mercy would get underway in the next several days and could arrive in the Philippines sometime in December.

Russian Navy – Russia Preps for Arctic ‘Dominance’ With Nuclear Icebreakers and Polar Warships

War is Boring – On Nov. 4, Russia’s Regional Development Ministry concluded in a report that Moscow was unprepared for a war in the Arctic. Over the next two days, the Kremlin and it partners in the press moved quickly to assure the world that they were stepping up their efforts to establish their military presence in the land of the North Pole — with a nuclear-powered icebreaker and a squadron of warships.

Operations Other Than War – British carrier HMS Illustrious to aid typhoon victims

BBC – The aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious will be sent to help people affected by the typhoon in the Philippines. HMS Illustrious is currently in the Gulf and is expected to arrive in the Philippines on 24 November. The carrier will relieve destroyer HMS Daring, which is already on its way and should arrive on Saturday.

US Navy – An American Submarine Just Slipped Under the Arctic Ice

War is Boring – Sometime apparently in August, the U.S. Navy nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Seawolf eased out of the port of Bremerton, in Washington State, on what was probably her fifth or sixth deployment since commissioning in 1997. A month later the U.S. Sixth Fleet, in charge of ships in European waters, posted a series of photos to the Website Flickr depicting the U.S. ambassador to Norway, Barry White, touring the 350-foot-long Seawolf pierside at Haakonsvern naval base … in southern Norway. Thousands of miles from Washington State. How Seawolf got to Norway—and what she might have done en route—offer a rare and tantalizing glimpse into some of the most secretive quarters of the most poorly understood aspects of American naval power.