– Epoch Times – The world may be focused on the “war on terror”, but the arms build up in North-East Asia poses a far greater threat to global stability, says Professor Desmond Ball.
Swedish Navy – Sweden steps up ‘mystery sub’ hunt off Stockholm waters
– BBC – The Swedish navy has stepped up its search in the waters off Stockholm amid suspicions that a Russian submarine might be in trouble there.
US Navy – USS America: The Navy’s Newest Flattop Can’t Decide What The Hell It Is
– Foxtrot Alpha – As part of San Francisco’s Fleet Week festivities, the US Navy had a high-profile commissioning ceremony for the USS America LHA-6, the fourth US Navy ship to bear the name and the first in a new class of amphibious assault ships that are really more like aircraft carriers, yet somehow, compromised as both.
Chinese Navy – China’s Aircraft Carrier Trouble—Spewing Steam and Losing Power
– War is Boring – There’s no more of a conspicuous and potent symbol of China’s growing naval power than the aircraft carrier Liaoning. But the 53,000-ton, 999-foot-long carrier could be dangerous to her crew and prone to engine failures. If so, that makes the vessel as much of a liability as an asset to Beijing.
Swedish Navy – Sweden Claims 3 Credible Sightings In Submarine Hunt
– AP – The Swedish military said Sunday it had made three credible sightings of foreign undersea activity in its waters during the past few days amid reports of a suspected Russian intrusion in the area.
Swedish Navy – Russia denies submarine incident off Sweden
– BBC – The Russian defence ministry has denied reports that one of its submarines got into trouble in the waters off Sweden.
US Navy – Naval Drones ‘Swarm,’ But Who Pulls The Trigger?
– Breaking Defense – The Navy’s research arm is justifiably proud of its recent experiment with “swarming” drone boats, whose results (with video) were officially released today. But the very thing that’s most impressive about the swarmboats — their ability to act autonomously with minimal human guidance — raises crucial questions about when we can trust a robot to pull the trigger in combat.
Swedish Navy – Sweden steps up hunt for ‘foreign underwater activity’
– ITV – Sweden has boosted its military presence in the Stockholm archipelago to search for “foreign underwater activity” in the county’s largest mobilisation of troops and ships since the end of the Cold War. Is a Russian submarine in trouble in Swedish waters?
Geopolitics / Russia – The Soviet Collapse
– American Enterprise Institute – A review by former Soviet official Yegor Gaidar on how the Soviet Union collapsed – a story of grain and oil.
Geopolitics – Is the oil crash a secret US war on Russia?
– BBC – Lower oil prices, reflected in falling petrol prices at the pump, have been a boon for Western consumers. Are they also a potent US weapon against Russia and Iran?
Piracy – Maritime piracy on the rise in Southeast Asia
– Nikkei – Maritime piracy continues to be a major threat to global supply chains, though the pirates have moved to different oceans.
Chinese Navy – Chinese Subs Lurk Under the Indian Ocean: Cause for Concern?
– National Interest – The visit of the Chinese Type 039 Song class submarine to Colombo, Sri Lanka, earlier this month passed with little notice, but it’s the first time one of the People’s Liberation Army-Navy’s (PLA-N) diesel-powered submarines has emerged in the Indian Ocean, and its a rare PLAN submarine visit to a foreign port. Naturally, this visit, and an Indian Ocean patrol by a Chinese nuclear submarine at the start of this year, is prompting discussion about the expanding reach and capability of China’s navy.
Chinese Navy – Here Comes China’s Great White Fleet
– National Interest – China’s “rights protection fleet” has grown tremendously in recent years. That could mean trouble in the East and South China Seas.
Chinese Navy – US confident of countering nuclear threat of PLA’s Type 94 sub
– Want China Times – China’s Global Times says the United States has studied various ways to counter the nuclear threat of China’s Type 94 Jin-class submarine.
Iraq – The Secret Casualties of Iraq’s Abandoned Chemical Weapons
– New York Times – C.J. Chivers fascinating story on the extensive chemical weapons stores unearthed in Iraq by the US, and the casualties they caused.
Israeli Navy – Nukes on the High Seas: Israel’s Underwater Atomic Arsenal
– National Interest – Israeli submarines—if reports are accurate—will carry a portion of Israel’s nuclear deterrent under the sea. Can these subs provide a practical deterrent?
US Navy – Navy Moving Two Additional BMD Destroyers To Japan
– USNI News – Two guided missile destroyers with the U.S. Navy’s latest ballistic missile defense (BMD) systems will be added to the service’s forward deployed forces in Japan by 2017.
Geopolitics / North East Asia – Australia May Not Be Prepared for North-East Asia Conflicts
– Epoch Times – Desmond Ball has spent over a quarter of a century as a special professor at the Australian National University’s Strategic and Defence Studies Centre. For Professor Ball, the recent Australian deployment of air power and military personnel to northern Iraq represents a familiar scenario – the Middle East has once again become a distraction from what is needed to defend Australian shores.
US Navy – Navy Declares IOC For E-2D Advanced Hawkeye
– USNI News – The U.S Navy has declared initial operational capability (IOC) with the Northrop Grumman E-2D Advanced Hawkeye.
Miscellaneous – It’s a Rough World Out There For a Small Navy
– The Diplomat – Modern warfare is shifting to a competition between two “system-of-systems,” and smaller navies can’t compete.
US Navy – The Navy’s Battle Command Ship Patrols the Black Sea
– War is Boring – The U.S. Navy has sent its most advanced battle command ship the USS Mount Whitney into the Black Sea to reassure allies rattled by an aggressive Russia. And while she’s there, the ship also has a chance to snoop on Moscow’s military moves.
US Navy – Carl Vinson Strike Group Enters U.S. 5th Fleet
– USNI News – The five ships of the Carl Vinson Carrier Strike Group (CSG) have entered the U.S. Navy’s Middle East area of operations — U.S. 5th Fleet.
US Navy – A Naval Disaster in the Making
– Weekly Standard – The misbegotten plan to shrink the U.S. submarine fleet.
US Navy – Watch the Navy’s Robotic Gunboats Swarm the James River
– War is Boring – The Navy has long wanted to get into the robot game. The admirals are envious of the Air Force’s hundreds of flying drones, and the sailing branch is working on a carrier-launched drone of its own. But now the Navy is creating swarms of robotic gunboats and testing them on the James River in Virginia.
US Navy – Two U.S. Ships in Black Sea, French Surveillance Ship Due Friday
– USNI News – The U.S. command ship USS Mount Whitney (LCC-20) entered the Black Sea on Saturday — a day after guided missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG-67) — bringing the total of American naval ships in the region to two, according on a release from U.S. 6th Fleet. The French signals intelligence ship — Dupuy de Lôme (A759) — is also due in the Black Sea by Friday.
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