– Aviation Week – Gulf of Mexico residents see all types of ships and barges go by Mississippi’s Little Biloxi River Bridge. The region, after all, is a womb for warships and a transit artery for maritime goods of all types. But recently one barge slipped past the bridge crowned by a cargo never witnessed in these parts, or any other in the world: a specially constructed composites deckhouse that made the vessel look more like a massive prop for the next “Star Trek” movie than anything on the seas. Weighing 900 tons and measuring longer than 50 yd., the deckhouse is the top half of the U.S. Navy’s newest and most modern warship, the DDG-1000 Zumwalt destroyer.
US Navy – US Navy's transition from Prowlers to Growlers proceeding smoothly
– Flight International – The second day of our Boeing media trip to the Pacific Northwest found our motley band of defense reporters at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, near Oak Harbor, Washington.
Royal Navy – Submarine corrosion caused by cost-cutting, says leaked MoD memo
– The Guardian – Senior Ministry of Defence analyst says corrosion on new fleet of hunter-killer submarines is ’cause for major concern’.
US Navy – Navy's Move To Growler 70% Complete; Build-Up Reflects Stealth Doubts
– AOL Defense – “Every two weeks, we get another Growler,” Cmdr. Christopher Middleton said at the Navy’s electronic warfare hub here. The Navy target is to buy 114 EA-18G Growler aircraft. And it’s those Growler aircraft that will be the cutting edge of future Naval strikes against future “anti-access area denial” defenses like those being built by China.
Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force – Watching Japan and China square off in East China Sea
– BBC – Who do the Senkaku or Diaoyu Islands belong to? The short answer is I don’t know.
US Navy – Can Navy Afford Next-Gen DDG-51 Destroyer, Packard Award Or Not?
– AOL Defense – It’s not a Nobel Prize, but the Packard Award matters in the big-dollar world of defense procurement. Last week, utterly overshadowed by elections, the Department of Defense awarded the Packard to the Navy’s DDG-51 destroyer, the sleek grey mainstay of the fleet.
US Navy – USN Chief: Partners Needed for Missile Patrols
– Defense News – Preparations are continuing to base four U.S. Navy destroyers in Rota, Spain, beginning in fiscal 2014 — a move that will allow the ships to provide a near-continuous ballistic-missile defense (BMD) shield for Europe. And while the U.S. remains the only nation so far able to field a sea-based BMD system, the nation’s top naval officer sees roles other navies can play to support the mission.
US Navy – Robots replace costly US Navy mine-clearance dolphins
– BBC – After more than 50 years of loyal service, the US Navy tells BBC Future it is ready to replace its pods of highly trained sea mammals with cheaper robots.
Piracy – Hung, drawn and quartered
– The Economist – Better deterrents are putting the Somali pirates’ business under strain.
Geopolitics – Open Seas
– Foreign Policy – The Arctic is the Mediterranean of the 21st century.
Chinese Navy – China submarines to soon carry nukes, draft U.S. report says
– Reuters – China appears to be within two years of deploying submarine-launched nuclear weapons, adding a new leg to its nuclear arsenal that should lead to arms-reduction talks, a draft report by a congressionally mandated U.S. commission says.
Pakistani Navy – Pakistani Navy ship to participate in naval exercise in Turkey
– Daily Times – Pakistan Navy (PN) ship ‘PNS Shamsheer’ will be visiting Aksaz Naval Base Marmaris and Antalya harbour from November 5 to 14 and will participate in joint exercise ‘Mavi Baline-12’ with the Turkish Navy. Pakistan Navy P3C-Orion aircraft will also participate in the exercise from Dalaman.
Iran – Iran Fired on Military Drone in First Such Attack, U.S. Says
– New York Times – Iranian warplanes shot at an American military surveillance drone flying over the Persian Gulf near Iran last week, Pentagon officials disclosed Thursday. They said that the aircraft, a Predator drone, was flying in international airspace and was not hit and that the episode had prompted a strong protest to the Iranian government.
Russian Navy – Russian ships to rejoin anti-piracy force
– UPI – A Russian task force led by a destroyer was deployed to the Gulf of Aden on a mission to deter activities by Somali pirates, officials say.
US Navy – Now US Navy is arming drone boats
– The Independent – While the US Air Force’s drones have been firing all sorts of air-to-surface missiles and bombs for roughly a decade now, the Navy took a big step toward getting in on the action last week when it launched six Israeli-made Spike missiles from an unmanned 36-foot motorboat.
Chinese Navy – China’s Real Blue Water Navy
– The Diplomat – China is building a two-layered navy with a high-end Near Seas component and a limited, low-end capability beyond. It is not poised to speed across the Pacific to threaten America.
Royal Navy – Low Risk, Flexibility Drive Type 26 Design
– Aviation Week – One of the more innovative features of the BAE Systems Global Combat Ship, formally known to the Royal Navy (RN) as the Type 26, might be its name. It could be argued that it’s part of an Orwellian trend toward vague and generic language, but it also (from BAE’s perspective) deals with the fact that the meanings of “frigate” and “destroyer” have become confused, mainly because they were historically defined in terms of multi-class fleets that, for most operators, are a thing of the past. There’s no point in setting up a terminological barrier to export sales, whether a customer wants to seem powerful (destroyer), frugal (frigate) or peace-loving (patrol ship).
US Navy – Run Silent, Go Deep: Drone-Launching Subs To Be Navy's 'Wide Receivers'
– AOL Defense – This Saturday the Navy will christen its newest nuclear-powered submarine, the $2.6 billion USS Minnesota at the Newport News shipyard in Virginia. Countless movies have cemented the popular image of subs as stealthy underwater killers, stalking hapless surface vessels with periscope and torpedo. But today’s Navy is experimenting with launching robotic mini-subs and even unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Virginia-class attack subs like the Minnesota.
US Navy – U.S. Navy Seeks Undersea Aegis-like System
– Aviation Week – The U.S. Navy would like to develop an underwater system similar to the Aegis shield that protects its surface ships with a bubble of situational awareness, says Navy Oceanographer Rear Adm. Jonathan White, director of oceanography, space and maritime domain awareness.
US Navy – The Coming Of The America Class: A Driver of Innovation
– AOL Defense – A christening of a ship of the line is rare. When it happens, thoughts of how that ship might be used, where it might operate and how it might make new naval history are part of the excitement.
US Navy – Navy’s Newest Assault Ship Moonlights as Pint-Sized Aircraft Carrier
– Wired – She’s 844 feet long, 106 feet wide and displaces 45,000 tons of water. The future USS America, christened in Mississippi on Saturday, is technically an amphibious assault ship, a type of vessel optimized for carrying Marines into battle. But subtle changes under America‘s steel skin mean she can double as a small aircraft carrier, capable of sustaining a short air war all on her own.
US Marines – U.S. amphibious unit off Middle East
– UPI – The 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit sailed into the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations, which includes the Persian Gulf, the overall Middle East and eastern Africa. The 15th MEU has about 2,400 troops aboard three transport ships, including the amphibious assault ship USS Peleilu.
Iranian Navy – Iran naval task force 'docks in Sudan'
– BBC – An Iranian naval task force has docked in Sudan, carrying with it a “message of peace and security to neighbouring countries.”
Afghanistan – Afghan security force’s rapid expansion comes at a cost as readiness lags
– Washington Post – Top Pentagon leaders, White House advisers and members of Congress from both parties have long regarded the rapid expansion of Afghanistan’s army and police as a crucial element of the U.S. exit strategy. For years, they reasoned that generating a force of 352,000 soldiers and policemen would enable the Afghan government to keep fighting Taliban insurgents after U.S. and NATO troops end their combat mission. The U.S. military has nearly met its growth target for the Afghan forces, but they are nowhere near ready to assume control of the country. No Afghan army battalion is capable of operating without U.S. advisers. Many policemen spend more time shaking down people for bribes than patrolling. Front-line units often do not receive the fuel, food and spare parts they need to function. Intelligence, aviation and medical services remain embryonic. And perhaps most alarming, an increasing number of Afghan soldiers and policemen are turning their weapons on their U.S. and NATO partners. As a consequence, several U.S. officers and civilian specialists who have worked with those forces have started to question the wisdom of the 352,000 goal. To them, the obsession with size has been at the root of much that has gone wrong with the Afghan security services.
US Navy – Sailors learn the art of multi-tasking on LCS
– San Diego Union Tribune – Hey, sailor, what’s your job on the ship? If the vessel is the Fort Worth, the U.S. Navy’s third and newest littoral combat ship, the answer may be: Which job?
NOSI - Naval Open Source Intelligence™ 
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