– Daily Telegraph – The Royal Navy’s newest destroyer HMS Dauntless set sail on its maiden mission for the Falklands today amid strained diplomatic relations between Argentina and Britain.
US Navy – US Navy deploys 2nd aircraft carrier to Gulf
– Associated Press – The deployment of the nuclear-powered USS Enterprise along the Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group marks only the fourth time in the past decade that the Navy has had two aircraft carriers operating at the same time in the region.
US Marines – First contingent of 200 US Marines arrives in Darwin
– BBC – The first contingent of 200 United States Marines has arrived in Darwin. The troops are there on a six-month rotational basis and will take part in training exercises with the Australian Defence Force.
Information Warfare – The NSA Is Building the Country’s Biggest Spy Center (Watch What You Say)
– Wired – James Bamford writes that under construction by contractors with top-secret clearances, the blandly named Utah Data Center is being built for the National Security Agency. A project of immense secrecy, it is the final piece in a complex puzzle assembled over the past decade. Its purpose: to intercept, decipher, analyze, and store vast swaths of the world’s communications as they zap down from satellites and zip through the underground and undersea cables of international, foreign, and domestic networks. The heavily fortified $2 billion center should be up and running in September 2013. Flowing through its servers and routers and stored in near-bottomless databases will be all forms of communication, including the complete contents of private emails, cell phone calls, and Google searches, as well as all sorts of personal data trails—parking receipts, travel itineraries, bookstore purchases, and other digital “pocket litter.” It is, in some measure, the realization of the “total information awareness” program created during the first term of the Bush administration—an effort that was killed by Congress in 2003 after it caused an outcry over its potential for invading Americans’ privacy.
Iran – Lessons for Israel and Iran from “Persian Incursion”
– Defense Media Network – Persian Incursion wargame designer Larry Bond describes strategies that help one side or the other if Israel were to attack Iran.
US Navy – New combat ship took choppy path
– New York Times – The Navy’s newest ship is designed to battle Iranian attack boats, clear mines from the Strait of Hormuz, chase down Somali pirates and keep watch on China’s warships. The ones built here even look menacing, like Darth Vader on the sea.
(Thanks to Eric for the link!)
Indian Navy – Naval exercise with U.S. begins on Saturday
– The Hindu – The 2012 edition of the annual India-U.S. naval exercise, ‘Malabar,’ will be held in the Bay of Bengal from April 7.
Iran – Things to Think About Before Israel Attacks Iran
– Defense Media Network – Excellent discussion by Persian Incursion wargame designer Larry Bond on the points that are routinely missed by the media in any discussion of a potential attack by Israel on Iran.
Russian Navy – Troubled Russian missile to be retested
– UPI – Test launches for the submarine-based Bulava missile, a Russian weapon with a history of failures, are scheduled for the fall, the sub builder says.
– Economist – On April 2nd 1982 Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. The war Britain fought to recover them still colours domestic politics
Royal Navy – Falkland Islands: UK denies sending nuclear-armed submarine to South Atlantic
– Daily Telegraph – Britain has officially denied sending a nuclear-armed submarine to the South Atlantic amid rising diplomatic tensions with Argentina over the Falkland Islands.
Chinese Navy – China and Russia plan joint naval war exercises in Sea of Japan and Yellow Sea
– Associated Press – China says it will join Russia in naval war games starting next month in the Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea.
Afghanistan – An end to illusion
– Financial Times – Anatol Lieven writes that among other flaws, it was the ignorance of local realities that led to the failure of the western project in Afghanistan.
US Navy – US military eyes Cocos Islands as a future Indian Ocean spy base
– The Age – United States military aircraft, including drones undertaking surveillance operations over the South China Sea, could be based on Australia’s Cocos and Keeling Islands in the Indian Ocean.
French Navy – Inside the FREMM Aquitaine
– Defense Technology International – As promised in the previous post here are some photos of the Aquitaine’s living quarters.
French Navy – Ares boards the FREMM Aquitaine
– Defense Technology International – The first of class of the French Navy’s FREMMs, the Aquitaine, is currently undergoing the third of its four sea-trial missions, this one to check the combat management system. Despite the large numbers of people aboard (DCNS engineers and the French naval personnel actually sailing the ship), a small handful of journalists was able to squeeze aboard earlier this week and photograph almost everything.
Royal Navy – New delay over fighter jet choice
– Daily Telegraph – A decision on the choice of the Royal Navy’s new combat jet has been delayed yet again following disagreements between senior officers and defence ministers.
Royal Navy – Aircraft carrier costs will be half what you think, US tells ministers
– Royal Navy – Aircraft carrier costs will be half what you think, US tells ministers – The US Navy has intervened over the adaptation of a British aircraft carrier for a new generation of fighter jets, to assure ministers that the cost will be less than half the Ministry of Defence’s estimate.
US Navy – Navy asks to slow building of two carriers
– Virginian Pilot – Driven by pressures to cut spending in its 2013 budget, the Navy wants to take two extra years to build the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy, which is to be constructed at Newport News Shipbuilding.
Royal Navy – Britain has to decide upon the Royal Navy's role
– Daily Telegraph – A former First Sea Lord laments the Royal Navy’s lack of ships – but what it needs most is a maritime strategy.
Royal Navy – Government plans U-turn on aircraft carriers as catapult costs spiral
– Guardian – Defence secretary wants to switch back to version of Joint Strike Fighter ministers dismissed as more costly and less effective.
Royal Navy – Peru cancels Royal Navy visit over Falklands
– BBC – Peru has cancelled a visit by a Royal Navy frigate as an act of solidarity with Argentina in its dispute with the UK over the Falkland Islands.
Iran – U.S. War Game Sees Perils of Israeli Strike Against Iran
– New York Times – A classified war simulation held this month to assess the repercussions of an Israeli attack on Iran forecasts that the strike would lead to a wider regional war, which could draw in the United States and leave hundreds of Americans dead, according to American officials.
Air Warfare – Stress of combat reaches drone crews
– Los Angeles Times – Physically they may be thousands of miles from Iraq or Afghanistan. Psychologically, they’re on the ground with troops. The disconnect, and the sense of helplessness, take a toll.
Geopolitics / Middle East – 1848: History's Shadow Over the Middle East
– Stratfor – Robert D. Kaplan compares the situation in Europe in 1848 to today’s Arab Spring.
NOSI - Naval Open Source Intelligence™ 
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