– Army Times – The second in a series by Sean Naylor looking at U.S. military activity in the Horn of Africa.
Terrorism – The Secret War: How U.S. hunted AQ in Africa
– Army Times – First of a series by Sean Naylor. Clandestine SEAL mission planted cameras, but little came out of the images.
US Marines – US military to buy Britain's scrapped fleet of Harrier jets
– Daily Telegraph – The US military has agreed to buy Britain’s entire fleet of Harrier jump jets after they were controversially scrapped under the Government’s austerity measures.
US Marines – Australia agrees US Marine deployment plan
– BBC – Australia has agreed to host a full US Marine task force in the coming years, Prime Minister Julia Gillard has announced at a news conference with US President Barack Obama in Canberra.
More information at the New York Times
Information Warfare – From Russia With Jam
– Defense Technology International – Moscow-based Aviaconversiya Ltd., makes and sells GPS jammers…to anyone who wants to buy them, no questions asked.
US Navy – Toilet troubles add to sailors' deployment stress on carrier
– Virginian Pilot – It may seem like a trivial inconvenience in the scheme of things, but it’s become routine enough that some sailors aboard the Norfolk-based aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush say it’s affecting their morale, their health and their job performance: Since the ship left for its maiden combat deployment in May, its toilet system has suffered outages so frequently that crew members sometimes can’t find a single working commode.
US Navy – AirSea Battle’s Turbulent Year
– Air Force – The anti-access, area-denial threat, vast distances in the western Pacific, and unrelenting budget pressures have forced the largest push for USAF and naval integration since the end of the Cold War.
German Navy – Early Retirement For German Navy Patrol Boats And Minehunters
– Defense Technology International – The German navy has decided to retire early the Type 143A fast patrol boats (FPBs) Nerz and Dachs and the Type 333 minehunters Kulmbach and Laboe on 31 March 2012.
Afghanistan – Echoes from a Distant Battlefield
– Vanity Fair – When First Lieutenant Jonathan Brostrom was killed by Taliban fighters in 2008, while attempting a heroic rescue in a perilously isolated outpost, his war was over. His father’s war, to hold the U.S. Army accountable for Brostrom’s death, had just begun. And Lieutenant Colonel William Ostlund’s war—to defend his own record as commander—was yet to come. With three perspectives on the most scrutinized engagement of the Afghanistan conflict, one that shook the military to its foundations, Mark Bowden learns the true tragedy of the Battle of Wanat.
US Navy – General Atomics to help Navy create 'super gun'
– San Diego Union Tribune – The award is part of a long term effort to create a ship-borne gun that uses electricity instead of chemicals to fire high impact projectiles. The railgun being developed through the Office of Naval Research was designed to fire projectiles up to 200 miles. The projectiles would travel up to 5,600 mph, allowing for rapid attack against targets on land and at sea. The “super gun” also could reduce the need to store expensive and dangerous explosives aboard ships.
US Navy – US Navy SEAL team who killed Osama bin Laden interviewed for new book
– Daily Telegraph – Details of the US Navy SEAL team who killed Osama bin Laden have been disclosed in the first account of the raid said to have been based on interviews with them.
Israeli Navy Boards Gaza Boats
– Associated Press – Military says two boats trying to break blockade were boarded peacefully and will be towed to Israeli port of Ashdod
French Navy – French Numbers from Libya
– Defense Technology International – A look at the French Navy’s contribution to operations in Libya.
Iran – UK military steps up plans for Iran attack amid fresh nuclear fears
– The Guardian – British officials consider contingency options to back up a possible US action as fears mount over Tehran’s capability
Geopolitics / Libya – King of Kings
– New Yorker – Jon Lee Anderson on the last days of Muammar Qaddafi.
Royal Navy – No warships left defending Britain after Defence cutbacks
– Daily Telegraph – Defence cuts have left the stretched Royal Navy unable to provide an emergency standby ship to protect British waters for a month.
Terrorism – The Terrorist Threat Beneath the Waves
– Wall Street Journal – Andrew Krepinevich writes that the world’s vast undersea energy infrastructure—oil and gas platforms, wellheads, pipelines and pumps—is now vulnerable to attack by cheap submarines and unmanned vehicles.
Information Warfare – Electromagnetic weapons: Frying tonight
– Economist – Warfare is changing as weapons that destroy electronics, not people, are deployed on the field of battle.
Terrorism – How Ready Are We for Bioterrorism?
– New York Times Magazine – Ten years after anthrax attacks, biodefense is busted.
Information Warfare – Malware myopia
– Los Angeles Times – Mark Bowden writes that as modern society leans more heavily on the Internet, its fragility becomes an ever greater concern.
French Navy – Adroit Deal
– Defense Technology International – The first-of-class Gowind corvette, the Adroit, was today put at the disposal of the French navy. This unusual procedure took place because the navy has not bought the ship—it is borrowing it from the constructor, DCNS, for the next three years.
US Navy – US military helicopters to survey deadly Thai flooding
– BBC – The Thai authorities have asked US military helicopters from the destroyer USS Mustin to survey flooding, which has hit the north and is now threatening the capital Bangkok.
US Marines – Marines secure road to dam in long-awaited Afghan mission
– San Diego Union Tribune – After a five-day operation in one of the most combative areas of Afghanistan, international forces have secured the main road from Sangin to the strategic Kajaki Dam in northern Helmand province, Marine commanders announced.
Royal Navy – Philip Hammond quells doubts over commitment to Trident replacement
– Guardian – New defence secretary confirms that he will pursue renewal of nuclear deterrent that could cost up to £25bn
Chinese Navy – Chinese navy hospital ship visits Cuba, Caribbean
– Reuters – A Chinese navy hospital ship called the Peace Ark sailed on Friday into Havana Bay in Cuba, reflecting good relations between the communist allies and China’s expanding global presence.
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