– New York Times Magazine – Training Afghans to protect their homes and fight the Taliban seems to be working. The problem is that it’s also allowing them to fight their own personal wars.
Iraq – The great gamble of Iraq 2012
– Best Defense – Tom Ricks analyses the current situation in Iraq, with the US about to pull out…
Iraq – No Regrets Over Pushing the US Into War With Iraq
– Washington Post – David Ignatius interviews Iraqi politician Ahmed Chalabi, who was the most effective lobbyist in favor of the 2003 U.S. invasion: “So that’s how it ends — not with a bang or a whimper, either, but with a smooth valedictory from the man whom history will record as the secret instigator of the Iraq war, for which he has no apologies and, seemingly, no regrets.”
US Navy – Navy to Push Cargo UAS Capabilities
– Defense Technology International – The U.S. Navy is following the Marine Corps and Army in getting interested in unmanned cargo aircraft.
US Navy – Vertical landings hit the mark in F-35B's tests
– Virginian Pilot – The crew of the Wasp hasn’t gone far since leaving Norfolk in early October. The amphibious assault ship has spent weeks steaming through a small, pie-shaped wedge of water off Virginia’s eastern shore. It doesn’t stray more than 12 miles from land. Despite its geographic confinement, the Wasp is making history. Test pilots have been flying two test versions of the next generation Marine fighter jet – the F-35B – onto and off of the ship’s flight deck for weeks, the first time the models have operated at sea.
Royal Navy – Royal Navy captures pirate vessel
– Guardian – Suspected ‘mother ship’ believed to have been involved in the hijacking of an Italian cargo ship earlier this month.
US Navy – U.S. warship arrives in Georgia for joint drills
– RIA Novosti – A U.S. Aegis missile cruiser arrived on Monday in Georgia to take part in joint naval drills with the Georgian navy
US Navy – A Morning on the USS Wasp … With BF-4
– Defense Technology International – A year ago, the F-35B was in the doghouse owing to lackluster performance in testing. Now, however, that has changed. The jets are up, operating and ticking off test points. And the timing for the turnaround is potentially fortuitous for the project as only miles inland in Washington, officials overseeing the F-35 development program are trying to defend it from bean counters on the prowl for savings in the defense budget.
Greek Navy – France to Sell Frigates to Greece in Controversial Deal
– Der Spiegel – Berlin is unhappy about a weapons deal in which France plans to supply warships to highly indebted Greece free of charge for the first five years, and at a big discount when payment comes due. Firms and politicians in Germany say taxpayers may end up paying for part of the deal, and they want Chancellor Angela Merkel to intervene.
US Marines – US, Philippine marines begin drills near Spratlys
– Associated Press – About 3,000 U.S. and Filipino marines started two weeks of annual military drills in the Philippines on Monday that will include a hostile beach assault exercise near the disputed Spratly Islands.
Piracy – Taken By Pirates
– New York Times Magazine – One couple’s 388-day ordeal — and their unlikely saviors.
US Navy – Navy Drops Advanced Radar From Aegis Upgrade
– Aviation Week – U.S. budget woes have claimed another victim — the required integration of the U.S. Navy’s proposed Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) with its next planned Aegis combat system upgrade.
Royal Navy – Might Britain Buy the Naval Rafale?
– Defense Technology International – France’s procurement chief does not consider the idea that the UK may eventually opt for the Rafale for its new aircraft carriers completely ridiculous.
US Coast Guard – Lawmakers confronting cold reality for pricey icebreakers
– Seattle Times – The United States is running short of icebreakers, with its only pair of heavy icebreakers, Polar Sea and Polar Star, sidelined in Seattle, one with broken engines and the other undergoing an overhaul to keep it running a decade past its life span.
Royal Marines – British marines free hijacked Italian ship off coast of Somalia
– Daily Telegraph – British commandos have stormed an Italian cargo ship which was hijacked by Somalia pirates in the Indian Ocean, rescuing the crew and capturing nearly a dozen pirates.
Piracy – Netherlands Increases Number of Vessel Protection Detachments
– Defense Technology International – The Netherlands plans to deploy 50 vessel protection detachments (VPDs) to protect vulnerable ships from Somali pirates in 2012, ten times the number deployed so far this year.
Air Warfare – Flight of the drones
– The Economist – Why the future of air power belongs to unmanned systems.
US Marines – F-35B Finally Lands on the Wasp!
– Defense Technology International – The F-35B short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing Joint Strike Fighter has taken a step forward in its testing program today with the first landing onboard the USS Wasp, a Marine Corps amphibious ship, in preparation for shipboard trials.
Chinese Navy – Ares visits China, part Three
– Defense Technology International – OK, so we’ll skip a day or so (otherwise there won’t be anything left for you to read about in the next issue of DTI) and move onto the day we visited the Shanghai naval base, a first ever by journalists of any nationality apparently.
US Marines – Marine flying entering period of turbulence
– San Diego Union Tribune – As the Marines celebrate a century of shared aviation history with the Navy at the annual air show in San Diego beginning today, they are also looking to the future amid a high-stakes overhaul of their fleet.
Russian Navy – Russian Navy Tests New SLBM
– Defense Technology International – Just two days after the ICBM crash in Plesetsk, another new Russian missile has made a successful test launch. On September 29, Delta IV class Tula submarine of the Russian Northern Fleet fired a ballistic missile called Lainer (Liner) from the Barents Sea.
Royal Navy – Royal Navy sackings 'will lose aircraft carriers skills forever'
– Daily Telegraph – One of the Royal Navy’s most senior officers has expressed serious concerns over the loss of skilled aircraft carrier crew following redundancies.
US Navy – Navy explores longer sub deployments
– AP – The Navy is considering lengthening the standard deployment of attack submarines beyond six months as it faces rising demands with a fleet that has been shrinking since the end of the Cold War.
Turkish Navy – Turkish military ship raises hackles in oil and gas hunt
– Globe and Mail – The Turkish research vessel, Koka Piri Reis, continues to raise hackles among countries around the eastern Mediterranean.
Iranian Navy – Iran to deploy ships near U.S. sea borders
– UPI – An Iranian naval official said the country’s navy plans to deploy ships in the Atlantic Ocean near U.S. maritime borders.
NOSI - Naval Open Source Intelligence™ 
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