– Washington Post – The backroom congressional battle over Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates’s plan to eliminate the Marine Corps’ multibillion-dollar amphibious Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle will be fought out at the same time as the Corps wrestles with how to shrink its forces.
Information Warfare – Israel Tests on Worm Called Crucial in Iran Nuclear Delay
– New York Times – The Dimona complex in the Negev desert is famous as the heavily guarded heart of Israel’s never-acknowledged nuclear arms program, where neat rows of factories make atomic fuel for the arsenal. Over the past two years, according to intelligence and military experts familiar with its operations, Dimona has taken on a new, equally secret role — as a critical testing ground in a joint American and Israeli effort to undermine Iran’s efforts to make a bomb of its own. Behind Dimona’s barbed wire, the experts say, Israel has spun nuclear centrifuges virtually identical to Iran’s at Natanz, where Iranian scientists are struggling to enrich uranium. They say Dimona tested the effectiveness of the Stuxnet computer worm, a destructive program that appears to have wiped out roughly a fifth of Iran’s nuclear centrifuges and helped delay, though not destroy, Tehran’s ability to make its first nuclear arms.
Chinese Navy – J-20 – The Dragon Gets Airborne
– Defense Technology International – Nice article by Bill Sweetman on how the real purpose of the new Chinese J-20 stealth fighter may be to serve as an anti-access area-denial weapon against the US Navy.
Chinese Navy – Father of modern Chinese navy Liu Huaqing dies
– Associated Press – Liu Huaqing, the father of the modern Chinese navy, has died at age 95.
US Navy – Navy Confirms That New Jammer Will Be Cyber-Invasion Device
– Defense Technology International – The EA-18G Growler and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter will both carry an airborne network invasion weapon, says U.S. Navy’s top intelligence official.
Information Warfare – The Toppling
– The New Yorker – Peter Maas describes how the media inflated a minor moment in a long war.
Editorial Note – Naval Year In Review 2010
2010
World Naval Operational News Highlights
The ten most significant naval news stories / themes this year included:
- The declaration by the US Navy that the Chinese anti-ship ballistic missile DF-21D has reached initial operational capability. What countermeasures is the US planning to use against it?
- The publication of the “Air-Sea Battle” concept by the US as a strategy to neutralize the rise of the Chinese Navy. What steps does the US need to take to transform strategy into action?
- The sinking of the South Korean Navy frigate Cheonan by a North Korean torpedo. What will be the next act of insanity that North Korea will commit, and how will South Korea respond to it?
- The disastrous Israeli naval commando raid against the Gaza relief convoy that resulted in many civilian deaths. How could the mission’s planners not have expected heavy resistance?
- The extension of Russia’s lease on its Black Sea Fleet base in the Ukraine and the news that it will upgrade and enlarge its fleet there. How will this affect NATO’s increasing operations in the Black Sea?
- The survival of the Royal Navy’s under-construction aircraft carriers after its defense review, albeit with a shift in their air wing from the F-35B STOVL variant to the F-35C naval variant. Will these aircraft ever actually be purchased or will the Queen Elizabeth-class become the world’s largest commando carriers?
- The continued drain of piracy on the world’s navies. When will one country step forward and start prosecuting and jailing pirates?
- The US Navy’s (non) decision to purchase equal numbers of both versions of the Littoral Combat Ship. How is this going to lead to logistical and budgetary efficiencies?
- The continued importance of operations other than war to the US Navy, evidenced by the relief delivered to earthquake-ravaged Haiti led by U.S.S. Bataan and to flood-ravaged Pakistan by U.S.S. Peleliu. When will the US Navy be recognized for the good it does in these operations?
- The final withdrawal of US Marines from Iraq, closely coupled to their redeployment to Afghanistan. Will the surge in Afghanistan be as militarily successful as the one in Iraq?
Statistics
In 2010, there were news stories linked to on 347 / 365 days – that is on 95% of the days.
In 2010, NOSI linked to 436 news stories.
In 2010, 140 of these stories (32%) were related to the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, or U.S. Military Sealift Command.
In 2010, 110 of these stories (25%) were background stories.
The remaining 186 news stories (43%) covered the operational activities of 28 nation’s navies, coast guards, and marine corps:
Argentina, Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, India, Iran, Israel, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Netherlands, North Korea, Norway, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Vietnam
In 2010, 180,010 pages of information were read on NOSI by 120,095 users. There were 63,972 post views (impressions) and 134 fans (members) on the NOSI Facebook page.
Chinese Navy – Chinese Air Force Could Overwhelm Opponents
– Aviation Week and Space Technology – Australian analysts are starting to examine how combat between the U.S. and China over the Taiwan Strait might play out and what’s needed to produce a win for small, high-tech forces.
US Navy – US Will Counter Chinese Arms Buildup
– New York Times – The Pentagon is stepping up investments in a range of weapons, jet fighters and technology in response to the Chinese military buildup in the Pacific, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said Saturday on the eve of his visit to Beijing.
Geopolitics / Indian Ocean – US Navy’s Indian Ocean Folly?
– The Diplomat – Maritime strategy seems increasingly focused on the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf. It risks leaving the Navy vulnerable in the Pacific.
US Marines – Gates wants to drop Marines' $14 billion landing-craft project
– Washington Post – A long-troubled $14 billion program to build a landing craft for the Marine Corps is destined for the chopping block, defense officials and analysts said Wednesday, part of $100 billion in savings that Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has pledged to squeeze from the Pentagon’s budget.
US Navy – Common LCS Combat System Debated
– Defense Technology International – Now that the U.S. Navy has worked out its shipbuilding plan for its Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), the service can start eyeing a possible common combat system for the LCS fleet.
US Navy – U.S. Navy Awards LCS Contracts to Lockheed and Austal
– Defense Technology International – The Navy wasted little time in taking advantage of congressional support for the service’s dual-block-buy plan for its Littoral Combat Ship (LCS), awarding fixed-price-incentive contracts tonight to both Lockheed Martin and Austal USA for the design and construction of a 10 ship block-buy each.
US Navy – Transforming U.S. military might into 21st-century weapons
– Washington Post – Nice insight into how the US should be spending its defense dollars…
US Navy – Air Sea Battle A Point of Departure Operational Concept
– Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments – A detailed look at the Air Sea Battle plan…
Editorial Note – War Studies Primer
– We invite you to try the newly updated War Studies Primer (http://www.warstudiesprimer.org) – an introductory course on the study of war and military history. Its purpose is to provide an introduction, or primer, to the study of war.
War Studies Primer is presented as a lecture curriculum at the university level. It is a free, non-credit, self-study course that consists of 28 lectures and over 1,400 slides and is updated on a yearly basis.
You may get started by looking at slides 2 and 3 in the War Studies Primer for its Table of Contents, and then choose a lecture to read and enjoy.
Discussion regarding War Studies Primer may be found on our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/warstudiesprimer – become a Fan and join in!
Portugese Navy – Portugal takes delivery of second sub
– UPI – Portugal took delivery of the second of two Class 209PN diesel submarines, the NRP Arpao, handed over at the Baltic coast shipyards of Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft.
Chinese Navy – Military strength is eluding China
–Chinese Navy – Military strength is eluding China – A different view of the Chinese Navy’s strength…
US Marines – Navy, Marines Game Out Their Future
– Defense Technology International – On December 11, the Navy and Marine Corps kicked off Bold Alligator, a simulation that marks the largest joint fleet simulated amphibious exercise in the last 10 years. Brig. Gen. Christopher S. Owens of the II Marine Expeditionary Force, the Marine component of Exercise Bold Alligator, said in a conference call last week that while it’s the first brigade-level amphibious exercise in quite some time, “it’s also a first step in our revitalization of our amphibious proficiency with larger or brigade-size units” after a decade of kicking sand.
Russian Navy – French Deal to Sell Ships to Russians Is Criticized
– New York Times – Since a low-key Christmas Eve announcement of a French sale of assault ships to Russia, high-level government deal makers have boasted about the multimillion-euro deal like it was a soccer game triumph…But critics – particularly among Russia’s neighbors including Georgia, Estonia and Lithuania – are raising alarms that France may have pioneered the way for other Western countries to sell Russia whatever they have to offer, from high-technology military equipment to rights for oil pipelines.
Russian Navy – Russia to buy two warships in deal with France
– Washington Post – After a long hesitation and arduous negotiations, Russia has decided to buy at least two of France’s advanced Mistral-class amphibious warships in an unprecedented military deal between Moscow and the West.
US Navy – Navy Awards Two Contracts to Build New Combat Ships
– New York Times – The Navy on Wednesday awarded two companies contracts that could be worth a total of more than $7 billion to build 20 of its new littoral combat ships, splitting the purchase to obtain the vessels more quickly.
Iranian Navy – Iran meets with US Navy over piracy
– Associated Press – A common fight against piracy brought U.S. and Iranian navy commanders together in a meeting with other participants earlier this month.
Chinese Navy – U.S. commander says China aims to be a 'global military' power
– Asahi Shimbun – Robert Willard, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, said he believes that China aspires to become a “global military (power)” by extending its influence beyond its regional waters.
Chinese Navy – China Deploys World’s First Long-Range, Land-Based ‘Carrier Killer’: DF-21D Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile (ASBM) Reaches “Initial Operational Capability” (IOC)
– China Sign Post – As we enter the Year of the Hare, China has achieved a major military milestone far faster than many foreign observers thought possible. In a December 2010 interview with veteran national security journalist Yoichi Kato of the Asahi Shimbun, Admiral Robert F. Willard, Commander, U.S. Pacific Command, offered significant new revelations.
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