– Defense Technology International – The U.K. has given the go ahead for the short-range air defense system for its Type 26 Global Combat Ship and also the existing Type 23 frigates.
US Navy – Obama’s Asia strategy gives Navy key role, fewer ships
– Washington Post – As the Obama administration reorients its military strategy toward Asia and the vital maritime trade routes in the Pacific, the bulk of the responsibility will fall on the Navy, which was largely sidelined during the land wars of the last decade.
US Navy – Next Generation Jammer will be uninhabited
– Aviation Week – The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, long touted as the follow-on to the EA-18G Growler electronic attack aircraft, is no longer heir-apparent as the king of nonkinetic warfare. The often-delayed Lockheed Martin JSF program is being more narrowly focused on its conventional attack role. Jamming is no longer a priority for the stealthy fighter. The airframes expected to carry the Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) are conventional-signature unmanned aerial systems and will be followed by stealthy unmanned designs.
Russian Navy – Russian sub had nukes aboard during fire
– Russian Navy – Russian sub had nukes aboard during fire – A Russian sub had nuclear-tipped missiles and other weapons aboard when it caught fire in dry dock during December repairs in the arctic.
Indian Navy – India's Navy Leases Russian Akula II Submarine
– Defense Technology International – On January 23 the Indian Navy received the Russian Nerpa Project 971 Shchuka-B class nuclear powered attack submarine on a 10-year lease.
US Navy – USS Abraham Lincoln in Strait of Hormuz voyage
– US Navy – USS Abraham Lincoln in Strait of Hormuz voyage – The US aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln has sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, close to the coast of Iran, for the second time in recent weeks.
French Navy – A Virtual Tour of the BPC Dixmude
– Defense Technology International – Today I invite you to join me on a photographic foray aboard the BPC Dixmude, the third of the multi-mission amphibious landing helicopter docks to be delivered by STX and DCNS to the French Navy.
Royal Navy – 21st century airships may join Navy fleet
– Daily Telegraph – A new generation of British-built airships may be bought by the Royal Navy to resupply ships, follwoing their use by the US Army on the front line in Afghanistan.
Geopolitics / Libya – Inside story of the UK's secret mission to beat Gaddafi
– BBC – British efforts to help topple Colonel Gaddafi were not limited to air strikes. On the ground – and on the quiet – special forces soldiers were blending in with rebel fighters. This is the previously untold account of the crucial part they played.
US Navy – U.S. admiral says forces prepared to confront Iran
– Associated Press – The top U.S. Navy official in the Gulf said Sunday he takes Iran’s military capabilities seriously but insists his forces are prepared to confront any Iranian aggression in the region.
Royal Navy – Royal Navy chief looks to the future with carrier, F-35 programmes
– Flight – The Royal Navy and Fleet Air Arm entered a period of forced transformation 16 months ago, when the UK government approved major cuts to their equipment and personnel structures as part of its Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR). However, with a final tranche of about 300 staff cuts having been confirmed in mid-January, the head of the UK’s “senior service” is looking firmly to the future.
US Navy – Frigates join other nations in hunt for drugs
– Military Times – Four Navy frigates and a patrol squadron operating in the 4th Fleet area of responsibility have joined a new multi-national effort to combat illicit trafficking routes in Central America.
Iraq – My Mesopotamian Getaway
– Foreign Policy – An excellent overview of post-American Iraq, by the Iraqi scholar Emma Sky.
Geopolitics – Egypt / Egypt’s Human Bellwether
– New York Times Magazine – To know the future of Egypt, watch what happens to Mohamed Beltagy, the embattled hero of the revolution.
Royal Navy – Argentina accuses Britain of sending nuclear missiles to Falklands
– Daily Telegraph – Argentina has stepped up its sabre-rattling rhetoric over the Falkland Islands by accusing Britain of sending nuclear missiles on submarines to the South Atlantic.
US Navy – Are Pilots—or Robots—the Future of Naval Aviation?
– Popular Mechanics – America’s aircraft carriers face fresh threats. But will the new breed of warplanes that meet those threats be flown by top Navy pilots, or will they be incredibly advanced autonomous UAVs? The dogfight for the future of navy flying is on.
Afghanistan – The Hard Way Out of Afghanistan
– New York Times Magazine – Fighting to the finish in Afghanistan’s most dangerous place.
US Navy – Navy fliers' love-hate relationship with water-crash survival class
– New York Times – C.J. Chivers looks at the survival training naval aviators must undergo regularly.
Royal Navy – Royal Navy to send HMS Dauntless to Falkland Islands
– Daily Telegraph – The Royal Navy’s most sophisticated warship is being sent to the South Atlantic in a move that will send a powerful message to Argentina.
US Marines – Navy-Marines' amphib mission has reptilian name
– Virginian Pilot – For months, Navy and Marine Corps brass have talked up a massive training exercise with a funny name – Bold Alligator – and a serious objective: revitalizing amphibious warfare.
Royal Navy – Britain faces 'impossible' battle if Argentina invades Falklands, warns General Sir Michael Jackson
– Daily Telegraph – Britain will find it “impossible” to win back the Falkland Islands if Argentina invades them again, General Sir Michael Jackson has warned.
US Navy – Record deployment nears end for Bataan, sister ships
– Virginian Pilot – The crew of this warship has glimpsed American land for the first time in nearly 11 months, marking the last leg in what’s become the longest U.S. Navy ship deployment in nearly 40 years.
Geopolitics / Middle East – Turkey and Iran carve up a ruptured Arab world
– Christian Science Monitor – Martin van Creveld writes that many analysts say the Middle East is the focus of a geopolitical power struggle between the United States and Iran. That misses the primary thread of events – namely, the ongoing soft partition of the Arab republics between Turkey and Iran, with Turkey the stronger power.
Iran – Will Israel Attack Iran?
– New York Times Magazine – For the first time since the Iranian nuclear threat emerged, the conditions for an Israeli assault have been met.
Piracy – Seized Pirates in High-Seas Legal Limbo, With No Formula for Trials
– New York Times – C.J. Chivers writes that the many navies involved in counterpiracy patrols off Africa’s northeastern shore have learned the pirates’ habits and sharpened interdiction efforts. Hijackings have declined sharply in the past year. But where interdiction ends, an enduring problem begins: what to do with the pirates that foreign ships detain?
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