– Washington Post – With the Iraq war ending and an Afghanistan exit in sight, the Marine Corps is beginning a historic shift, returning to its roots as a seafaring force that will get smaller, lighter and, it hopes, less bogged down in land wars.
Terrorism – The Secret War: Africa ops may be just starting
– Military Times – The sixth and final part of Sean Naylor’s look at the war on terror in Africa.
Russian Navy – Delivery of New Russian Attack Sub Postponed for 2012
– Defense Technology International – The delivery of the first Yasen class (project 885) multirole attack nuclear powered submarine Severodvinsk to the Russian Navy has slipped for the end of 2012.
Terrorism – The Secret War: Tense ties plagued Africa ops
– Army Times – Part 5 of Sean Naylor’s look at the war on terror in Africa.
Royal Navy – UK navy apprehends 7 suspected pirates
– Associated Press – Britain’s navy arrested seven suspected pirates after a helicopter-led chase in the Indian Ocean.
US Marines – Osprey in the Catbird Seat
– US Naval Institute Proceedings – The tiltrotor MV-22 has come of age. Moving larger payloads—faster and farther—it broadens Marine Corps capabilities and gives commanders more choices.
Chinese Navy – Drawing Lines At Sea
– US Naval Institute Proceedings – Its recent naval exercises demonstrate that China can operate 21st-century ships on far deployment. But can a strategy based on island-chain control produce a navy capable of projecting global power?
US Navy – Three Navy ships on course for longest deployment in years
– Virginian Pilot – Three Navy amphibious ships that left Norfolk ahead of schedule in March are set to stay at sea into February, which would make their cruise the longest ship deployment in decades.
Chinese Navy – China navy to carry out Pacific exercises
– BBC – China’s navy will carry out exercises in the Pacific Ocean in the coming days, amid continuing tension over maritime disputes in the region.
Terrorism – Years of detective work led to al-Qaida target
– Army Times – Fourth in a series by Sean Naylor. Often-frustrating search for Harun Fazul combined high-tech gear, low tech human intelligence and courage
Russian Navy – US carrier strike force enters Syrian waters. Russian carrier en route
– DEBKAfile – The Syrian crisis aassumed a big power dimension this week with the build-up of rival United States and Russia naval air carrier armadas in Syrian waters. The USS George H.W. Bush arrived Wednesday, Nov. 23, in the wake of the three Russian warships anchored earlier opposite Tartus which established a command post in the Syrian port. They will be augmented by Russia’s only air carrier the Admiral Kuznetsov, which is due in mid-week.
Information Warfare – Hackers 'hit' US water treatment systems
– BBC – Hackers are alleged to have destroyed a pump used to pipe water to thousands of homes in a US city in Illinois.
Israeli Navy – Israel beware: China arms Hezbollah
– Washington Times – A look at the attack, during the Second Lebanon War, of a Chinese-produced, Hezbollah-fired C-802 anti-ship missile that struck Israel’s INS Hanit off the Lebanon coast.
US Marines – Marines won’t fly Brit Harriers
– Marine Times – An official announcement could come within days of Britain’s sale of its remaining Harrier jump jets to the Marine Corps, but sources are saying privately the purchase will be strictly for spare parts and logistic support, and not a move to increase the operational fleet.
Phillipine Navy – US assures Manila of 2nd warship amid Spratlys row
– Associated Press – The United States will provide a second warship to the ill-equipped Philippine military as it confronts China in increasingly tense territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Geopolitics / Asia – We’re back
– Economist – America reaches a pivot point in Asia.
Terrorism – Clandestine Somalia missions yield AQ targets
– Army Times – The third in a series by Sean Naylor looking at U.S. military operations in the Horn of Africa after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Terrorism – Lack of human intel hampered AQ hunt in Africa
– 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.
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