US Navy – Ship prepares to take help, smiles to several nations

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Virginian Pilot – Ship prepares to take help, smiles to several nations

The hospital ship Comfort left Wednesday on the Navy’s latest humanitarian mission to Central America and the Caribbean. Over the next four months, the vessel will visit Antigua, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Panama. The rotating 850-member crew of doctors, nurses, medical technicians and others plan to spend two weeks in each country, performing operations and providing medical and dental care both on board and on shore. The cruise is part of a Navy mission called Continuing Promise, which is designed to partner with host countries on medical and engineering projects and build goodwill. The mission is the fourth such cruise to the region, following Comfort’s 2007 trip and those of the amphibious assault ships Boxer and Kearsarge in 2008.

US Navy – Dynamic new ramp gives military cargo vessel a lift

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Virginian Pilot – Dynamic new ramp gives military cargo vessel a lift

The Cape Rise left its home at the mouth of Scotts Creek on Monday, on the way to pick up Marine cargo for the war in Afghanistan. The ship, a roll-on/roll-off cargo vessel, was already a useful machine, but now it has a new feature to make loading all that cargo easier: a massive stern ramp that can be lowered by a single person, thanks to computer-controlled hydraulics.

Chinese Navy – Chinese Develop Special "Kill Weapon" to Destroy U.S. Aircraft Carriers

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US Naval Institute – Chinese Develop Special “Kill Weapon” to Destroy U.S. Aircraft Carriers

With tensions already rising due to the Chinese navy becoming more aggressive in asserting its territorial claims in the South China Sea, the U.S. Navy seems to have yet another reason to be deeply concerned. After years of conjecture, details have begun to emerge of a “kill weapon” developed by the Chinese to target and destroy U.S. aircraft carriers.

(Special thanks to TH for the pointer to this)

Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force – Japan Readies Missile Defense System

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Washignton Post – Japan Readies Missile Defense System

Japan ordered its military on Friday to destroy a North Korean missile or its debris, if the launch fails and falling pieces of the rocket seem to imperil Japanese territory. Japan ordered two destroyers equipped with American-built Aegis anti-missile systems into the Sea of Japan, and said it would soon move Patriot land-to-air missiles to the country’s northern coast, over which the North Korean rocket is likely to fly.

…and the US Navy is standing by to assist: CNN – U.S., Japan mobilize for N. Korean launch

Air Warfare – What Fighters Do

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Defense Technology International – What Fighters Do

Bill Sweetman, editor of Defense Technology International, shares his PowerPoint presentation entitled “Fighters in the Long War” that explains the relevance of the manned fighter aircraft as a weapon in the 21st century. An extremely well thought out presentation from a dean of military aviation…

The presentation is stored here: http://www.sendspace.com/file/z2v3l1

Chinese Navy – China wages maritime "lawfare"

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Foreign Policy – China wages maritime “lawfare”

China’s bold and dangerous maneuvers against the USNS Impeccable, a U.S. Navy military survey vessel that was operating about 120 km from the island of Hainan in the East China Sea, is the latest salvo in China’s ongoing campaign to upset traditional notions of freedom of navigation in order to deny access to its coastal waters, or littorals, by foreign warships and aircraft. The event marks the first test of the Obama administration regarding China’s efforts to reshape the international law of the sea.