The Atlantic – Sea Change
Outstanding map showing how the Arctic is changing from an impenetrable wasteland into an oceanic crossroads.
Fourth Generation Warfare – Terror at the border: A new terrorist threat is closer than you think
Armed Forces Journal – Terror at the border: A new terrorist threat is closer than you think
Col. Robert Killibrew writes that with American attention diverted to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the economic crisis and a hard-fought national election, national security experts have largely overlooked the bitter countercartel war in Mexico. But that war, which is beginning to overlap the U.S. border, is only the forerunner of an even more serious threat. Sometime in the near future a lethal combination of transnational terrorism and criminal gangs is going to cross the U.S. border in force. According to some, it already has, and we haven’t even noticed.
Geopolitics / Arm Dealers – Flying anything to anybody
Economist – Flying anything to anybody
The rise and fall of Viktor Bout, arms-dealer extraordinaire, shows a darker side of globalisation.
Royal Navy – Baby Boomers
Defense Technology International – Baby Boomers
A very interesting contract announced yesterday: The UK is paying General Dynamics Electric Boat unit to design a Common Missile Compartment (CMC) for its next ballistic missile submarine (SSN), slated to replace the Vanguard-class SSBNs from 2022 onwards. The contract also states that the CMC is intended for the US Navy’s Ohio-class replacement as well. While the US and UK SSBN programs have long been joined at the hip through the use of the same missiles, this is another step forward in collaboration.
Chinese Navy – Beijing Considers Upgrades to Navy
Wall Street Journal – Beijing Considers Upgrades to Navy
China’s top military spokesman said it is seriously considering adding a first aircraft carrier to its navy fleet, a fresh indication of the country’s growing military profile as it prepares for its first major naval deployment abroad.
Russian Navy – Russian Missile Fails in Test Launch for Fifth Time
Associated Press – Russian Missile Fails in Test Launch for Fifth Time
Russia’s new sea-based ballistic missile has failed in a test launch for the fifth time, signaling serious trouble with the highly advertised major future component of the nation’s nuclear forces. The Bulava missile “self-destructed and exploded in the air” after a launch from the Dmitry Donskoy nuclear submarine beneath the surface of the White Sea.
US Navy – Flying Submarine or Submerging Seaplane?
Defense Tech – Flying Submarine or Submerging Seaplane?
Norman Polmar writes that submarines cannot fly, but seaplanes can submerge — if you build them properly.
Geopolitics / Somalia – The Guns of Anarchy
Washington Post – The Guns of Anarchy
Mark Bowden surveys the current situation in Somalia.
Geopolitics / Finance – The Ascent of Money
Wall Street Journal – The Ascent of Money
An excerpt from Niall Ferguson’s new book…
French Navy – Surprise Present for the French Navy
Defense Technology International – Surprise Present for the French Navy
Many in the French navy, disappointed that president Nicolas Sarkozy postponed a decision early this summer on whether or not to procure a second aircraft carrier, got a surprise Christmas present last week when Defense Minister Hervé Morin announced he was ordering a third Mistral-class BPC.
Royal Australian Navy – Australian navy ship races to rescue French sailor
AFP – Australian navy ship races to rescue French sailor
An Australian navy frigate was racing against deteriorating weather conditions Saturday to reach a French yachtsman badly injured during a solo round-the-world race.
US Navy – Navy appears to have made decision to put carrier in Florida
Virginian Pilot – Navy appears to have made decision to put carrier in Florida
The Navy appears to be moving full steam ahead with plans to homeport a nuclear carrier in Florida, despite the service’s insistence that no decision has been made.
US Navy – USS Bunker Hill Undergoes Sea Trials
Defense Technology International – USS Bunker Hill Undergoes Sea Trials
The USS Bunker Hill (CG 52) completed sea trials to test its newly modernized hull, mechanical and electrical (HM&E) systems Dec. 12. The ship is the first of 22 Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruisers to undergo a total capability upgrade as part of the Cruiser Modernization Program.
Chinese Navy – Chinese ships will fight pirates
BBC – Chinese ships will fight pirates
China has announced it is to send naval ships to fight rampant piracy in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia.
Royal Navy – Passengers rescued from navy ship
BBC – Passengers rescued from navy ship
The Chilean Navy said Wednesday that the British Navy ice patrol ship HMS Endurance that lost engine power at the eastern mouth of the Strait of Magellan on the southern tip of South America is now safely anchored.
US Navy – Out In The Open
Defense Technology International – Out In The Open
The X-47B unmanned combat air system (UCAS) demonstrator – the US Navy’s first tail-less, stealthy unmanned aircraft, was unveiled at Northrop Grumman’s Palmdale, Calif., site on Dec.16.
Geopolitics / Empire – A Gentler Hegemony
Washington Post – A Gentler Hegemony
Robert D. Kaplan writes that the US is declining slower than we think….
US Navy – New ship uses technology to bring the fight to shore
Virginian Pilot – New ship uses technology to bring the fight to shore
Aboard the littoral combat ship USS Freedom…
Italian Navy – Naval patrols fail to deter pirates
Associated Press – Naval patrols fail to deter pirates
Rear Admiral Giovanni Gumiero is going on a pirate hunt.
From the deck of an Italian destroyer cruising the pirate-infested waters off Somalia’s coast, he has all the modern tools at his fingertips – radar, sonar, infrared cameras, helicopters, a cannon that can sink a ship 10 miles, or 16 kilometers, away – to take on a centuries-old problem that harks back to the days of schooners and eye patches.
Piracy – UN approves piracy land pursuit
BBC – UN approves piracy land pursuit
The United Nations Security Council has unanimously approved a US resolution allowing countries to pursue Somali pirates on land as well as at sea.
Russian Navy – Russian warships in Cuban visit
BBC – Russian warships in Cuban visit
A group of Russian warships is to visit Cuba for the first time since the Soviet era.
Geopolitics / Energy – Let the sun shine in
The Economist – Let the sun shine in
Satellites that beam solar power to earth have often appeared in science fiction. Will they ever become reality?
Chinese Navy – Naval gazing
Economist – Naval gazing
China’s Hainan island – A curious blend of beaches, babes and naval bases.
Terrorism – 'Terror' Is The Enemy
New York Times – ‘Terror’ Is The Enemy
Philip Bobbitt gives his views on how the war on terror should be waged in the future.
Iraq – Official History Spotlights Iraq Rebuilding Blunders
New York Times – Official History Spotlights Iraq Rebuilding Blunders
An unpublished 513-page federal history of the American-led reconstruction of Iraq depicts an effort crippled before the invasion by Pentagon planners who were hostile to the idea of rebuilding a foreign country, and then molded into a $100 billion failure by bureaucratic turf wars, spiraling violence and ignorance of the basic elements of Iraqi society and infrastructure.
NOSI - Naval Open Source Intelligence™ 
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