Small Wars Journal – Ten Questions With Thomas P.M. Barnett
A question and answer session with Thomas P.M. Barnett, on the occasion of the publication of his new book entitled “Great Powers: America and the World after Bush.”
US Navy – Goodbye to Mystic minisub, hello to Falcon
San Diego Union Tribune – Goodbye to Mystic minisub, hello to Falcon
About 350 crew members and friends of the naval minisub Mystic will gather today to retire a ship whose services, thankfully, were never needed during a career that stretched nearly 40 years.
Geopolitics / Democracy – The Myth of the Autocratic Revival: Why Liberal Democracy Will Prevail
Foreign Affairs – The Myth of the Autocratic Revival: Why Liberal Democracy Will Prevail
Autocracies such as China and Russia do not represent a sustainable alternative to liberal democracy. In fact, the pull of liberal democracy is stronger than ever.
Chinese Navy – Chinese navy again escorts Taiwan ship off Somalia
China Daily – Chinese navy again escorts Taiwan ship off Somalia
The Chinese navy Wednesday began a 550-nautical-mile escort mission for a Taiwan ship and four other ships through Somali waters to protect them against pirate attacks.
Chinese Navy – China navy to stage sail-past celebration next month amid aircraft carrier speculation
Associated Press – China navy to stage sail-past celebration next month amid aircraft carrier speculation
China’s navy is planning major celebrations for its 60th anniversary next month, official media reported Friday, amid rising speculation over a possible announcement of plans to build an aircraft carrier.
Chinese Navy – Build aircraft carriers soon
China Daily – Build aircraft carriers soon
Military deputies to the National People’s Congress (NPC) yesterday urged the government to start work on building aircraft carriers, saying the defense strategy was “necessary”.
US Navy – Navy explores use of robot boats
Washington Times – Navy explores use of robot boats
Pentagon planners are taking a long look at the role unmanned robot boats, or “bot boats,” might play in preventing piracy and thwarting terrorists who approach their targets from waterways.
Piracy – A Barometer of Order
Defense and the National Interest – A Barometer of Order
William Lind writes that what is comic about the piracy off Somalia is the inability of the maritime powers, most of whom now have warships on station in the region, to do anything about it.
Indian Navy – India Lays Keel of Its First Homemade Aircraft Carrier
Defense Technology International – India Lays Keel of Its First Homemade Aircraft Carrier
India laid the keel of its first aircraft carrier on February 28. The ship will be named INS Vikrant, which, in Sanskrit, means “courageous” and “victorious”,
Afghanistan – U.S. Strategy in Afghan War Hinges on Farflung Outposts
Wall Street Journal – U.S. Strategy in Afghan War Hinges on Farflung Outposts
President Barack Obama is hoping to boost the flagging war effort in Afghanistan by sending 17,000 reinforcements. Most of them will be deployed to small, remote bases such as Seray, a walled compound of trenches and fortified buildings near the Pakistan border. Many of these new outposts will be in eastern and southern Afghanistan, the most violent parts of the country.
But will the troops in these tiny redoubts be able to carry out the often conflicting missions of fighting insurgents and building relationships with local villagers, or will these soldiers and Marines merely be easy targets?
US Navy – Revealing radar
C4ISR Journal – Revealing radar
A U.S. Navy radar developed in secrecy for tracking targets at sea has been playing an important role on land because of its ability to track objects smaller than trucks or cars. One knowledgeable official says the radar is one of the “groundbreaking” insurgent-hunting technologies referred to, though not by name, in Bob Woodward’s latest book, “The War Within.”
The Littoral Surveillance Radar System, or LSRS, was “born black” and developed as a “deeply, deeply classified system,” according to a knowledgeable official who was not authorized to speak for the program. LSRS operates from P-3C Orions and can be used to track targets on land or sea, and to provide images of those targets to intelligence analysts and commanders.
US Navy – Boomers reborn
Armed Forces Journal – Boomers reborn
Conversion of SSBNs to SSGNs ushers in new submarine strategy.
Geopolitics / Economics – 'There will be blood'
Globe and Mail – ‘There will be blood’
An interview with Harvard economic historian Niall Ferguson who predicts prolonged financial hardship, even civil war, before the ‘Great Recession’ ends.
US Navy – Good business is good policy
Armed Forces Journal – Good business is good policy
Foreign military sales add to the bottom line and reinforce strategic goals.
US Navy – More BMD Capabilities
DefenseTech – More BMD Capabilities
Norman Polmar writes that the U.S. Navy’s Ballistic MissileDefense (BMD) force — based on Aegis-equipped missile cruisers and destroyers — is being increased.
Iranian Navy – U.S. navy says no sign yet of new Iran naval bases
Reuters – U.S. navy says no sign yet of new Iran naval bases
The U.S. navy has no information that Iran has begun construction of planned new naval bases on the eastern approach to the Gulf.
Miscellaneous – Waiting for another Titanic
The Economist – Waiting for another Titanic
Antarctica has become an increasingly popular destination for the more adventurous tourist. In this year’s southern-hemisphere summer season, running from November to March, as many as 39,000 visitors are expected to make the trip from Tierra del Fuego, the nearest jumping-off point to the world’s emptiest continent. That amounts to a fourfold increase in a decade. Officials in both Chile and Argentina are getting increasingly worried about the risk of a fatal accident—“a new Titanic” as one Chilean naval officer puts it.
Russian Navy – Russia defends sinking cargo ship
BBC – Russia defends sinking cargo ship
Russia has expressed its regret over the deaths of eight Chinese and Indonesian sailors whose ship was fired on by Russian forces.
US Navy – The Navy Has a Top-Secret Vessel It Wants to Put on Display
Wall Street Journal – The Navy Has a Top-Secret Vessel It Wants to Put on Display
Anybody want some top-secret seagoing vessels? The Navy has a pair it doesn’t need anymore. It has been trying to give them away since 2006, and they’re headed for the scrap yard if somebody doesn’t speak up soon.
Royal Navy – Somali pirate patrol: Day five
BBC – Somali pirate patrol: Day five
In the fifth instalment of his diary from the ship’s deck, the BBC’s correspondent asks whether such patrols can succeed in the troubled region.
Royal Navy – Somali pirate patrol
BBC – Somali pirate patrol
The BBC’s Jonah Fisher has joined British Royal Navy frigate HMS Northumberland as it patrols the Gulf of Aden in an EU taskforce to deter Somali pirates. This is his fourth entry. The first three are at the bottom of the article…
US Navy – Eisenhower deploys with a new directive: counter-piracy
Virginian Pilot – Eisenhower deploys with a new directive: counter-piracy
When last it was out to sea, the Norfolk-based aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower steamed into the waters off the Middle East, launching warplanes over Iraq and Afghanistan. On Saturday, more than two years after its last deployment, the carrier departed for a familiar destination, but the mission has an added wrinkle: counter-piracy efforts.
Geopolitics – The Axis of Upheaval
Foreign Policy – The Axis of Upheaval
Niall Ferguson writes that we should forget Iran, Iraq, and North Korea—Bush’s “Axis of Evil.” As economic calamity meets political and social turmoil, the world’s worst problems may come from countries like Somalia, Russia, and Mexico. And they’re just the beginning.
US Marines – Osprey heads out on Bataan for deployment
Virginian Pilot – Osprey heads out on Bataan for deployment
Almost 20 years after its first test flight, and a decade since two fatal crashes grounded it, the Osprey is poised for its first full deployment with a Navy amphibious group.
Chinese Navy – US, China consider naval pact
AFP – US, China consider naval pact
The US commander in the Pacific said China and the United States have started work on an agreement designed to avoid an accidental confrontation at sea.
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