Los Angeles Times – A new frontier opens in the Arctic
The melting polar ice cap is opening the forbidding waters at the top of the world to shipping — and intensifying concerns about regulating maritime operations and protecting the fragile environment.
Virginian Pilot – Navy secretary seeks greener fleet
The secretary of the Navy on Wednesday outlined five energy goals for the Navy and Marines in the next decade. Four involve reducing the consumption of fossil fuels, increasing use of alternative energies and factoring energy costs into the price tag of every new ship, engine or building. The fifth might be the most radical: Mabus committed to fielding by 2012 a “green” strike group composed of aircraft powered by biofuels, surface ships that operate on hybrid power supplies, and nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines.
Navy Times – Navy says Freedom will deploy 2 years early
Freedom, the Navy’s first littoral combat ship, will go operational early next year “to close urgent warfighting gaps,” with orders to deploy to the U.S. Southern Command and U.S. Pacific Command regions. The ship’s maiden operational deployment originally was scheduled for 2012.
Reuters – Japan leans toward ending Afghan refueling mission
Japan’s defense minister said on Tuesday that Tokyo would end its refueling mission in support of U.S.-led operations in Afghanistan when its mandate expires, but the top government spokesman said a decision had yet to be made.
Defense Technology International – Chinese Carrier Strike
Chinese ambitions may be to give its carrier air wing an air-to-surface role from the outset, at least if what appears to be a mock-up of a naval Flanker is to be taken at face value.
Washington Post – Obama Wanted a Petraeus. Buyer Beware.
Greg Jaffe writes that it is hard not to look at Stanley McChrystal without seeing David Petraeus.
Wired – Inside the Apocalyptic Soviet Doomsday Machine
It’s supposed to be the stuff of science fiction: A device that triggers a nuclear holocaust in the event of a U.S. strike against Russia. But the “Dr. Strangelove”-esque technology isn’t just fantasy. The Cold War-era Soviet “doomsday machine” was — and might still be — very much a reality.
New York Times – Beijing’s Afghan Gamble
Robert D. Kaplan on China’s role in stabilizing Afghanistan.
The Herald – Whidbey Growlers ready for service
The US Navy has taken another step in the transition from Prowler to Growler.
BBC – Pirates hit navy ship ‘in error’
A group of Somali pirates has been captured after attacking a French navy ship by mistake, apparently thinking it was a harmless cargo vessel.
The Times – Cutbacks for both the Royal Navy and the RAF
The Royal Navy and the RAF have been ordered to cut right back on all unnecessary spending in order to ensure that defence spending is focused entirely on Afghanistan.
The Times – Nato commander warns of conflict with Russia in Arctic Circle
Competition for resources in the Arctic Circle could provoke conflict between Russia and Nato, a newly appointed commander at the alliance warned yesterday.
BBC – Probing the Arctic Sea conspiracies
What really happened when the Arctic Sea cargo ship went missing amid allegations of hijacking and weapons smuggling?
Antara News – Navy to equip patrol ships with guided missiles
Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Tedjo Edhy Purdijatno said on Monday the Navy plans to equip its patrol ships with guided missiles to increase their deterrent capability.
Washington Post – ‘Almost a Lost Cause’
Greg Jaffe writes that one of the deadliest attacks of the Afghan war – the Battle of Wanat – is a symbol of the U.S. military’s missteps.
New York Review of Books – The Afghanistan Impasse
Ahmed Rashid updates the current situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The Space Review – The space security implications of missile defense
The Obama Administration recently decided to replace planned ground-based interceptors in Europe with SM-3 missiles. Brian Weeden describes how this decision has implications for space security, since it was a modified SM-3 that intercepted a decaying US satellite last year.
Economist – New missile defences in Europe: Shooting down a plan
America’s change of tack on missile defense is placating some and worrying others. Nice diagrams of how a sea-based missile defense system will work in Europe.
Defense Technology International – Sea Trials For MiG-29K
The new MiG-29K carrier-based fighter started its sea trials on Russia’s only aircraft carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov, on September 28-29. According to MiG, two aircraft – a MiG-29K single-seater and a two-seat MiG-29KUB – made several take-offs and landings from the carrier in the Barents Sea.
UK Ministry of Defence – Royal Navy Sea Kings ‘bag’ intelligence over Helmand
The Royal Navy’s unique airborne surveillance and control helicopters, known as ‘Baggers’, have recently deployed to Helmand in Afganistan for the first time, where they are detecting, following and intercepting insurgent activity.
(Thanks to Justin for the pointer…)
Reuters – A Call to Allow Women to Serve on Submarines
Top Pentagon officials are calling for an end to the military’s historical ban on allowing women to serve in submarines.
BBC – Navy seizes cocaine ‘worth £240m’
The Royal Navy says it has seized its largest haul of cocaine, with an estimated street value of £240m.
New York Review of Books – A Black and Disgraceful Site
A review of the book “Island of Shame: The Secret History of the US Military Base on Diego Garcia.” An interesting take on the history of Diego Garcia as a US base in the Indian Ocean.
The Diplomat – Why China Military Watchers Got It Wrong
The publication last month of a monograph by the RAND Corporation, which dramatically overturns longstanding assumptions about the defense of Taiwan, should make sobering reading for US policymakers.
Defense Technology International – German and Greek Tiff Over Submarines
Germany and Greece are having words over the decision early this week by Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft (HDW) GmbH, the ThyssenKrupp (TKMS) unit that makes Germany’s non-nuclear submarines, to cancel two submarine contracts with the Greek Defense Ministry because it has not been paid €524 million euros ($765 million dollars) … even though the submarines are ready for delivery.
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