Los Angeles Times – In It Together Part 2
Part 2 of a series by David Zucchino following 3 friends through boot camp to deployment and back. Three best friends headed off as Daniel, Daryl and Steven. Now they’ll all answer to ‘Recruit!’
Chinese Navy – China wages maritime "lawfare"
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.
US Marines – In It Together Part 1
Los Angeles Times – In It Together Part 1
Part 1 of a series by David Zucchino following 3 friends through boot camp to deployment and back. Three good friends prepare for the same boot camp platoon as part of the buddy program. They are eager, but their parents are torn.
Air Warfare – The Last Ace
The Atlantic – The Last Ace
Mark Bowden writes that American air superiority has been so complete for so long that we take it for granted. For more than half a century, we’ve made only rare use of the aerial-combat skills of a man like Cesar Rodriguez, who retired two years ago with more air-to-air kills than any other active-duty fighter pilot. But our technological edge is eroding—Russia, China, India, North Korea, and Pakistan all now fly fighter jets with capabilities equal or superior to those of the F-15, the backbone of American air power since the Carter era. Now we have a choice. We can stock the Air Force with the expensive, cutting-edge F‑22—maintaining our technological superiority at great expense to our Treasury. Or we can go back to a time when the cost of air supremacy was paid in the blood of men like Rodriguez.
Chinese Navy – Analysis: so much more than a naval water fight
The Times – Analysis: so much more than a naval water fight
If the nightmare scenario of a superpower war in Asia were to materialise, the South China Sea could be where it all starts
Geopolitics – America's Edge: Power in the Networked Century
Foreign Affairs – America’s Edge: Power in the Networked Century
The United States’ unique ability to capitalize on connectivity will make the twenty-first century an American century.
Piracy – Navies Combat Somali Pirates With Choppers, Internet Chat Room
Bloomberg – Navies Combat Somali Pirates With Choppers, Internet Chat Room
When nine Somali pirates attacked a German-operated cargo freighter in the Gulf of Aden last week, they were in for a high-tech surprise. An international force of three vessels and two helicopters responded, using sophisticated communications methods that included GPS navigation and even an Internet chat room. Less than three hours later, the buccaneers were in the brig. The successful operation by U.S. and European Union anti- pirate forces showed how progress is being made in freeing the Indian Ocean of pirates.
Piracy – Europe steps up piracy controls
Armed Forces Journal – Europe steps up piracy controls
The European Union launched its first naval operation to combat piracy off the Somali coast, dubbed “Operation Atalanta,” on Dec 8, 2008. Its one-year mission is to “take the necessary measures, including the use of force, to deter, prevent and intervene” to end acts of piracy and armed robbery in an area up to 1,000 kilometers off the coasts of Somalia, Kenya and Tanzania, and in the Gulf of Aden.
US Navy – Destroyer to Protect Ship Near China
Washington Post – Destroyer to Protect Ship Near China
The U.S. Navy has dispatched the guided-missile destroyer USS Chung-Hoon to the South China Sea after Chinese ships allegedly harassed an American ship operating there last weekend.
Indian Navy – Indian-Russian Ties Are Chilling
Defense Tech – Indian-Russian Ties Are Chilling
Norman Polmar describes why the Indian Navy wants to do business with countries beyond Russia…
Chinese Navy – China says U.S. provoked naval incident
New York Times – China says U.S. provoked naval incident
China lashed out at the United States on Tuesday, blaming a U.S. Navy ship for violating international law during a tense confrontation near a Chinese submarine base.
Washington Post – China Derides Account By U.S. of Ship Dispute
Chinese Navy – Chinese ships 'harass' US vessel
BBC – Chinese ships ‘harass’ US vessel
Five Chinese ships have manoeuvred dangerously close to an unarmed US navy surveillance vessel in the South China Sea.
Washington Post – China Draws U.S. Protest Over Shadowing of Ships
Virginian Pilot – Harassment just latest Chinese challenge to Navy ships
Chinese Navy – China to renew Somalia anti-piracy mission
Associated Press – China to renew Somalia anti-piracy mission
China’s navy will renew an anti-piracy mission to the Gulf of Aden when the current commitment expires in the coming months.
Geopolitics – Ten Questions With Thomas P.M. Barnett
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.
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