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An unpublished 513-page federal history of the American-led reconstruction of Iraq depicts an effort crippled before the invasion by Pentagon planners who were hostile to the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.
Indian Navy – Indian navy 'captures 23 pirates'
BBC – Indian navy ‘captures 23 pirates’
The Indian navy says it has arrested 23 Somali and Yemeni pirates who tried to storm a ship in the Gulf of Aden.
Geopolitics / Iran – The Latter-Day Sultan: Power and Politics in Iran
Foreign Affairs – The Latter-Day Sultan: Power and Politics in Iran
The real decision-maker in Iran is Supreme Leader Khamenei not President Ahmedinejad. Blaming Iran’s problems on President Ahmadinejad inaccurately suggests that Iran’s problems will go away when Ahmadinejad does.
French Navy – Charles de Gaulle Overhaul Completed
Defense Technology International – Charles de Gaulle Overhaul Completed
Afghanistan – Obama Versus Osama
New Republic – Obama Versus Osama
John Nagl’s view of what it will take to “win” in Afghanistan…
Royal Navy – Two aircraft carriers delayed for two years to rescue MoD from budget shortfall
Daily Telegraph – Two aircraft carriers delayed for two years to rescue MoD from budget shortfall
Two major aircraft carriers designed to boost Britain’s world standing will be delayed for two years as part of a package of measures to rescue the Ministry of Defence from a £1.5 billion budget shortfall.
Piracy – On the Lawless Seas, It's Not Easy Putting Somali Pirates in the Dock
Wall Street Journal – On the Lawless Seas, It’s Not Easy Putting Somali Pirates in the Dock
Though piracy is a globally recognized crime, few governments are willing to navigate the legal and logistical barriers that impede convicting seaborn bandits.
US Navy – It's an Airplane. It's a Submarine. It's Possible?
Defense Technology International – It’s an Airplane. It’s a Submarine. It’s Possible?
DARPA is seeking concepts for an aircraft that can clandestinely insert and extract an eight-person special-forces team. The mission is to take off from a runway, fly 1,000nm as a conventional aircraft, fly another 100nm close to the surface, then travel the final 12nm to the coast underwater. Transit should take less than 8 hours, including any time required to land on water and reconfigure from aircraft to submarine – and the vehicle should be able to loiter near the coastline – on or under the surface – for three days in sea state 5. Then return the same way…
Geopolitics / India – The other Middle East
New York Times – The other Middle East
Robert D. Kaplan writes that South Asia and the Middle East are now part of one long continuum…
Piracy – Royal Navy admiral Phillip Jones heads EU Somali pirate task force
The Times – Royal Navy admiral Phillip Jones heads EU Somali pirate task force
A Royal Navy admiral took charge yesterday of the European Union’s first naval task force, assembled to protect international shipping in the waters off Somalia amid calls for a United Nations pirate court to be set up to try those apprehended at sea.
Afghanistan – Letter from Pashmul: Policing Afghanistan
New Yorker – Letter From Pashmul: Policing Afghanistan
Patrolling a Taliban stronghold – an ethnic-minority force enters a Taliban stronghold.
Piracy – Yo Ho EU!
Defense Technology International – Yo Ho EU!
The EU anti-piracy operation launched by European foreign ministers meeting in Brussels today will be a first for the EU in more than one way. It will be the first naval operation conducted by the EU. It will also be the first time the EU has relieved NATO in an operation which is ramping up rather than being scaled down.
Piracy – A look at how Somali pirates operate
Associated Press – A look at how Somali pirates operate
As piracy explodes off Somalia’s lawless coast, the questions become ever more stark: How can ragtag bands of Somali pirates stand up to international warships? And why not just shoot the bandits when they try to clamber aboard? First, the pirates are not as ragtag as one might expect. And second, it’s a big ocean.
Royal Navy – Admirals walk the plank after Iranian humiliation
The Times – Admirals walk the plank after Iranian humiliation
The Royal Navy has been accused of carrying out a discreet purge of senior figures involved in the fiasco over the arrest by Iranian Revolutionary Guards of 15 British sailors and Marines.
Geopolitics / India – Behind Mumbai
The Atlantic – Behind Mumbai
Robert D. Kaplan offers insight into the Hindu-Muslim tensions festering within India
Royal Navy – Falkland Islands to be left without warship
Daily Telegraph – Falkland Islands to be left without warship
The Falkland Islands are to be left without the protection of a British warship for the first time since the war with Argentina because the Royal Navy no longer has enough ships to meet all its commitments.
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