Background – Piracy – More stories of piracy, with the theme that ultimately the Indonesian Navy is most responsible for allowing this to occur as 25% of all piracy attacks occur off Indonesia. With Indonesia descending into anarchy, the situation is bound to worsen.

• Washington Post: Pirates Flourish on Asian Seas

US Navy – F/A-18’s from the USS Constellation have struck anti aircraft targets in Southern Iraq again.

• Times of India: US warplanes strike Iraqi targets

Russian Navy – Vietnam will not renew the Russian lease on the base at Cam Ranh Bay, and instead will use it for civilian purposes.

• BBC: Vietnam will not lease naval base

French Navy – A French Navy patrol boat has rescued survivors from a ship that sunk off Madagascar.

• CNN: French navy rescues 26 Madagascar wreck survivors

US Navy – The DD-21 program is in jeopardy, as it did not win the approval of the ongoing defense review.

• Boston Globe: Pentagon leaves out destroyer, in loss to Maine

US Marine Corps – The US Marines are considering moving some of their training off of Okinawa.

• Reuters: U.S. Mulls Moving Marine Training From Japan

Russian Navy – The Russian Navy has begun work on a new class of fast attack craft – the Scorpion.

• Jane’s: Russia begins work on new fast attack craft
  

US Navy, US Marine Corps, US Coast Guard – The US Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard have just completed a large riverine exercise.

• Jacksonville Daily: Military coordination tested
  

Background – Caspian Sea – There are continued fears of an arms race beginning in the Caspian Sea.

• Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty: Caspian: Arms Race Fears Grow

Royal Navy – Why the Royal Navy will probably get the two aircraft carriers it needs, and what the British will have to sacrifice militarily to do so.

• Daily Telegraph (registration required): Secret defence cuts that Labour will unveil after the election

South Korean Navy – South Korea wishes to discuss with North Korea the large number of recent territorial water incursions.

• ABC: S.Korea Seeks Talks with North on Ship Incursions
  

Chinese Navy – Another analysis that argues the Chinese military is a paper tiger.

• Stratfor: China’s Firepower Lacks Real Punch
  

Russian Navy – The Russian Navy deployed a ballistic missile submarine to the Pacific Ocean for the first time this year.

• Washington Times: Inside The Ring

Russian Navy – More on the new nuclear attack submarine Gepard.

• Times of London (registration required): ‘Red October’ submarine brought to life

US Navy – The first part of the US defense review was made public yesterday. It calls for the creation of “Global Joint Response Forces” capable of intervening in a hostile environment within 24 hours. The review recommended acceleration of the Joint Strike Fighter program, but did not recommend continuation of the CVX and DD-21 programs.

• Washington Post: Quick Strike Forces Urged for Military

Royal New Zealand Navy – The recent New Zealand Defence Review has effective taken New Zealand out of the Five Power Defence Arrangement with Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and Britain.

• The Evening Post: Defence decisions scorned overseas, Bradford says
  

US Navy – The US Navy will cease using the Vieques range in 2003, and will seek alternative ranges for use after that time.

• Washington Post: Puerto Rico Bombing to End in 2003

Russian Navy – The Russian Navy is conducting operational testing of its new Improved Akula II submarine, the Gepard.

• ABC: Russians Test
  Super-Quiet Sub
  

Royal Navy – Further evidence of the financial difficulties facing the Royal Navy.

• Daily Telegraph (registration required): Cuts leave Navy ‘short of fuel’

Royal Navy – A memo written by the First Sea Lord states that budget cuts are preventing the Royal Navy and Royal Marines from meeting their operational committments.

• BBC: Navy ‘unfit for duty’
  

• Daily Telegraph (registration required):Cuts ‘leave Navy unfit to fight’
• The Times (registration required): Ministers told of risks to Navy

Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force – The new Japanese government appears to be willing to allow its self defense forces to play a more active military role; Japan – who has the second largest navy in the Pacific – could be an important counterbalance to China.

• Los Angeles Times: Self-Defense Forces May Soon Look Like a Modern Military

US Navy – How maritime pre positioning ships can enhance US security.

• Strategy Page: Ships That Wait

US Navy – Has the vaunted US defense review run into a brick wall?

• Washington Post:
  Rumsfeld in Full Retreat

US Coast Guard – An editorial that makes the case for funding for the Coast Guard’s Deepwater program, given the importance of its mission.

• National Review: High-Seas, Low-Tech
  From a technology standpoint, todayís Coast Guard is more Horatio Hornblower than James Bond

US Navy – The US Navy has formally requested to lease the Norwegian Navy’s prototype of the Skjold-class fast attack craft for use with special forces.

• Jane’s: US Navy to test Skjold

Indian Navy – The third Talwar class frigate, INS Tabar, was launched last week in Russia.

• Times of India: 3 new frigates to strengthen Indian Navy

US Navy – An essay that calls for a naval treatyómuch like the 1972 Soviet-American Incidents at Sea Agreementóto outline a formal set of standards by which ships and aircraft of China and the US would be expected to behave.

• US Naval Institute Proceedings: We Can’t Let This Happen Again
  

South Korean Navy – South Korean forces chased North Korean cargo ships out of South Korean territorial waters.

• United Press International: N.Korean vessels violate S.Korean water

Chinese Navy – A Chinese destroyer and replenishment ship are making a port call in Mumbai, after making a similar port call in Pakistan.

• The Hindu: Chinese warships visiting India
  

Chinese Navy – The Chinese Navy is improving its underwater warfare skills.

• Washington Times: Inside the Ring

US Navy – A large joint riverine exercise involving the US Navy, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Army is about to take place off Jacksonville, North Carolina

• Jacksonville Daily News: Riverine training taking big step

US Coast Guard – The cutter Sherman, on a goodwill visit to South Africa while returning from service in the Gulf, rescued a stricken car carrier off of South Africa’s coast which was in danger of running aground.

• All Africa: US Cutter Docks in V&A After Dramatic Sea Rescue
  

• Dispatch: US coast guard arrived in nick of time

Royal Australian Navy – The Collins-class submarines have received high praise from the US Navy after its stellar performance in exercise Tandem Thrust.

• ABC: Collins Class subs among best in world: US Navy
  

Chinese Navy – The Chinese Navy is exercising in the Taiwanese Strait; the USS Carl Vinson battlegroup is on its way to monitor the situation.

• Washington Post: China Plans War Games Off Taiwan
• Taipei Times: US aircraft carrier group steams toward Taiwan

Russian Navy – The Russian Navy may abandon its base at Cam Ranh Bay in Vietnam; both the US and China are interested in using it.

• Times of India: Russia may abandon base in Vietnam

US Navy – Although the DD 21 teams are showing off their designs, the competition has been formally put on hold by the US Navy, pending the results of the current defense review.

• Jane’s: DD 21 teams show rival designs
• Associated Press: US Navy announces delay in destroyer program

Royal Navy – The Royal Navy’s program for 2 large deck aircraft carriers is being called unfeasible given fiscal realities.

• The Guardian: Navy’s flagship plan ‘certain to be sunk’
  

• Daily Telegraph (registration required): ‘Huge’ defence cuts planned

Royal Navy – The current state of the Royal Navy’s nuclear attack submarines – none are at sea.

• BBC: State of Royal Navy submarine fleet called into question

US Navy – What’s it’s like to operate the EA-6B Prowler ECM aircraft in Operation Northern Watch in Turkey.

• Stars and Stripes: Without the bells and whistles, Prowler still plays pivotal role in ONW mission
  

Royal Australian Navy – Australian shipyards face an overcapacity situation resulting in a struggle for survival.

• Jane’s: Australian shipyards face changes ahead
  

Sri Lankan Navy – The Sri Lankan Navy is not getting its money’s worth out of the patrol vessel it purchased from India last year.

• The Hindu: Sri Lankan rethink on ship order from India

Russian Navy – Russia has opened a Web site dedicated to the salvage of the Kursk.

• BBC: Russia opens Kursk salvage site
  

US Coast Guard – Excessive cost may stall the US Coast Guard’s Deepwater program before it is launched.

• Portand Press Herald: Cost may stall Coast Guard fleet overhaul
  

US Navy – The USS Harry S Truman battlegroup and USS Nassau amphibious ready group have returned to port after a successful 6 month cruise to the Persian Gulf and Mediterranean.

• Virginian Pilot: Truman heads home after maiden voyage
  

Indian Navy – The Indian and French navies will hold anti submarine warfare exercises together in November.

• The Hindu: India, France joint naval exercise in Nov.
  

US Navy – An essay on how the US defense agencies have acquired too much power over military affairs.

• US Naval Institute Proceedings: DoD’s Tail Is Wagging the Dog

US Navy – More on the debate over low frequency active sonar (LFAS).

• Environment News Service: U.S. Navy’s Loud Ocean Sonar Draws Intense Objections
• Stars and Stripes: Whales Are All Ears for Navy

US Navy – US forces in the Gulf, including the 5th Fleet, have been placed on high alert after the verdict in the US African embassies bombing case.

• BBC: US Gulf forces ‘on high alert’
  

Indian Navy – French firms are attempting to sell the Indian Navy stealth frigates and new-generation attack submarines.

• Times of India: France woos India with killer subs, stealth technology

US Navy – A strategic look at the EP-3 incident, from naval analyst Norman Friedman. Was the EP-3 the victim of a deliberate attack?

• US Naval Institute Proceedings: Confronting the Chinese
  

US Navy – The USS Inchon has been refused a previously scheduled portcall in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, an agreement has almost been reached to disassemble the EP-3 and fly it home in an AN-124 airlifter.

• BBC: China snubs US again

Uruguayan Marines – The Congo River in Congo is being reopened to traffic after being closed for years by warring parties. The UN is patroling the river, using marine forces from member nations.

• Associated Press: Vital Congo River declared open after years of war
  

Swedish Navy – Tales of the bizarre: Swedish warships are to spend most of the rest of the year moored in port because of an overtime ban on the country’s defense forces.

• ABC: Regular Hours
  

Royal Navy – The Royal Navy is defending the safety record of the EH-101 Merlin helicopter.

• Jane’s: UK Royal Navy defends Merlin safety
  

US Marines – Blunt talk from General Anthony Zinni on what the US military really needs today.

• Virginian Pilot: Retired Marine general delivers straight talk
  

Phillipine and Malaysian Navies – The Phillipine and Malaysian Navies are searching for 20 tourists who were kidnapped from a Phillipine island resort by Muslim rebels and taken away via the sea.

• CNN: Sea hunt for Philippines resort raiders
• ABC: Philippines seek help of Malaysian Navy to track Muslim rebels

South Korean Navy – Another North Korean patrol boat has penetrated South Korean waters.

• ABC: S.Korea Says N.Korea Patrol Boat Intruded Briefly
  

US Navy – Can “network-centric warfare” really work in the US Navy, or will it be undermined by how the Navy really operates?

• US Naval Institute Proceedings: Network-Centric Warfare Meets the Laws
  of the Navy

US Navy – The US Navy is involved in tapping undersea fiber optic cables on behalf of the National Security Agency. This apparently will be one of the key missions of the USS Jimmy Carter, the Seawolf-class nuclear attack submarine that is being extensively modified for clandestine operations. Interestingly, the problem of tapping the cable pales in comparison to the problem of analysing all the data on the cable once it is obtained.

• Wall Street Journal: Spy agency taps into undersea cable

Background – World Naval Affairs – Hot-off-the-press, mandatory reading! The Jane’s Fighting Ships Market Review for 2001-2002 by its new editor, CDR Stephen Saunders RN. This is a long essay of the highest caliber that should be read by all serious students of naval affairs.

• Jane’s Fighting Ships: Fighting Ships 2001-2002