Royal Navy commanders let students crash nuclear submarine into seabed

A Royal Navy nuclear-powered submarine struck the bottom of the sea at more than 14 knots because of basic navigational errors made during a training exercise for three students on board.

Tracing paper over the submarine’s chart also covered vital information, including that the tidal rate at that point was 2.5 knots. The details are revealed in the official board of inquiry report into the grounding of HMS Trafalgarin October 2002, released under a freedom of information request.

Ninety seconds before the boat hit the seabed near the Isle of Skye, somebody realised what was about to happen and was recorded as saying: “We’re going to have to change course. This is too dangerous.”

The board of inquiry investigators failed to discover who had issued the warning, but it came too late and “at 0757 the submarine grounded, striking the bottom heavily on the port side forward . . . speed 14.7 knots.”

Navy seamanship found wanting

The Royal New Zealand Navy has been forced to take action after an independent review into their seamanship.

The review by the Royal Navy was sparked by the death of Byron Solomon last October when an inflatable boat on the HMNZS Canterbury capsized because of equipment failure.

The review criticised the safety awareness at all levels within the Navy and recommended urgent action.

It found flaws in the NZ Navy’s safety practices and training. Little thought was given for personal safety, it found. For the majority of tasks, there was poor preparation, execution and a lack of safety awareness at all levels and this was a major concern, the report said.

Now the Navy is planning on employing a seamanship safety officer and reviewing the training they give their new recruits.

A Chinese aircraft carrier paradox

While reading a superb book proposal about Chinese pirates and globalization by Emory University history professor Tonio Andrade, I was amused to learn that the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has reportedly dubbed a Russian aircraft carrier purchased from Ukraine in 1998 with the moniker “Shi Lang.”

Shi Lang was a 17th century Chinese admiral who first served with the legendary pirate king Koxinga, conquerer of Taiwan from the Dutch and defender of the doomed Ming dynasty against the Manchu Qing invaders. But Shi Lang defected to the Qing dynasty in 1646, whereupon Koxinga executed his father, brother and son.

Shi Lang returned the favor by eventually conquering Taiwan for the Kangxi emperor in 1683.

Why would the PLAN name an aircraft carrier after an admiral who conquered Taiwan in the 17th century? Hmmmm…

General Dynamics Names Retired Admiral as Next CEO

General Dynamics Corp., the U.S. Navy’s second-largest shipbuilder, will turn to retired admiral and former U.S. Chief of Naval Operations Jay L. Johnson for leadership as its next chief executive officer.

Johnson, 61, will become vice chairman in September and then on July 1, 2009, will replace Nicholas Chabraja, the longest-serving leader among the five largest U.S. defense companies. Chabraja, 65, will remain chairman through May 2010, Falls Church, Virginia-based General Dynamics said yesterday.

Report: Hizballah received 35 new Iranian speedboats shortly before current crisis

DEBKAfile’s military sources report that three weeks before Hizballah seized western Beirut, the Shiite terrorist group took delivery of 35 fast speedboats for use with explosives from Iran. The craft can threaten US Sixth Fleet and Israel Navy shipping close to Lebanese shores, reach Israel’s Haifa and Ashdod Mediterranean ports and raid its coastal oil installations.

The speedboats were tailor-made for Hizballah by Iranian Revolutionary Guards shipyards at Bandar Abbas as the only marine terror fleet operating in Mediterranean waters. Our military sources report the boats are capable of carrying chemical, biological and radiological weapons systems.

They were delivered in mid-April by an Iranian freighter at the Syrian port of Latakia and trucked to Naimah port south of Beirut. There they were hidden in the subterranean hangars belonging to Ahmed Jibril, head of the Palestinian Liberation Front-General Command. Today, the PLF-GC is financed and directed by the Revolutionary Guards. The hangars were constructed in the seventies by East Germany engineers with a protected Mediterranean anchorage and made virtually impenetrable by sea or air.

US warship heads back to Mediterranean

A US warship, which was deployed off Lebanon in February amid concern over Beirut’s political crisis, crossed Egypt’s Suez Canal on Sunday on its way to the Mediterranean, an official with the canal authority told AFP.

“The USS Cole has crossed the Suez Canal and is headed to the Mediterranean,” the official said, adding he did not know its exact destination.

The United States sent the guided-missile destroyer to waters off the coast of Lebanon on February 28, in what US officials said was “a show of support for regional stability” amid concerns over Lebanon’s protracted political crisis.

India To Acquire Six More Submarines: Naval Chief

India will soon float global tenders to acquire six submarines but would like to see indigenous development of this technology in the future, Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta said here Friday.

These six submarines would be in addition to the Scorpene submarines, which the Indian navy is expected to acquire soon.

“In accordance with the plan to keep a certain number of submarines in the force, we will be acquiring six of one type (Scorpene) and six of another type,” Mehta was quoted by the Press Trust of India (PTI) as saying at a press conference, marking the end of a two-day-long naval commanders’ conference held here on Friday.

The development of Scorpene submarines had been delayed and it was now time to look for a second type of submarine, he said.

Mehta said: “We need to have indigenous capability for building these submarines and Indian Navy has been a strong proponent of indigenous development. Therefore, we would expect that our shipyards take over the technology from some of these companies and thereafter build it themselves.”

The submarines for which tenders would be floated could also have vertical missile launch capabilities, he added.

French Sends Aid Ship To Myanmar – Foreign Min

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Friday that a French navy ship loaded with 1,500 metric tons of humanitarian aid for cyclone victims was en route to Myanmar and should arrive by next Thursday.

Te Mana arrives in Arabian Gulf

The Navy frigate HMNZS Te Mana has arrived in the Southern Arabian Gulf to begin patrolling the region’s waterways against possible terrorism attacks.

The frigate, which sailed from Devonport in Auckland via Singapore, has 173 personnel on board and will operate within a 20,000 square mile area, conducting maritime support and security operations for the Italian-led Coalition Task Force 152.

Defence spokesman Captain Zac Prendergast says the crew of Te Mana will liaise with other vessels in the area and mentor local navies about seacraft. The frigate is expected to return to New Zealand in August.

Narco subs pose new challenge for US coast guards

The first time they found one, authorities dubbed it “Big Foot.” They had heard rumors that such things existed, but nobody had actually seen one.

It was late 2006, and Big Foot was not lurking in a forest, but at sea, 90 miles (145 kilometers) southwest of Costa Rica. And it was not an ape-like creature, but a hulking, blue vessel resembling a submarine and carrying several tons of cocaine.

Nor was it a solitary beast.

Authorities say they are detecting more and more seacraft like Big Foot — known as self-propelled semi-submersibles — carrying larger and larger loads of drugs.

Chugging around the southern curve of Central America and up towards the United States, they have formed a kind of illicit fleet and become a major drug trafficking tool.

“It’s significant. We believe they can carry upwards of eight or 10 tons of cocaine,” said Rear Admiral Joseph Nimmich, director of the Joint Interagency Task Force South in Key West, Florida, where military and government agencies track drug shipments.

“It’s in fact a logical progression,” he added. “As we get better at interdiction, they move to try to counteract our success.”

Experts estimate 25 to 40 semi-subs left South America last year laden with cocaine, and they expect that figure to double in 2008.

Sri Lanka military says rebels sink navy ship

The Sri Lankan military says Tamil Tiger rebels have bombed and sank a navy cargo ship at the eastern port town of Trincomalee. A navy spokesman said no crew members were on board at the time. Earlier, a bomb-blast in a café in the eastern town of Ampara killed at least 11 people and injured 29 others. The government has also blamed that bombing on Tamil Tiger rebels. The two attacks came just hours ahead of local elections in Sri Lanka’s eastern province scheduled. These are the first polls to be held in the region in 20 years. The government wrested control of the country’s east from the rebels last July.

U.S. sailor arrested for murder of taxi driver denies robbery, murderous intent

A U.S. sailor arrested Thursday for murdering a taxi driver here last month denies that he attacked the victim with murderous intent, his lawyer said.

Moreover, the suspect, Olatunbosun Ugbogu, a 22-year-old Nigerian national, also denies the charge of robbery, saying that he fully intended to pay his taxi fare of about 17,000 yen, according to lawyer Yasutoshi Murakami, who has been hired by the U.S. Navy.

Dutch frigate sent to Somalia coast

The Dutch Parliament has approved the deployment of the Dutch naval frigate Evertsen to the waters off the coast of Somalia.

The vessel, which will remain in the region for three months, will protect ships carrying United Nations food supplies. The ships are often plundered by pirates. As a result of the fighting in Somalia two million people there are dependent on food aid. The frigate will also pick up Somali refugees attempting to flee the country by sea.

Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen announced that the refugees would not be able to apply for asylum in the Netherlands.

The Mapp Report – A One Frigate Navy

Over the last few months I have been told by many people that one of the two frigates, Te Kaha, had effectively been placed in reserve, useful for only short patrols in the Hauraki Gulf.

Recent Parliamentary questions seem to show there is some truth in this. As a rule, our frigates spend 150 to 160 days per year at sea. This usually involves an extensive international operation into the North Pacific or the Gulf. In fact, Te Mana is about to be deployed to the Gulf as part of multilateral operations against terrorism.

However, over the last 18 months the Defence Force has been operating Te Kaha on a minimal basis. In 2007 it spent 79 days at sea; not even one day in four. This year it is expected to spend 97 days at sea. Its readiness is now 24 hours to sail, instead of the usual 12 hours. Many of the allocated crew are apparently undertaking shore courses. Several exercises this year have already been ‘affected’, that is largely not undertaken. What this adds up to is a one frigate Navy, with one in reserve.

Pentagon will not send Adm. Fallon to Congress on Iraq

Adm. William Fallon, who is resigning after a magazine reported he was challenging the White House over Iran, will not appear before Congress to discuss the war in Iraq, the Pentagon said on Friday.

Only Gen. David Petraeus, top U.S. officer in Iraq, and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker will go to Capitol Hill in April to update lawmakers on the war, said Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell.

“I know there have been requests in fact from members of Congress to have Admiral Fallon testify with Gen. Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker and I can tell you Admiral Fallon will not be testifying,” Morrell said.

Fallon, commander of U.S. Central Command headquarters responsible for the Middle East, said earlier this month that he would quit after Esquire magazine described him as urging President George W. Bush to avoid war with Iran.

Fallon cooperated with the author during the article’s preparation but strongly criticized the story after it appeared.

He will hand responsibility to his deputy by the end of March but will remain an active-duty four-star officer.

Japan minister sacks navy chief for blunders

Japan’s Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba sacked the head of the navy, forfeited some pay himself and punished dozens of other staff on Friday, after a string of scandals including the sinking of a fishing boat in a collision with a warship.

The defence ministry said Ishiba, who has himself come under pressure to resign, imposed penalties such as suspensions and salary cuts on more than 80 staff over the incidents, among which was a leak of classified data related to a missile defence system Japan shares with the United States.

The top admiral’s job has been on the line for the past month after last month’s collision involving a high-tech naval destroyer, but opposition politicians had also wanted to bring down Ishiba, who is seen by analysts and the public as one of Fukuda’s most competent cabinet ministers.

Many defence personnel were being punished for a failure to react with urgency to the collision with the fishing boat, whose two-man crew is still missing, Kyodo news agency quoted Ishiba as telling a news conference.

Ishiba said all the lookouts on watch had been inside the main bridge of the destroyer because of rain, and no one was watching one of two key radar displays shortly before the collision.

“The watch was not conducted appropriately,” he said.

Former Navy secretary says industrial base needs rebuilding

The future of U.S. sea power is threatened by the erosion of the country’s industrial base and its ability to build warships – even if the political will to do so is revived, says former Navy Secretary James, H. Webb Jr., now a Democratic senator from Virginia, according to Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin

Webb says the industrial base needed to rebuild the Navy is “pretty precarious.”

“The commercial shipping industry has gone elsewhere,” he told Seapower magazine. “The shipbuilding industry for our military base has gone through a lot of changes and consolidations.”

The key to maintaining America’s strategic advantages on the high seas is dependent, he says, on re-establishing “a stable shipbuilding program, without the ups and downs, in order to preserve the industry.”

US sailor sought in Japan killing

U.S. and Japanese authorities searched for a U.S. sailor for questioning Friday in the killing of a Japanese taxi driver near an American naval base, a U.S. military official said.

The 61-year-old victim, Masaaki Takahashi of Tokyo, was found fatally stabbed in his cab Wednesday night in Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, about a half-mile from the U.S. naval base, police said.

The case follows a furor over a series of criminal allegations against U.S. servicemen in Japan, where some 50,000 American troops are based. The outrage prompted U.S. military officials to impose restrictions on servicemen.

“Since the incident happened close to the base, both U.S. Navy and Japanese authorities are interested in talking to a number of persons, including a U.S. sailor, who may have information pertinent to the case,” said Cmdr. David Waterman, spokesman for Commander U.S. Naval Forces Japan.

Waterman refused to say why the sailor might have information on the case or whether he was a suspect. Kanagawa Prefecture police, where Yokosuka is located, would not comment on whether they had identified a suspect.

Local media reported the U.S. sailor’s credit card was found in the taxi and that he had been missing from the base for several weeks. His name has not been released.

Another mission for the HMNZS Canterbury

The Navy’s new amphibious ship Canterbury is leaving from Devonport on Tuesday for its second international mission.

Canterbury will travel to Noumea to take part in a defence exercise involving France, Australia, Papua New Guinea and Tonga.

Defence Minister Phil Goff says the ship and its capabilities strengthens New Zealand’s ability to work with defence partners.

Cash shortage to keep navy in port

MOST of the Royal Navy will be tied up in dock next year, frozen by a £15 billion “black hole” in the Ministry of Defence budget over the next decade, writes Michael Smith.

As the MoD fights proposals for £12 billion of defence cuts over the same period, only ships supporting operations in the Gulf will leave port. The soaring cost of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and the increasing reluctance of the Treasury to fund them is adding to the pressure.

“The navy is looking at what options they have because the amount of funding is just not there,” one source said. “The overheating of the equipment budget is putting pressure on everyone.” The only major exercise expected to go ahead is Orion 08, in which the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious, the destroyer Edinburgh and the frigate Westminster will head for the Gulf, defence sources said.

The navy is now resigned to losing five frigates, four Type22s and one Type23, taking it down to a record low of just 20 destroyers and frigates – insufficient to mount a major taskforce without coalition help.

Russian naval ships complete exercise in Northern Atlantic.

Russian naval ships on Sunday held an exercise in Northern Atlantic, Captain 1st Rank Igor Dyglo, the chief press officer of the Navy told Itar-Tass.

The exercise involved a strike group consisting of the aircraft carrying cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov, the major antisubmarine ships Admiral Levchenko and Admiral Chabanenko and auxiliary ships Sergei Ossipov and Nikolai Chiker.

During the sea passage, the group “successfully accomplished the tactical tasks that presupposed coordination with missile-carrying jets of the North Fleet and strategic jets of the Russian Air Force.”

More than ten jets were engaged in the exercise. Antisubmarine helicopters Ka-27 made sorties from aboard the Admiral Kuznetsov cruiser.

This exercise was special for the fact that the group performed the tasks in complicated weather conditions with a rough sea surge and the wind blowing at 13 meters per second to 17 meters per second.

Following completion of the program in North Atlantic, the strike group is moving to the Mediterranean where it will join ships of the Black Sea Fleet.

Navy in strife as key staff quit [NZ]

Chief of Navy Rear Admiral David Ledson has introduced a $45,000 bonus for sought-after marine technicians who agree to stay for three years after a retention crisis threatened the navy’s ability to set sail.

The technicians run and maintain crucial engine and power systems.

A frigate requires 28 technicians and inshore patrol craft, such as the four bought under the $500 million Project Protector scheme, need three.

In a briefing sent to all naval staff, Ledson said there was pressure on all naval trades, but the shortage of marine technicians was critical.

US navy ship arrives Bangladesh, Muslim group protests

A US naval ship reached Bangladesh to assist the country in distributing much-needed food and medicines to thousands of survivors of the devastating cyclone even as sympathisers of an extreme right-wing group protested the arrival of the American vessels.

The USS Kearsarge, carrying relief materials for the survivors, was anchored about 50 kilometres off the southern Bangladesh coast while a second ship, the USS Essex, would arrive in Bangladesh’s coast coming days.

Meanwhile, members of ‘Hijbut Tahrir’ demonstrated in the capital, against the arrival of the ships, saying they were a threat to Bangladesh’s security.

Witnesses said around 300 protesters from the Islamist outfit, which vehemently campaigns against the US foreign policies, chanted slogans “Go back to America” and “US has no place in Bangla” after the Friday’s prayers in front of the Baitul Mokarram National Mosque in downtown Dhaka.

China Quiet About Delay of US Navy’s Planned Thanksgiving Hong Kong Port Call

The Chinese government has given no explanation for why it suddenly refused and then later allowed a United States naval carrier group to dock in Hong Kong as scheduled.  The unexplained delay came as a surprise to many as the U.S. and Chinese militaries seemed to be improving relations.  Daniel Schearf reports from Beijing.

China’s Foreign Ministry Thursday offered no explanation as to why Chinese authorities initially refused to allow a visit to Hong Kong by the Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier group.

The boats carrying 8,000 sailors to Hong Kong for the Thanksgiving holiday had been scheduled to arrive Wednesday.  But shortly before they arrived, the Navy was told the ships would not be allowed to anchor in the harbor.

Somalia: French Navy Escorts Aid

The French Navy has started escorting vessels carrying humanitarian aid from Mombasa to the war-ravaged Somalia to keep away pirates.

Ms Josette Sheeran, the World Food Programme executive director, made the disclosure yesterday and urged the international community to support the move.
 
Ms Sheeran praised the French Government for offering to escort the two WFP-chartered ships which transported relief supplies from Mombasa last Friday to a Somali port, docking there on Monday.

Navy Super Hornet squadron leader relieved of duty after arrest

The commander of a Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet attack fighter squadron has been relieved of duty following an arrest for investigation of driving under the influence.

Navy officials say Commander Thomas O’Dowd was relieved on November 14th due to a loss of confidence in his ability to lead the squadron.

The action came four days after Kings County sheriff’s deputies arrested O’Dowd after receiving a report the officer was allegedly driving erratically at Naval Air Station, Lemoore.

Navy’s new ship heads to sea

Rotoiti, the [NZ] navy’s newest ship, is at sea for the first time, undergoing sea trials.

The first of four Inshore Patrol Vessels, she was built in Whangarei by Tenix Shipbuilding.

Under the navy’s “Project Protector” seven new ships are to join the navy.

The first, multi role HMNZS Canterbury, is in full service while two offshore patrol vessels have been launched in Australia, Otago and Wellington.

Nigerian navy boosts presence near Cameroon border

The Nigerian navy is reinforcing its presence close to the border with Cameroon, the chief of naval staff said on Wednesday after suspected Nigerian militants attacked Cameroonian soldiers last week.

Cameroon said 21 of its soldiers were killed in the Nov. 12 cross-border raid, which militant and oil industry sources in Nigeria have blamed on a faction of the rebel Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND). Cameroon said it had killed 10 of the attackers but it has not identified them.

The attack took place in Bakassi, a peninsula with offshore oil deposits which Nigeria agreed last year to hand over to Cameroon after decades of argument.

Top U.S. Navy Acquisition Official Resigns

Delores Etter, the U.S. Navy’s senior acquisition official, submitted her resignation Oct. 5 after a year of turmoil and embarrassment over cost growth in one of the service’s most prominent shipbuilding programs.
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Etter, a member of the electrical engineering faculty at the Naval Academy, was sworn into the RD&A position in November 2005. She followed a high-powered predecessor, John Young, who has been nominated as the Pentagon’s top acquisition executive.

Etter, as expected, was heavily interested in the research portion of her portfolio, but it was in the acquisition arena that she faced her severest challenges. In early January she revealed that the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program was experiencing severe cost overruns. The first LCS, under construction by Lockheed Martin, was far over its touted $220 million building price. The service has yet to issue a revised cost for the ship — which is nearly a year behind schedule — but Navy officials admit the price is approaching $400 million and may go higher. The competing General Dynamics LCS design also is expected to be over budget.

Commanding officer of nuclear sub relieved of duty

The Navy says it has relieved the commanding officer of the nuclear-powered submarine USS Hampton of his duty because of a loss of confidence in his leadership.

Commander Michael Portland was dismissed from his job yesterday after Navy investigators found the ship failed to do daily safety checks on its nuclear reactor for a month and falsified records to cover up the omission.

The sub’s homeport was Norfolk, Virginia, until it was relocated to San Diego earlier this year.

Portland is the fourth commanding officer of a submarine to be relieved of duty this year. The other three include Commander Matthew Weingart of the USS Newport News, after the sub collided with a Japanese oil tanker in the Persian Gulf.

The Power of Three – Work Starts On Carrier Variant Of F-35 Lightning II

BAE Systems has started manufacture of the F-35 Lightning II Carrier Variant (CV). The CV aircraft is the final F-35 variant to start production and means that all three variants of the world’s most advanced fighter aircraft are now being produced concurrently by BAE Systems.

The initial manufacturing on the CV variant is of the first titanium and aluminium frames that will form part of the aft fuselage for the first CV aircraft, which is planned to take to the skies in 2009. The aft fuselage and empennage (vertical and horizontal tails) for each F-35 Lightning II variant are being designed, engineered and built by BAE Systems, using the latest in advanced digital design and manufacturing technology.

BAE Systems’ F-35 Lightning II Managing Director, Tom Fillingham said: “Developing three variants of the same aircraft, at the same time, is a first for the military aircraft industry. We are breaking new ground on the F-35 programme.

Navy launches new vessel

Wellington takes to the seas tomorrow – in the form of an 85 metre-long patrol vessel being launched by the Royal New Zealand Navy.

The Wellington is the third ship to be built as part of Project Protect, the government’s $500 million upgrade of the Defence Force.

Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias will launch the vessel in Williamstown, Melbourne on what Defence Minister Phil Goff called a “an important day for New Zealand”.

The Wellington will join sister ship Otago in patrolling the country’s Economic Exclusion Zone, with a focus on border patrol, counter-terrorism missions and enhancing New Zealand?s presence in the Pacific.

The ship has a core crew of 35, but is equipped to carry 30 extra troops as well as flight and customs personnel.

The offshore patrol vessels are designed for flexibility. At three-quarters the size of an ANZAC frigate, the Wellington and Otago boast a 6000-mile range, are helicopter capable and ice strengthened.

Kazakhstan To Build Up Navy To Protect Oil

Kazakhstan plans to build up its naval force on the Caspian Sea to guard its vast offshore oilfields and diversify arms imports, the Central Asian state’s defense minister said Oct. 24.

Kazakhstan inherited its military force from Russia and it relies on its former Soviet overlord for most of its defense contracts. Any deviation from this tradition would annoy Russia which sees Central Asia as its sphere of interest.

Defense Minister Danial Akhmetov told Reuters in an interview that Kazakhstan sought to significantly expand its small fleet on the Caspian Sea and promote military contacts with countries such as Turkey and Israel.

Planned Italo-Russian Sub Could Shrink to Suit Market

A submarine being developed by Italy and Russia displaces 1,000 metric tons but could take a size cut to better suit market demand, an Italian official said here Oct. 23.

Italian shipyard Fincantieri and Russia’s Rubin have been working on the S1000 submarine, equipped with air-independent propulsion (AIP), since 2004.

Fincantieri has previously stated the submarine would be 40 to 50 meters long with a top speed of 14 knots, a crew of 16, submersion depth of 250 meters and the ability to stay submerged for 10 days using an AIP system powered by fuel cells.
But a Fincantieri official said that plans could now be overhauled to produce a smaller sub in response to soundings from potential customers.

Experts find shipwreck evidence in river

Captured by Confederate sailors in a bloody midnight sneak attack in 1864, the gunboat Water Witch became one of the few Civil War ships to sail under the flags of both the Confederate and Union navies. Archaeologists say they found strong evidence Thursday they’ve located the Water Witch’s wreckage buried under more than 10 feet of mud in the Vernon River south of Savannah.

Sign up for: Globe Headlines e-mail | Breaking News Alerts Divers pushed a 20-foot metal rod through the river mud Thursday and tapped solid wood and metal underneath. It was the same location where an 1865 survey map showed Confederate sailors burned the ship to prevent Union Gen. William T. Sherman’s army from recapturing it.

Despite a quarter century of chill between the U.S. and New Zealand over NZ’s anti-nuclear stance, we just wrapped up a visit of HMNZS Te Kaha here in Japan. As usual, sailors will be sailors, so a lot of official and unofficial exchanges, tours and (ahem) ”social activities” took place. We even had the opportunity to help them with a few repairs that were beyond the capabilities of their ship’s force.

A frequent topic of discussion was the RNZN’s retention and manning problems, with a particular shortage of engineers of all sorts due to New Zealand’s booming economy. After a little trawling through the RNZN’s web site, it turns out that they’re recruiting outside the normal field of candidates, and are willing to take officers and enlisted from the UK, US and Canada for direct appointment to grades up to Lt. Commander.

So, if you’re one of the many being forced out by high-year tenure or the second deadly FOS, and you just can’t bear the idea of not working on ships, check it out.

Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Perri Nelson’s Website, Rosemary’s Thoughts, DeMediacratic Nation, Big Dog’s Weblog, Right Truth, Shadowscope, Webloggin, Cao’s Blog, Leaning Straight Up, The Amboy Times, Conservative Cat, Nuke’s, third world county, DragonLady’s World, Walls of the City, Blue Star Chronicles, Pirate’s Cove, Republican National Convention Blog, Dumb Ox Daily News, and High Desert Wanderer, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Black Sea Partnership international naval exercises over

The Black Sea Partnership 2007 international naval exercises that were held beginning April 24 ended on Saturday, May 5, the Russian Black Sea Fleet information service told Itar-Tass.

The Russian, Turkish, Romanian and Georgian navies participated in the manoeuvres. The warship Kasimov from the Novorossiisk naval base represented Russia in the exercises.

Naval forces of the four countries carried out tasks to lead ships following a mine-sweeper from a bay, fire at sea targets and repulse air attacks and conducted an operation to detain a suspicious vessel, with a group getting aboard the vessel for examination.

All the operations were planned in accordance with cooperation to maintain peace and stability in the Black Sea, prevent terrorist attacks, ensure shipping security, conduct search and rescue operation in the sea and provide aid in case of natural disasters, the information service said.

Defence analysts say we do what we do do well [New Zealand]

This is the real essence of New Zealand’s defence strategy: finding ways to make ourselves useful. And Mr Rolfe’s analysis of the NZDF for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute has found that by and large we are managing to do it, despite distance, size, and lingering tensions with our two major security partners, Australia and the United States.
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The Navy, with its two frigates and soon-to-be-delivered multi-role ship and offshore and inshore patrol vessels, will soon be a more flexible and much more versatile force, although it is having trouble finding and keeping enough sailors and coping with the rapid introduction of the new fleet.

The Air Force, although losing its combat role, will have a fleet of almost new aircraft when upgrades and purchases are completed. Its Orions, for example, will be as capable as any in the world for watching the surface of the ocean, although they will be of little use in tracking the growing number of submarines in our region.

Intelligence management systems are limited, and major units cannot defend themselves. The Navy’s torpedoes are almost obsolete – with no replacement in sight before 2015 – and the frigates are becoming more vulnerable to attack from both air and sea.

Court sides with Navy over contractors

Federal court Friday upheld the U.S. Navy in a 16-year legal battle with two defense contractors over a contract for stealth attack jets.

Barring an appeal, the decision from the U.S. Court of Federal Claims means McDonnell Douglas and General Dynamics will have to repay the government $1.35 billion plus interest exceeding $2.6 billion, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.

The case involved a 1988, $4 billion contract to develop the A-12 stealth attack aircraft. In 1991, then-Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney canceled the A-12 program because it was over budget and behind schedule, and the Navy eventually terminated the contract for default, the Justice Department release said.

Air Force not keen on joint base plan

Defense officials are refereeing a control-and-culture clash between the Air Force and its sister services over a requirement to create 12 joint bases out of 25.
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The mandate for joint bases is part of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure plan which became law in November of that year. The Air Force is to manage six joint base sites, the Navy four and the Army two.

But the Air Force, which for decades has spent more proportionally on quality of life programs and facilities, is wringing its hands and, critics contend, dragging its feet over the prospect of giving the Army control of McChord Air Force Base in the Tacoma area and the Navy control of Hickham AFB, Hawaii; Bolling AFB, Washington D.C.; and Anderson Air Base in Guam.

Air Force officials argue, at every opportunity, that their bases alone are fighting platforms for their aircraft and thus must be maintained in top form as the Navy strives to maintain its ships and the Army and Marine Corps sustain their deployed ground forces.

The Army, Navy and Marine Corps, on the other hand, are known to defer base maintenance from time to time when dollars are needed for other priorities. The Air Force fears that might occur under joint basing arrangements, reducing the quality of life and harming readiness at bases where the Air Force has lost control

U.S. missile test intercepts 2 targets
The U.S. military destroyed a cruise missile and a short-range ballistic missile during a test Thursday over the Pacific, the first time two test targets were intercepted simultaneously, the Missile Defense Agency said.

The military fired the short-range missile from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai. A Navy plane fired the cruise missile target used in the test. Sailors aboard the USS Lake Erie fired back.

“The test demonstrated the USS Lake Erie’s ability to engage a ballistic missile threat and defend itself from attack at the same time,” the agency said in a statement.

Congress Probes Costly Ship Programs
Defense industry executives blame unexpected contract revisions ordered by the Navy and unanticipated labor and material charges for soaring cost overruns on new military ships.

At a House Appropriations defense subcommittee hearing on Wednesday, lawmakers wanted to know who is responsible for skyrocketing costs in some Navy ship programs. Their scrutiny follows the recent cancellation of a Lockheed Martin Corp. deal to build a multimillion-dollar combat ship and the military taking back management of a contract from Lockheed and Northrop Grumman Corp. that is part of a troubled $24 billion modernization program.

Executives from Northrop and General Dynamics Corp., the nation’s two largest shipbuilders, testified at the hearing, detailing cost overages on their ship programs.

Additional requests made by the Navy during ship construction, a reduced rate in the number of ships built per year and expensive weapons systems make it impossible to meet contract cost estimates, said Philip Teel, president of Northrop Grumman Ship Systems Inc.

NZ Navy ships strike engine problems at sea
The navy’s two warships, the Anzac frigates Te Kaha and Te Mana, both broke down at sea earlier this year, the navy has revealed.

Both ships had engine problems.

The navy’s supply ship, the tanker, HMNZS Endeavour, was also believed to have had engine problems which left it drifting briefly in the Hauraki Gulf last month.

HMNZS Te Mana had problems with its diesel engines during exercises as it crossed the Tasman to Sydney with its sister ship HMNZS Te Kaha.

The navy said Te Mana could not use its diesel engines, designed to allow the ship to cruise at a lower economical speed, and had to run its gas turbine.

The gas turbine was a marine version of the engines fitted to a Boeing 747 jumbo jet and allows short, high-speed sprints at more than 27 knots.

The following month Te Kaha had an engine failure as it was about to undertake a replenishment at sea with Endeavour in the Hauraki Gulf.

Sub dives into future with digital navigation
The USS Oklahoma City is the first submarine, and the second vessel in the U.S. Navy, to go completely digital for navigation. It has an electronic system that combines digital charts, global-positioning fixes and environmental sensors — all of which rid the cramped vessel of mounds of paper charts.
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The digital world offered by the new Voyage Management System will be a new one for submarine navigators, Navy Capt. Mike Brown, force navigator for Submarine Force, said in a statement.

“In the past, the quartermaster would do all of this work that could take anywhere from 10 minutes or more just to plot our position. By the time you completed that task you would already be 10 minutes beyond that plot. With VMS, it’s plotting for you as you are moving along, which allows the quartermaster to look ahead more.”

Nigeria: Navy Urges FG to Invest in Ship Building
NIGERIAN Navy (NN) has called on federal government to invest in ship building to increase Nigeria’s industrial capacity.

Statement signed by Lt. Commander Catherine Frankov for Admiral superintendent, Naval Dockyard, said that the factors responsible for poor infrastructure in ship building include paucity of funds and decreased number of experienced technical officers.

She further said that the Nigerian Navy has been carrying out most of its ship refits and docking for essential defects in the Nigerian Naval Dockyard, Victoria Island and also at the Naval Shipyard, Port Harcourt. She, however, said the two dockyards are in urgent need of certain infrastructure.