US Navy teams authorized to respond to threats: navy chief

The leader of a US Navy security team had authority to respond when small boats ignored warnings and approached a chartered merchant ship awaiting passage through the Suez Canal, the navy’s chief said Tuesday.

Admiral Gary Roughead, the chief of US Navy operations, said the incident was under investigation but he said the navy had no information to support Eyptian allegations that one person was killed and two others injured by shots fired.

The US Navy security team aboard the vessel “went through the steps used to determine or attempt to determine intent,” he told reporters.

“In the judgement of the on scene commander, the responses were such that led to the warning shots. Warning shots were fired,” he said.

Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said the Global Patriot was approached by several boats late Monday as it was preparing to make a northbound passage through the canal.

One of the boats failed to heed warnings not to come closer and continued to approach, prompting the security team to fire warning shots, he said.

“My understanding from the reporting is that they believe the warning shots to be well in front of the vessel, and that this was precision-observed fire,” Whitman said. He said no casualties were reported.

Royal Australian Navy’s wish list of $4b

THE Australian Navy has produced a secret $4 billion wish list that includes an aircraft carrier, extra destroyer and long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles for its submarines.
It wants a third 26,000-tonne amphibious transport ship equipped with vertical-takeoff jet fighters, a fourth $2 billion air warfare destroyer to defend the big ships and submarine-launched cruise missiles that could strike targets thousands of kilometres away.

The list comes as the Navy can barely find enough technically qualified sailors to crew its existing fleet.

It coincides with a Rudd Government bid to save $1 billion a year in defence costs.

Insiders say the Government is unimpressed by the Navy’s push for more firepower at a time of savage spending cuts. “The Navy is out of control,” a source said.

It is believed the wish list was the final straw in the tense relationship between the Government and Navy chief Vice Admiral Russ Shalders, who will be replaced in July by Rear Admiral Russ Crane.

Vice Admiral Shalders last year pushed for an expensive US-designed destroyer, but lost out to a cheaper Spanish option.

Taxpayers will spend more than $11 billion to provide the Navy with the two 26,000-tonne amphibious ships and three air-warfare destroyers equipped with 48 vertical launch missile cells. The two amphibious ships, known as landing helicopter docks, are capable of carrying more than 1000 fully equipped troops and heavy vehicles such as tanks and armoured trucks.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 25th, 2008 and is filed under Australia, Maritime Strategy News, Navy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.