Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- March 4, 2015

Washington Times: Lloyd Austin, CENTCOM commander: ‘We are making progress’ in Islamic State fight

The top military officer in the Middle East told lawmakers Tuesday morning that U.S. forces are making progress in the effort to defeat the Islamic State, but asked them to undo sequestration cuts to give troops more flexibility to respond to crises in battle.

Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander of U.S. Central Command, said that the Islamic State is on the defensive in both Iraq and Syria because of U.S. airstrikes that began in August.

Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- March 4, 2015

CENTCOM chief: Islamic State can be defeated without US ground troops -- Stars and Stripes

U.S. airstrikes have killed 8,500 Islamic State fighters -- CENTCOM -- Washington Examiner

U.S. general: Iranian-backed assault on Tikrit was no surprise -- Washington Post

Expanding Anti-IS War Into Syria Risks Regional Stability - US CENTCOM -- Sputnik

U.S. departure from Yemen weakens relations and terrorist fight, general says -- Washington Times

HMS Queen Elizabeth Will Begin Her Sea Trials in 2016 -- Second Line of Defense

Can the UK afford to defend itself? -- Prof Malcolm Chalmers, BBC

Dutch parliament approves first F-35 production order -- Flight Global

Sweden Signs Defense Deal With Denmark, Amid Increased Fear Of Russia -- IBTimes

2 more NATO warships to arrive in Black Sea – Russian Navy source -- RT

NATO’s group in Black Sea to grow to four ships — Russian Naval Staff -- ITAR-TASS

Su-25: Old warrior is future of Russian attack aviation -- RBTH

Russia to Expand International Patrol Flights -- Newsweek

Unannounced Test of Strategic Nuclear Weapons Readiness Starts in Russia -- Sputnik

Russian Military Unveils Revolutionary Electronic Warfare System -- Spuntik

Are the Mistrals Back on Course For Russia? -- Andreas Kuersten, Fair Observer

Secret & unarmed: Top 4 Russian special purpose submarines -- RBTH

Putin's 'Red October': Russia's Deadliest New Submarine -- Franz-Stefan Gady, The Diplomat

This chart shows the competition between India and China's submarine fleet -- Business Insider

China needs more carriers to secure Indian Ocean routes: PLA hawk -- Want China Times

China, War, and Logistics in the Indian Ocean -- Christopher Yung, War On The Rocks

China’s defense spending to grow 10% in 2015 -- ITAR-TASS

US: Afghan Army Suffers Heavy Combat Losses -- Defense News/AFP

Pentagon Declassifies Information on Afghan Security Forces -- The Diplomat

US Soldiers Readying for Ukraine Deployment -- Defense News

Navy Again Reduces Scope of Destroyer Modernization, 5 Ships Won’t Receive Any Ballistic Missile Defense Upgrades -- USNI News

Pentagon starts inquiry into Iraq war-plan briefing -- Washington Times

U.S. military's Mosul briefing inaccurate, misguided, Carter says -- Reuters

Ex-CIA chief Petraeus admits sharing military secrets with mistress -- AP

Stories of grief, love, penance in mementos left at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial -- Stars and Stripes/Washington Post

How the U.S. Military Helped Create Spock -- Matthew Gault, ECD