Military And Intelligence News Briefs --October 17, 2018

Merchant vessel Golden Nori transits under the escort of the dock landing ship USS Whidbey Island (LSD 41) following its release from Somalia-based pirates Dec. 12. Pirates seized the Panamanian-flagged vessel Oct. 28 and held the 23-man crew hostage in Somali territorial waters. The release marks the first time in more than a year that no ships are held by Somali pirates. Whidbey Island is deployed to the U.S. Navy 5th Fleet area of responsibility in support of maritime security operations. U.S. Navy photo by Lt.j.g. Joe Donahue

David Axe, War Is Boring: Is the U.S. Navy Too Small to Protect Convoys?

Don't panic quite yet

The U.S. military’s top sealift officials are worried that, in a war with Russia or China, the U.S. Navy might not have enough warships to escort vital supply convoys from the United States to war zones in Europe or Asia.

Those fears might be overblown. Regardless, the Navy is moving to acquire a new fleet of frigates whose missions include convoy-escort.

Mark Buzby, a retired rear admiral who now leads the Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration, has been vocal about what he claimed is a dangerous shortage of escorts. The Maritime Administration oversees America’s roughly 12,000 professional mariners, who crew — among other vessels — the 61 sealift and logistics ships belonging to Military Sealift Command.

Read more ....

Military And Intelligence News Briefs --October 17, 2018

Navy Arms LCS With "Soft-Kill" Countermeasure to Destroy Enemy Torpedos -- Warrior Maven

Navy Developing New Mine Countermeasures USV for Littoral Combat Ships -- USNI News

Eighty Percent of F-35s Returned to Flight Following Inspections -- Air Force Magazine

Air Force confirms California guardsman killed in fighter crash in Ukraine -- Stars and Stripes

Navy Super Hornet Catches Fire During Training Flight -- Military.com

GenDyn tapped for Expeditionary Sea Base 6 pre-production support -- UPI

Army Moves Closer to 70-Kilometer Artillery with New Rocket-Assisted Round -- Defense Tech

US Army is updating its missile defense strategy with Russia and China in mind -- Defense News

Atlas 5 rocket boosts $1.8 billion military satellite into space -- CBS

US Army will test 50 kw lasers on Strykers and 100 kw lasers in 2021 -- Next Big Future

Soldiers to Get Advanced Virtual Training Tools Next Year, Army Says -- Defense Tech/Military.com

Pentagon's $2B Gamble on Artificial Intelligence -- Jamie McIntyre, Washington Examiner

CIA, NSA and the Pentagon still aren’t using a basic email security feature -- Tech Crunch

For the first time, a woman is leading the largest command in the US Army -- CNN

US soldiers under investigation for allegedly beating up three Polish men -- Army Times

Russia’s Strategy, ISIS’ Future & Countering China: CJCS Dunford Speaks -- Breaking Defense

US has limited contact, oversight of Afghan troops and the gear they’ve been given -- Military Times

Iran Extends Missile Range, Compares Its Military Might to Russia, China and North Korea -- Newsweek

Two senior Chinese generals stripped of rank and party membership over corruption claims -- SCMP

China’s navy to join Thailand and Malaysia for training exercise as military seeks to build bridges with neighbours -- SCMP

Taiwan military starts war games simulating attack by China’s PLA -- SCMP

Factbox: Russian military cooperation deals with African countries -- Reuters

NATO's Super Strange Plan to Hunt Russia's Submarines: Bomb Them with Magnets? -- National Interest

NATO exercise: 50,000 personnel take part in Exercise Trident Juncture 2018 -- Euronews

Pentagon Mulling Over Military Infrastructure in Czech Republic - Reports -- Sputnik

Albania is turning a graveyard of MiG fighter jets into a NATO air base -- Reuters

Bulgaria to join NATO Mission Iraq -- Xinhua

In pictures: Snapshots of British Army life captured on camera -- BBC

China’s Moon Missions Could Threaten US Satellites: Pentagon -- Patrick Tucker, Defense One

Can America's Military Match China's Hypersonic Weapons? -- Zachary Keck, National Interest

Will drone bases in the near future be staffed by robots? -- C4ISRNet

The 5 Most Dangerous Military Rifles on Planet Earth -- Kyle Mizokami, National Interest