Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- May 21, 2019

The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Preble (DDG 88), USS Halsey (DDG 97) and USS Sampson (DDG 102) are underway behind the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Michael A. Colemanberry/Released

Business Insider: US warship challenges China with second South China Sea sail-by operation this month

* A US Navy warship conducted a freedom-of-navigation operation on Sunday near the Scarborough Shoal.
* The shoal is a territorial holding in the South China Sea that China seized from the Philippines in 2012.
* This operation followed one carried out earlier this month by two guided-missile destroyers in the Spratly Islands.
* These operations are designed to challenge China's maritime claims and reinforce international law.
* They often irritate Beijing, which considers the vast majority of the South China Sea to be Chinese waters.

A US Navy guided-missile destroyer checked China in the South China Sea on Sunday, drawing Beijing's ire for the second time this month.

The USS Preble conducted a freedom-of-navigation operation near the disputed Scarborough Shoal, sailing within 12 nautical miles of this territory to "challenge excessive maritime claims and preserve access to the waterways as governed by international law," a 7th Fleet spokesman told Reuters.

China seized the Scarborough Shoal, part of a strategic triangle that also includes the Paracel and Spratly Islands, from the Philippines in 2012.

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Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- May 21, 2019

South China Sea: Beijing urges an end to ‘provocative actions’ as US warship sails near disputed waters -- SCMP

US Coast Guard Holds Exercise with Philippine Ship in South China Sea -- VOA

Coast Guard Gives US New Tool in Disputed South China Sea -- VOA

USS Lincoln, USS Kearsarge conduct joint operations in Persian Gulf -- UPI

US Plans to Have 355 Battle Force Ships in About 10 Years - Vice President Pence -- Sputnik

Navy awards Sikorsky $1.2B for 12 King Stallion helicopters -- UPI

Boeing nets $163.9M to modernize Super Hornets for U.S. Navy -- UPI

How the USS Abraham Lincoln became a 100,000-ton thermometer for simmering tensions between the US and Iran -- AP

Marine Harrier Crashes in North Carolina, Pilot Ejects -- Military.com

Marine aircraft have hit birds 1,500 times over the past 15 years — here's what the Corps is doing about it -- Military Times

Air Force Wants Both F-35 and F-15EX. But if Forced to Choose, It's No Contest: SecAF -- Military.com

Loss of $234 million in gear at Offutt poses risk to national defense strategy, Don Bacon says -- Omaha World Herald

Air Force trains to defeat enemy air defenses 50 miles south of the Arctic Circle -- Air Force Times

Air Force pilots are getting new, modified rifles to defend themselves if they eject over hostile territory -- Task & Purpose

Space Force: It’s Not Dead, But… -- Breaking Defense

Report: The U.S. Military Is Spending More and Getting Less Firepower -- National Interest

White House considers pardons for troops facing war crime accusations -- Military Times

U.S., North Korea military officers hold 'friendly' conversations daily, report says -- UPI

State Dept. says yes to $387M sale of MK 54 torpedo conversion kits to Canada -- UPI

Bulgarian Defence Minister Calls Price of US F-16 Fighters Unreasonably High -- Sputnik

Former Polish defense minister presses for answers on fate of US Patriot buy -- Defense News

Erdogan expects F-35 jets 'sooner or later' despite Russian missiles purchase -- UPI

Turkey says it's definitely going to buy Russia's S-400 missile system, and it's going to help make the S-500 too -- Reuters

WATCH UK Destroyer Hit Drone With Missile Flying at Four Times Speed of Sound -- Sputnik

UK Royal Navy Leads Its LARGEST Task Force in Europe in Decades -- Sputnik

Germany’s long-awaited antimissile program is about to face politics -- Defense News

Russia's New Stealth Drone Looks Like a B-2 Stealth Bomber. But Can It Fight? -- National Interest

Russia's Military Exercises in the Arctic Have More Bark Than Bite -- Foreign Policy

INF to Collapse August 2 as Russia Unable to Save It - Russian Official -- Sputnik

At a Ukrainian aircraft engine factory, China’s military finds a cash-hungry partner -- The Washington Post

South Korea to buy SM-2 missiles from U.S. in $313.9M sale -- UPI

Japan defense minister calls for improved ties with South Korea.

Japan approved for $317M purchase of AMRAAM missiles -- UPI