Contents
- WHERE IS NATO’s GLOBAL FUTURE?
- THE LEAST WORST OPTION?
- SEALS RAISE THE STAKES
- WILL PAKISTAN NAVY GO NUCLEAR?
- THE RISKS THAT PIRATES TAKE
- HEROES, BATTLES & CITIES
- ULTIMATE INSURANCE POLICY
- USA ‘HELD NOTHING BACK’
- SAD FAREWELL TO THE FIGHTING PLYMOUTH
WHERE IS NATO’s GLOBAL FUTURE?
In the aftermath of the NATO summit in Chicago Dr Dave Sloggett suggests political leaders ignored some geo-political inevitabilities. He fears the alleged affliction of ‘Sea Blindness’ has ensured the alliance’s politicians have flawed vision when it comes to balancing future threats with defence requirements.
Photo: US DoD.
THE LEAST WORST OPTION?
Bethany Torvell weighs up the complex political calculus that lay behind the recent decision by the UK to switch its future carrier jet yet again. She suggests that politics is a messy business and that of all the decisions made by British governments over the last decade, those relating to Britain’s new aircraft carriers most fully demonstrate that salient fact.
Photo: US Navy.
SEALS RAISE THE STAKES
David Axe reports on how US Navy SEAL commandos deployed to the Horn of Africa have refined hostage rescue to a lethal art. But their recent success in retrieving kidnapped Westerners comes at a cost. Every rescue forces Somali criminals and terrorists to change their own tactics. As Axe tells us, the result is an ‘arms race’ of sorts, as SEALs and kidnappers try to stay ahead of each other.
Photo: US DoD.
WILL PAKISTAN NAVY GO NUCLEAR?
Usman Ansari considers how India’s lease of an Akula-II Class nuclear-powered attack boat (SSN) from Russia and development by the same nation of an Arihant Class ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) programme has generated much heat in Pakistan Navy (PN) circles. He discusses how Pakistan stands ready to take necessary measures to ensure the South Asian strategic balance is not disturbed.
Photo: Pakistan Navy.
THE RISKS THAT PIRATES TAKE
To gain the inside perspective on the fight against piracy East of Suez, Special Correspondent Guy Toremans interviewed Rear Admiral Sinan Azmi Tosun of the Turkish Navy aboard his flagship, the frigate TCG Giresun. Commander of NATO’s Standing Naval Maritime Group 2 (SNMG2) and also in charge of the alliance’s Counter Piracy Task Force 508 (CTF-508) Rear Admiral Tosun discussed a wide range of critical issues.
Photo: Guy Toremans.
HEROES, BATTLES & CITIES
A raft of new US Navy warships include an assault carrier to be named USS Tripoli and an Arleigh Burke Class guided-missile destroyer christened in tribute to a Korean War Medal of Honor winner. We look at the new ships and the stories behind them.
Image: US Navy.
ULTIMATE INSURANCE POLICY
John Coker of Explosion! The Museum of Naval Firepower begins a two-part look at the Cold War era Polaris nuclear deterrent. He considers how responsibility for maintaining Britain’s independent strategic nuclear deterrent passed to the Royal Navy in the summer of 1969.
Photo: Royal Navy.
USA ‘HELD NOTHING BACK’
Associate Editor Peter Hore reflects on a conference at the National Museum of the Royal Navy that provided a platform for some interesting new perspectives, particularly on the Anglo-American dimension of the 1982 conflict in the South Atlantic.
SAD FAREWELL TO THE FIGHTING PLYMOUTH
Iain Ballantyne and Dave Billinge report on how Falklands veterans bade a sad farewell to the frigate HMS Plymouth. She carried them safely through war, but Britain cared not to help the former sailors of the warship find a permanent home where she could become a lasting tribute to sacrifice in the Falklands War.
Photo: Dave Billinge.
