Navy

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New Sniper Rifles Boost Range, Accuracy

Pirate standoff calls attention to classified Pentagon project

(Newser) - The M107 sniper rifle is enjoying its pirate-fueled moment in the sun, but don't get used to it: Firearms being developed in a super-secret Pentagon program will extend snipers' range from 800 or so meters to more than 2,000 without losing accuracy, Time reports. What's more, bullets created...

Pirates Fail in Attack on US Ship

It's now under escort of USS Bainbridge, with Capt. Phillips

(Newser) - Capt. Richard Phillips' reunion with his crew and family may be delayed a bit because of yet another pirate attack. Somali pirates fired on another US ship today but failed to board it, CNN reports. That ship, the Liberty Sun, is now under the military escort of the USS Bainbridge—...

Maersk Crew Returns Home Tomorrow

(Newser) - The shipping captain held hostage by Somali pirates will return to the US with his crew tomorrow. Maersk Line said today that Richard Phillips and the crew of the Maersk Alabama are expected to arrive at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland late tomorrow, where they will reunite with loved...

Navies Must Band Together to Fight Piracy: Experts

To beat back bandits, navies need cohesive international strategy

(Newser) - If EU and NATO leaders are serious about ending Somali piracy, they need to develop a coordinated strategy, say experts. Patrolling the high seas and protecting merchant ships has long been an individual effort among states, Time reports, but with piracy on a precipitous rise—there have already been 65...

Slain Pirates Were 'Untrained Teenagers': US

They were young men 'with heavy arms:' Gates

(Newser) - Capt. Richard Phillips’ captors were young men new to high-seas crime, AFP reports. The Somali pirates, aged 17-19, were “untrained teenagers with heavy weapons,” Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today, adding that Somalia needs “something on land that begins to change the equation for these kids.”...

US Military May Strike Pirates on Land

In Jefferson's time, US hit land bases

(Newser) - One way for the US to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden is to cut it off at the source, targeting Somali pirate land bases. Coupled with economic and food aid for Somalia’s citizens, this plan is the only “silver-bullet solution,” an analyst tells Bloomberg. Such...

Pirate Hunters Coming to TV
 Pirate Hunters Coming to TV 
Apr 13, 2009 9:35 AM CDT

Pirate Hunters Coming to TV

Series will follow warship involved in recent standoff

(Newser) - Yesterday's daring rescue of Captain Richard Phillips seems like made-for-TV drama—at least to Spike TV. The network has greenlighted a pilot for a series documenting the US Navy’s fight against pirates in the Gulf of Aden, where Phillips’ rescue took place, Variety reports. One of the warships at...

Somali Pirates Vow Revenge
 Somali Pirates Vow Revenge 

Apr 13, 2009 6:11 AM CDT

Somali Pirates Vow Revenge

Defiant pirate captain threatens to target American shipping

(Newser) - Somali pirates have sworn to avenge their colleagues killed in the rescue of Capt. Richard Phillips yesterday. A pirate commander told AFP that the men had been killed after agreeing to hand over Phillips without ransom, and vowed that American citizens traveling at sea in Somali waters—and further afield—...

Navy Made 'Split-Second' Call to Fire on Pirates

(Newser) - Navy Seals opened fire on three Somali pirates today when a naval commander made a split-second decision that Capt. Richard Phillips' life was in imminent danger, the New York Times reports. Authorized by President Obama to use force, snipers shot two pirates who had stuck their heads out of the...

Pirate Boat Drifts Toward Coast
 Pirate Boat Drifts Toward Coast 
Apr 12, 2009 6:17 AM CDT

Pirate Boat Drifts Toward Coast

Stalled talks to continue after a day

(Newser) - The lifeboat carrying American captain Richard Phillips has drifted within 20 miles of the Somali coast, where US military officials fear the pirates might escape with their hostage, reports Reuters. US warships continue to track the craft, as negotiations with the pirates over Phillips have been postponed by one day,...

Showdown Looms: Pirate Ships Head to Hijacking Site

Previously-captured boats carry 54 international hostages

(Newser) - As bandits hold a US captain on a lifeboat in the Indian Ocean, their pirate colleagues are rushing to their aid with an international gallery of hostages, the AP reports. The bandits apparently fear being shot or arrested if they hand over the captain and are hoping to get support...

Captain Recaptured by Pirates After Swim Escape Attempt

Family say hostage captain's sense of humor could keep him alive

(Newser) - The American captain held hostage by Somali pirates jumped into the ocean last night and tried to swim to a nearby Navy destroyer, but pirates swam after him and pulled him back, CNN reports. He was not believed to be harmed in the attempt, a US official said. The four...

As Ship Resumes Sailing, FBI Joins Pirate Negotiations

(Newser) - As FBI hostage negotiators joined the effort to end the standoff with Somali pirates over a captive American captain, the Maersk Alabama got under way today, bound for its original destination, the AP reports. An FBI spokesman said the bureau was “fully engaged” with the Navy in strategizing how...

Pirates in Navy Standoff Running Out of Options

Pirate lifeboat 'dead in the water' as warships close in

(Newser) - Four Somali pirates still holding a American captain hostage this morning are rapidly running out of options in their standoff with a US Navy warship, the AP reports. The pirates are in a lifeboat seized to replace their own vessel, floating hundreds of miles away from Somalia with enough food...

Crewmember: Pirates Still Have Ship's US Captain

(Newser) - The American crew of a ship hijacked by pirates today off northern Somalia has retaken control, though a crewmember says the vessel’s captain remains a hostage. The AP called a satellite phone aboard the Maersk Alabama, and was told by someone with an American accent that the 20-member crew...

Navy Award for Murtha Sparks Marine Furor

40K sign petition against rep who cried murder in Haditha

(Newser) - Sailors and Marines are up in arms over a Navy commendation to Rep. John Murtha, who has accused servicemen of murdering Iraqi civilians, the Navy Times reports. Outgoing Navy Secretary Donald Winter awarded Murtha the Distinguished Public Service Award earlier this month for his work on a House subcommittee. The...

Post 9/11, Highest Military Honor Grows Scarce

The highest military award has gone to only five—and all posthumously

(Newser) - The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have produced only five recipients of the Medal of Honor, all of whom died as a result of their heroism, the Military Times reports. Pentagon stinginess with the highest military honor in the post-9/11 era frustrates service members who say a politicized, stringent, and...

Charles' Love Letters Show a Frisky Sailor

(Newser) - His personal life may now have all the sex appeal of tea in tweed, but once upon a time Prince Charles was a randy sailor writing risque letters to "exciting ladies (who) lurk behind bushes in order to pounce on unsuspecting naval officers … !" Six such letters, believed...

US Nuclear Sub, Ship Collide in Strait of Hormuz

(Newser) - Two US vessels—the USS Hartford nuclear submarine and the amphibious USS New Orleans—collided in the waters between Iran and the Arabian peninsula today, the AP reports. Fifteen sailors were slightly injured aboard the Hartford, but all were able to return to duty. The New Orleans crew was unscathed,...

US Ship Broke Laws: China
 US Ship Broke Laws: China 
Mar 10, 2009 1:11 PM CDT

US Ship Broke Laws: China

Impeccable may have been snooping on Chinese nuclear subs

(Newser) - Beijing said that a US Navy surveillance ship approached by several Chinese vessels this weekend was conducting illegal information-gathering, the Washington Post reports. The US had completely misrepresented the incident in its complaint, a Foreign Ministry rep. said, as the USS Impeccable was in a "Chinese exclusive economic zone"...

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