* US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel is resigning: NYT | USA Today | WaPo.
* The latest annual report [PDF] to the US Congress by its US-China Economic and Security Review Commission notes that submarine-launched ballistic missiles give China its “first credible sea-based nuclear deterrent”:
“The JL–2’s range of approximately 4,598 miles gives China the ability to conduct nuclear strikes against Alaska if launched from waters near China; against Alaska and Hawaii if launched from waters south of Japan; against Alaska, Hawaii, and the western portion of the continental United States if launched from waters west of Hawaii; and against all 50 U.S. states if launched from waters east of Hawaii.”
* China’s new CX-1 supersonic anti-ship and strike missile may look somewhat like the Russo-Indian BrahMos, but AIN explains why the experts don’t think it’s a copy.
* Japan is looking at designing a “big, long-range fighter to defeat superior numbers”, reports AviationWeek.
Euro Players
* Domingo Ureña Raso, EVP for military aircraft at Airbus Defense & Space, is open to a transatlantic partnership on fighter jets. This might be the only way for Boeing OR Airbus to remain fighter producers, long term. Defense News.
* ThyssenKrupp will consider a sale of its submarine business at the right price, said CEO Heinrich Hiesinger. TKMS makes the U209, U212, U214, and U218SG boats. Germany is unlikely to give up submarine building to any firm outside the country. Sueddeutsche Zeitung via Reuters.
INS Vikrant No More
* Work to dismantle INS Vikrant started [IBN] last Thursday and is expected to last 8 months. This is the British-build carrier first launched in 1945, not to be confused with a new carrier class of the same name that’s built in India.
Afghanistan
* President Obama decided to revert his policy of planned withdrawal, and instead extend the US combat mission in Afghanistan. NYT.
* The Afghan Parliament approved [Radio Free Europe] security agreements with the US and NATO that allow them to stay in the country past the end of the year.
* NATO is tearing down temporary wooden structures at Bagram Airfield. Troops who used these huts will move to concrete buildings. Video below: