* According to the WSJ the FAA plans to introduce rules that will drastically limit practical use of commercial UAVs in the US. For one, drone operators would have to be certified pilots of manned aircraft.
* Chuck Hagel may not have been the most decisive or effective US defense secretary in history, but there seems to be a broad consensus that he was operating under the the White House thumb: WaPo | NYT | WSJ/Brookings | National Interest/AEI | UT San Diego.
* Gregory J. Hayes, so far CFO at UTC, has replaced Louis R. Chenevert as the company’s CEO. Bloomberg points to growth challenges ahead.
Asia
* Vietnam and the Philippines are “trying to hold joint patrols and operations in the Spratlys, including search-and-rescue operations”, reports Reuters. Just don’t say out loud that they want to counter China in the South China Sea!
* Another high profile military officer may be in the sights [SCMP] of Xi Jinping’s ongoing anti-corruption purge. But China is finding that along with its corrupt “tigers”, it is also plagued with “flies”, lower level officials with incredible amounts of wealth [Straits Times] relative to their position.
Europe
* Ukraine is facing the risk of a potential financial meltdown. Anders Aslund at the Peterson Institute for International Economics ponders what that might look like.
US Naval Warfare
* The US Navy’s Chief of Naval Operations recently released his latest Position Report [PDF], another document that shows the Navy’s increasing concern with cyber threats.
* Today’s video features Bryan Clark, until recently a director at the CNO’s Strategic Actions Group, discussing his recent report at the CSBA think tank on surface warfare:
