* Vladimir Putin is losing [Time] even German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who pointed out [WSJ] during a speech in Sydney how Russian meddling is extending far beyond Ukraine:
“This is not just about Ukraine. This is about Moldova, this is about Georgia, and if this continues then one will have to ask about Serbia and one will have to ask about the countries of the Western Balkans [link to DW added by DID].”
Asia
* Okinama voters chose [Japan News] on Sunday a governor opposed to the relocation of a US base on the island chain. Takeshi Onaga, a former mayor of the Naha prefecture capital, won handily against the incumbent.
* Germany plans to keep [Deutche Welle] up to 850 soldiers in Afghanistan next year, slightly more than anticipated.
Middle East
* Musings on Iraq notes that ISIS has dramatically increased its use of car bombs as it faces increased pressure from government forces.
Network Resilience
* DARPA is organizing an industry day [FBO] to discuss the Edge-Directed Cyber Technologies for Reliable Mission Communication (EDICT) to make it easier to recover from network failures and cyber attacks such as denials of service.
Future Surface Ships
* The CSBA think tank published a plan [PDF] to reinvigorate US Navy surface warfare. The US Navy is going to be both overstretched, and technically challenged to maintain sea control against modern navies. CSBA lays out a solution that would change the roles of many ships, reconfigure air defense to a whole different model, emphasize offensive long-range surface strike and anti-air weapons, and fill remaining gaps with lasers and railguns. Lots to read and think about, but low power generation capabilities among high-end US Navy ships are a critical and hard-to-fix weakness of the entire plan.
* Saab and PT Lundin showcased their Bonefish Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) concept at the Indo Defence tradeshow earlier this month. One use case in their pitch is the protection of oil rigs. Video below:
