Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- March 4, 2015

Washington Times: Lloyd Austin, CENTCOM commander: ‘We are making progress’ in Islamic State fight



The top military officer in the Middle East told lawmakers Tuesday morning that U.S. forces are making progress in the effort to defeat the Islamic State, but asked them to undo sequestration cuts to give troops more flexibility to respond to crises in battle.



Gen. Lloyd Austin, commander of U.S. Central Command, said that the Islamic State is on the defensive in both Iraq and Syria because of U.S. airstrikes that began in August.

Military And Intelligence News Briefs -- March 4, 2015

CENTCOM chief: Islamic State can be defeated without US ground troops -- Stars and Stripes



U.S. airstrikes have killed 8,500 Islamic State fighters -- CENTCOM -- Washington Examiner



U.S. general: Iranian-backed assault on Tikrit was no surprise -- Washington Post



Expanding Anti-IS War Into Syria Risks Regional Stability - US CENTCOM -- Sputnik



U.S. departure from Yemen weakens relations and terrorist fight, general says -- Washington Times



HMS Queen Elizabeth Will Begin Her Sea Trials in 2016 -- Second Line of Defense



Can the UK afford to defend itself? -- Prof Malcolm Chalmers, BBC



Dutch parliament approves first F-35 production order -- Flight Global



Sweden Signs Defense Deal With Denmark, Amid Increased Fear Of Russia -- IBTimes



2 more NATO warships to arrive in Black Sea – Russian Navy source -- RT



NATO’s group in Black Sea to grow to four ships — Russian Naval Staff -- ITAR-TASS



Su-25: Old warrior is future of Russian attack aviation -- RBTH



Russia to Expand International Patrol Flights -- Newsweek



Unannounced Test of Strategic Nuclear Weapons Readiness Starts in Russia -- Sputnik



Russian Military Unveils Revolutionary Electronic Warfare System -- Spuntik



Are the Mistrals Back on Course For Russia? -- Andreas Kuersten, Fair Observer



Secret & unarmed: Top 4 Russian special purpose submarines -- RBTH



Putin's 'Red October': Russia's Deadliest New Submarine -- Franz-Stefan Gady, The Diplomat



This chart shows the competition between India and China's submarine fleet -- Business Insider



China needs more carriers to secure Indian Ocean routes: PLA hawk -- Want China Times



China, War, and Logistics in the Indian Ocean -- Christopher Yung, War On The Rocks



China’s defense spending to grow 10% in 2015 -- ITAR-TASS



US: Afghan Army Suffers Heavy Combat Losses -- Defense News/AFP



Pentagon Declassifies Information on Afghan Security Forces -- The Diplomat



US Soldiers Readying for Ukraine Deployment -- Defense News



Navy Again Reduces Scope of Destroyer Modernization, 5 Ships Won’t Receive Any Ballistic Missile Defense Upgrades -- USNI News



Pentagon starts inquiry into Iraq war-plan briefing -- Washington Times



U.S. military's Mosul briefing inaccurate, misguided, Carter says -- Reuters



Ex-CIA chief Petraeus admits sharing military secrets with mistress -- AP



Stories of grief, love, penance in mementos left at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial -- Stars and Stripes/Washington Post



How the U.S. Military Helped Create Spock -- Matthew Gault, ECD