But its avowed ambition is to have a blue-water navy such as the country has not possessed since the 15th century.

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This means having a nuclear deterrent, a deployable army division, a blue-water navy with two aircraft carriers, and an air force with fighters and deep-strike jets.

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The secretary touts the advantages of the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) as a versatile ship that go places too shallow for the Navy's blue-water ships.

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Blair also is known in Navy circles for once trying to water-ski behind the destroyer he skippered, the USS Cochrane.

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U.S. Navy barges have been carrying fresh water to Fukushima Daiichi, and Tokyo's foreign ministry has asked Russia about using a Japanese-built ship outfitted as a floating decontamination plant.

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Water and ash were propelled more than 120m (390ft) into the air when Royal Navy experts detonated a German mine in the Thames estuary.

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Renters will be near the Navy base and local parks as well as Coronado Island, which is just across the water.

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In Washington, a U.S. defense official said the U.S. Navy will contribute two high-tech acoustic devices to listen for emergency beacons still operating in deep water.

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"Currently, the Navy uses dolphins or divers feeling with their hands in such difficult conditions as near-shore bubbly water, for example in the Gulf, " he said.

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