Navy Lookout – The Royal Norwegian Navy has formally joined the Global Combat Ship User Group, bringing together four allied nations committed to building and operating a common class based on the Type 26 frigate platform. Norway signed the group’s charter at a ceremony in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where senior figures from the UK, Canada and Australia had gathered to review progress on the wider programme.
Massive frigate buy from Japan jolts Australian warship program
Defense News – Australia has moved to reverse a decline in the number of warships, as its surface combatant fleet stands to fall to its smallest size since World War II.
Amphibs Bougainville, Fallujah Deliveries Are Pushed Another Year
USNI News – The next two big-deck amphibious warships will take about nine years each to build, as the Navy pushes the planned delivery date for the vessels by another year
JMDSF sets up Patrol and Defense Group with Mogami-class vessels
Naval News – The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) implemented a major organizational reform at the end of March 2026. As part of this restructuring, it established the Patrol and Defense Group (哨戒防備群) and assigned some of its most modern surface combatants, including the Mogami-class frigates, to this formation.
Navy Pushes MQ-25A Stingray IOC Back to 2029 while Production Aircraft Takes First Flight
USNI News – The first unmanned tankers for the U.S. Navy won’t be ready to deploy on aircraft carriers until 2029, according to Navy budget documents.
Does the Royal Navy have more admirals than ships?
Navy Lookout – Claims that the RN “has more admirals than ships” are frequently repeated with the implication that the service is top-heavy and reducing leader numbers would help solve the woes of the service. The assertion is technically incorrect anyway, but the number of admirals reflects the complexity of the Navy and a breadth of responsibilities that extend beyond core naval operations.
U.S. Navy drills in at-sea USV fueling ahead of CSG deployment
Naval News – The U.S. Navy practiced at-sea refueling of an unmanned surface vessel (USV) during a recent demonstration ahead of the service’s planned deployment of the sea drones with the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group later this year.
Canadian Navy Considers $5-Billion Project for New Fleet of Continental Defence Corvettes
Ready Aye Ready – The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) is taking the first concrete steps toward a major new warship program that could add up to 20 advanced corvettes to the fleet at a projected cost of $5 billion.
Shadow fleet gets a naval bodyguard as Russia tests UK resolve in the Channel
Navy Lookout – Russian warships are now routinely escorting sanctioned merchant vessels through the Dover Strait, in a direct challenge to the UK government’s pledge to interdict the shadow fleet. Royal Navy OPVs and Royal Fleet Auxiliary tankers were deployed this week to monitor these movements, although outgunned by the warships they shadow.
U.S. Considering Foreign Designs, Shipyards for New Navy Frigate, Destroyer Work in $1.85B Study
USNI News – American officials are considering foreign designs and having U.S. warship components built in overseas yards as part of an expansive manufacturing study proposed in the Fiscal Year 2027 budget.
Middle East Shipping ‘Paralyzed’ by Dueling U.S., Iranian Blockades, Analysts Say
USNI News – U.S. and Iranian forces are both interdicting ships as the two countries grapple with control of the flow of maritime traffic through the region, leaving the shipping industry ‘paralyzed,’ experts say.
Royal Navy hydrography – mapping the oceans in the age of autonomy
Navy Lookout – Hydrographic information is key to enabling safe navigation, protecting infrastructure and supporting defence operations. Here we look at the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO), which sits at the centre of this effort, supported by the Royal Navy, which collects much of the foundational data that enables mariners and autonomous systems to operate effectively at sea.
MACE to Become U.S. Navy’s Primary Hypersonic Strike Munition
Naval News – Confirmed by Fiscal Year 2027 U.S. Navy budget documentation, the Multi-mission Affordable Capacity Effector (MACE) is to serve as the most numerous Hypersonic strike option available to U.S. Naval Aviation, with a limited service entry date sometime in 2027.
US Marine Corps, Navy join forces to combat insufficient amphibious fleet size
Defense News – The U.S. Marine Corps and Navy are collaborating to boost the nation’s current inadequate amphibious fleet size, according to the top-ranked U.S. Marine Corps officer.
France Establishes New Seabed Warfare Observatory
Naval News – The Seabed Warfare Observatory (L’Observatoire Maîtrise des Fonds Marins, or MFM) has been set up within the strategic research support structure established by the Directorate General for International Relations (DGRIS) on behalf of France’s Ministry of the Armed Forces.
Navy Rushing To Arm Carrier Strike Groups With Hellfire Missiles
The War Zone – The Navy is pushing more counter-drone hard-kill capabilities to its fleet as it comes to terms with the growing threat of one-way attack drones.
Japan to Field Multiple Advanced Coastal Defense Missiles by 2032
Naval News – Japan is fielding new coastal defense missiles and actively developing new ones, including a hypersonic guided missile, in a push to increase its island defense capabilities amid rising regional tensions and a rapidly evolving security environment in the Indo-Pacific.
Iranian Attacks Change Way Navy Refuels Its Ships In Middle East
The War Zone – The Navy created a commercial “tanker treadmill” to top off its oilers out at sea, offering lessons that could have larger impacts on operations in the future.
Trump Puts Out Kill Order On Iran’s Small Boats
The War Zone – U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered the Navy to attack any Iranian boats mining the Strait of Hormuz.
Australia to Increase Defense Spending by $37.9B Over Next Decade
USNI News – Australia will increase its defense spending by $37.9 billion U.S. dollars over the next decade, according to its 2026 National Defense Strategy and accompanying Integrated Investment Program documents, which were unveiled last week.
Carrier USS George H.W. Bush Now in U.S. Central Command After Traveling Around Africa
USNI News – East Coast carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) is now operating in the Middle East after a sailing around the southern tip of Africa, U.S. Central Command announced on Thursday. Bush’s entrance into CENTCOM marks the first time three carriers have been in the Middle East since the height of the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Navy Tests Long-Range Munition Capable of Maritime Strike, Mining Missions
USNI News – The U.S. Navy tested a new guided munition capable of striking naval targets or deploying sea mines from aircraft hundreds of miles away, service officials revealed Monday.
U.S. Navy’s New Anti-Radar Missile to Suffer ‘Strategic Pause’
Naval News – Stated in the U.S. Navy’s budget documentation for Fiscal Year 2027, the Navy is putting the AGM-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile Extended Range (AARGM-ER) air launched anti-radiation missile program on a strategic pause, resulting in drastically reduced funding levels.
Everything New We Just Learned About The Trump Class Battleship Program
The War Zone – We are getting a clearer idea of how the Navy thinks it can use these ships, which have an estimated cost of $17B per vessel.
Iran Conflict Holds Lessons for U.S., Adversaries, INDOPACOM Commander Says
USNI News – While the war in Iran has siphoned assets from the Pacific and is using “finite levels” of munitions, it is also providing valuable lessons that will ultimately strengthen regional defense, Indo-Pacific Commander Adm. Samuel Paparo said Tuesday.
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