USNI News – Taiwan President Lai Ching-te reviewed domestic drone industrial efforts last week ahead of his administration’s push for a $6.6 billion attack drone plan to enhance the island’s defense against Chinese aggression.
Belgium Eyes ASWF Alternatives as Damen Timeline and Costs Soar
Naval News – Belgium’s long-running plan to replace its ageing M-class frigates has entered a new and potentially consequential phase. Defence Minister Theo Francken has publicly stated that the joint Dutch-Belgian frigate programme is moving “completely in the wrong direction” on both delivery dates and price, an outcome he described as unacceptable.
The US military campaign to stop drug trafficking has failed. It’s time to move on.
Breaking Defense – The mission has not succeeded in its core goals, and it’s using up military manpower and munitions at a time when the US is stretched on both, writes Daniel R. DePetris.
Heavily Armed Ukrainian Sea King At Farnborough Airshow
Naval News – An armed helicopter on display at the Farnborough Airshow is representative of several being transferred from German stocks to Ukraine. The helicopters may be the first in the world upgraded with Shahed drone killing interceptor drones.
Israeli firm wants to convert commercial ships into floating drone bases
Defense News – Elbit Systems detailed a new maritime concept centered on its Hermes 650 Spark unmanned aircraft, envisioning the conversion of commercial vessels into dedicated platforms for unmanned aviation. Each platform would carry between nine and 12 Hermes 650 Spark aircraft along with the deck infrastructure, control systems and mission support needed to operate them. Elbit described the approach as an alternative to acquiring a traditional aircraft carrier, aimed at giving naval forces extended maritime reach without the associated cost and complexity.
(Thanks to Alain)
Russian navy welcomes new Prime Minister by holding live fire exercise off Plymouth
Navy Lookout – The Russian Navy marked the first full day of Andy Burnham’s premiership by conducting a live-fire gunnery exercise in the English Channel while under close surveillance from the Royal Navy, in what appears to have been a calculated show of military presence close to the UK.
Houthi Blockade On Saudi Red Sea Oil Transits Threatens To Widen War, Strangle Energy Supply
The War Zone – If the Houthis start attacking ships near the Bab El-Mandeb Strait, it could peel-off U.S. resources from the Iran operation and exacerbate oil shortages.
Royal Navy carrier strike group spearheads NATO Arctic deterrence mission
Navy Lookout – The UK Carrier Strike Group led by HMS Prince of Wales, has taken command of a major NATO maritime activity in the High North. Exercise Neptune Strike 26-3 marks the first time the Alliance’s recurring enhanced Vigilance Activity has expanded into the Arctic and North Atlantic, reflecting NATO’s growing focus on deterring Russian activity in one of its most strategically important regions.
The German Navy downsizes its frigate ambitions
Navy Lookout – The Deutsche Marine has ordered four MEKO A-200 DEU frigates from Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS), with a firm option for four more, settling months of uncertainty over the future shape of its surface fleet. The purchase closes the door on the collapsed F126 programme and offers a study in the risks of ambitious warship procurement.
A guide to the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers
Navy Lookout – The Queen Elizabeth-class carriers are the largest and potentially most powerful warships ever built for the Royal Navy. This guide examines the origins, design, systems, aircraft, operational role and future development of HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.
Drone Ship Maker Saronic Announces New $3B Shipyard In Texas Capable of Building 850-Foot Vessels
The War Zone – Saronic, the company that makes the first sea drones ever to be used as kinetic weapons by American forces, announced it will build a big new shipyard in Brownsville, Texas where they plan to construct an array of crewed and uncrewed ships as big as 850 feet. It is a big step for a company whose largest vessel is a 180-foot drone boat called Marauder.
Navy Wants 1,000 Mile Combat Radius For Carrier Based Tactical Drone Fleets
The War Zone – The U.S. Navy is envisioning a future force of carrier-based uncrewed aircraft capable of attacking enemy forces at least 1,000 nautical miles away from the ship. They would also have to be able to do this without needing to refuel in mid-air, though tankers could further extend their reach. This, along with other details, offers the first real sense of the combat drone capabilities the Navy wants to add to its future carrier air wings.
China Is Building A Monster Supply Ship For Its Carrier Groups
The War Zone – What looks to be the largest at-sea replenishment ship anywhere in the world is taking shape at a Chinese shipyard.
US Navy 2 years behind on hypersonic missile installation on Zumwalt destroyers
Defense News – The U.S. Navy’s expensive effort to install hypersonic missiles on three Zumwalt-class destroyers is two years behind schedule, according to government auditors.
A naval failure in the Strait of Hormuz
Breaking Defense – Why can’t the world’s most powerful military secure the Strait against a country that has no navy?
Why navies still matter in the age of drones
The Strategist – At sea, drones are disruptive, but they are not decisive. They complicate the maritime fight, but they do not replace the enduring strategic logic of sea power.
Sea Breeze 2026: the Royal Navy hosts Ukraine and allies to build mine warfare expertise
Navy Lookout – Exercise Sea Breeze, the annual US-Ukraine-led maritime exercise, has returned to Portland for its 2026 mine countermeasures phase. This is the largest UK-hosted iteration to date and is building Ukrainian capability while sharpening the mine warfare skills of allied navies at a time when the discipline has regained wider strategic urgency.
MoD acquires Finnart Oil Terminal to strengthen Royal Navy fuel resilience
Navy Lookout – The MoD has completed the acquisition of the strategically important Finnart Oil Terminal on Scotland’s west coast, expanding the RN’s sovereign fuel storage capacity as part of wider investment in infrastructure, one of the real positives of the Defence Investment Plan published at the end of June.
Operation Firecrest: HMS Prince of Wales Demonstrates Royal Navy’s ‘Hybrid’ Shift
Naval News – The current deployment of the UK Royal Navy’s (RN’s) HMS Prince of Wales carrier strike group (CSG) across the North Atlantic and into the High North is building deterrence against regional threats – but is also demonstrating the navy’s quickening transition towards a ‘hybrid’ crewed/uncrewed operational force structure.
Typhoon USV Completes First-Ever At-Sea Resupply with USS Essex
US Navy – As part of the ongoing Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2026 naval exercises, a Splash Industries Typhoon Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) successfully landed in the well deck of the Wasp-class Landing Helicopter Dock USS Essex (LHD-2), marking the first instance of a USV performing an underway replenishment for a larger, crewed vessel.
Satellite imagery indicates air-defence systems redeployed from Severodvinsk
Barents Observer – Russia has quietly stripped much of the long-range air defence protecting its most important nuclear submarine shipyards.
Russia moves to shield warships from Ukrainian drone strikes
Defence Blog – Russia has begun arming its large surface warships with new electronic warfare systems in an apparent attempt to counter Ukrainian drone attacks.
(Thanks to Alain)
China Maritime Report #56: The Silent Service: Assessing PLAN Influence in the Central Military Commission
China Maritime Studies Institute – Despite its impressive expansion, the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) is more of a “decision-taker” than a “decision-maker,” with its growth driven by top-down political directives from leaders like Xi Jinping rather than by its own institutional influence. The PLAN’s bureaucratic influence within the high command remains modest, with minimal representation on the powerful Central Military Commission (CMC) or in its subordinate departments. The PLA Army (PLAA) continues to dominate top leadership and management roles, limiting the navy’s ability to compete for resources and influence key decisions despite a strategic shift toward the maritime domain.
Ukraine sinks Russian patrol ship near Novorossiysk
Defence Blog – Ukraine’s navy sank a Russian border guard ship near Novorossiysk using an unmanned strike boat. The Ukrainian Navy said its sailors sank the Rubin-class patrol ship Izumrud (354), a Russian Federal Security Service border guard vessel, using the Sargan-3000, a domestically built unmanned surface strike platform that has entered service with Ukraine’s naval forces over the past year.
(Thanks to Alain)
History in the Making: Ukraine Conducts First Fully Unmanned Amphibious Raid at Kinburn Split
Naval News – The Ukrainian armed forces have reportedly conducted a groundbreaking amphibious raid against Russian-held positions at the Kinburn Split. Executed entirely by unmanned vehicles operating across the sea, land, and air domains, the operation marks the first completely automated amphibious assault in military history conducted under wartime conditions.
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