autoNotion – For as long as anyone has war-gamed a fight with China, the Pacific Ocean has been America’s best defense. It is more than 5,000 nautical miles of open water, and the working assumption has always been that Chinese warships and submarines simply could not cross it in any numbers, which kept the West Coast a long way from any shooting. China is now building underwater drones the size of submarines, and crossing that ocean is more or less the entire point of them.
(Thanks to Alain)
autoNotion – Finding a submarine that doesn’t want to be found is one of the most expensive problems in modern defense. Norway spent most of 2025 shopping for an answer and picked at least five British-designed Type 26 frigates, a deal Breaking Defense put at roughly $13.5 billion, which works out to about $2.7 billion per hull. A Munich company called Helsing thinks the future of the hunt looks less like a 6,900-ton warship and more like hundreds of 132-pound (60 kg) gliders drifting along at walking pace, each one running an AI that was trained the way you’d train a chatbot, except on decades of recorded ocean sound instead of internet text.
(Thanks to Alain)
Asia Times – Amur-1650 reflects Russia’s buoyant sub export ambitions, but turning offers into real contracts and ships will be a rough ride
(Thanks to Alain)
7Sur7 – While the Kremlin’s ghost oil tankers avoid the English Channel for fear of being intercepted by the British, the French or the Belgians, an investigation shows the growing presence of armed men on board. These mercenaries, often linked to the Wagner Group, could well be there to intimidate the Western Coast Guard. It is difficult to say, however, if they would dare to open fire.
(In French) (Thanks to Alain)
Naval News – The U.S Navy’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal Training and Evaluation Unit One (EODTEU1) will evaluate a new form of mine-clearing capability after identifying a series of new requirements in the Indo-Pacific—particularly for the service’s doctrine of distributed maritime operations, according to new documents published by EODTEU1.
Covert Shores – The Sea Trident SL-1000 is an extra-large uncrewed underwater vehicle (XLUUV) built by Ukrainian firm Global Mark. The company is already associated with a range of aerial drones (UAVs) and electromagnetic warfare (EW) systems, but this is its first publicly revealed underwater drone.
CIMSEC – For years, the public debate over a possible Chinese Communist invasion of Taiwan has focused on a single question: Does the People’s Liberation Army have sufficient amphibious lift to move an invasion force across the Taiwan Strait? That question remains important. However, recent Chinese exercises suggest that the People’s Liberation Army is not simply trying to solve the problem of getting forces onto a Taiwanese beach. It is rehearsing how to move, sustain, and conceal a large amphibious campaign across multiple locations.
The War Zone – Fincantieri Marine Group CEO George Moutafis gives us exclusive insights into what sunk the frigate and what needs to change because of it.
War on the Rocks – Although Japan is well-positioned to support high-tech manufacturing at scale, there are still significant legal, political, and security barriers on both sides of the Pacific. Overcoming these barriers, including security risks overseas and political resistance to offshoring in the United States, requires the correct balance of policy and financial incentives.
War on the Rocks – South Korea’s nuclear-powered submarine program risks leading South Korea’s defense industry off course. The high costs and technological complexity of developing a niche capability like nuclear submarine shipbuilding are more costly, complex, and less beneficial than Seoul may realize. Moreover, these dynamics run counter to the export-oriented strategy that has made K-defense an international success and could drain talent and resources from an innovative economic engine. Ultimately, the entire endeavor risks creating unintended budgetary and political pressures that could undermine South Korea’s procurement flexibility and constrain long-term defense spending.
Navy Lookout – The seizure of the tanker, MV Smyrtos, on 14th June showcased the ability of the Royal Navy and other agencies to conduct a complex maritime interdiction operation. However, the timing of the boarding, against a backdrop of political turmoil over defence spending, raises questions over the political motivation and scale of assets involved.
Navy Lookout – HMS Scott, the Royal Navy’s ocean survey vessel, sailed from Falmouth yesterday on completion of her Ship Life Extension Programme (SLEP), which will see her in service until 2033.
The Guardian – British armed forces intercepted and boarded a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in the Channel in the early hours of Sunday.
Navy Lookout – Operation HIGHMAST was the RN’s major set-piece of 2025, a 222-day global carrier strike group deployment. At CNE 2026, Rear Admiral Anthony Rimmington, Director, Force Generation, laid out some of the lessons the RN can draw from the deployment.
CIMSEC – The Surface Fleet must help maximize the Marine Corps’ ability to execute its mission from the sea. That mission remains the foundation of the amphibious force, and every institutional decision surrounding amphibious command must be judged—without stint or reference to parochialism—against that standard.
CIMSEC – Financial warfare is conventionally understood as an instrument applied to declared, identifiable assets. Common tactics include freezing accounts, cutting off correspondent banking access, and market delisting of entities. The Hormuz conflict of March 2026 introduced a structurally distinct mechanism operating on none of those principles. What follows is an analysis of that mechanism — how it emerged, how it functions, and why existing maritime security frameworks are not adapted to recognize it.
USNI News – American forces disabled three merchant ships in the Gulf of Oman this week that were allegedly violating a U.S. naval blockade of Iran.
CIMSEC – Latin American shipyards are undergoing a golden age, with a variety of platforms being produced regionally. This trend includes submarines, frigates, corvettes, and patrol vessels. Brand-new platforms from extra-regional suppliers are also being procured. However, second-hand platforms are cost-effective alternatives that provide additional capabilities to the fleet and serve as a stopgap until other procurement projects are completed. Donation of vessels serves to strengthen alliances or create new partnerships.
CIMSEC – In 2022, Congress established the independent National Commission on the Future of the Navy to conduct two overarching studies, one examining naval force structure and the other focused on shipbuilding and innovation. The former will recommend the size and composition of the Navy, while the latter will identify opportunities to better integrate advanced technologies into shipbuilding, new construction, and repair shipyards. China now possesses the world’s largest navy by ship count, and its shipbuilding capacity vastly exceeds that of the United States. Chinese shipyards are producing warships faster than American yards can repair them. China has spent a generation building a fleet capable of contesting sea control and converting industrial scale into military power, while the United States has allowed its shipbuilding capacity, naval industrial base, and force structure to deteriorate over the same period. The Commission is required to submit an unclassified report in 2027, and its recommendations could shape American naval power for years to come. To fulfill its mandate, the Commission must resolve five foundational issues.
USNI News – Taiwan’s newly acquired American attack drones struck maritime targets for the first time last week along the island’s west coast during live-fire drills designed to validate long-range strike systems that would play a crucial role in a potential invasion of the self-governing island.
CIMSEC – Four options for fleet composition have gained purchase within the U.S. Navy.
Covert Shores – In the past month China has launched the first two boats of a new class of submarine. The new type is longer than the proceeding Type-093C designs at around 120 meters, and appears 10-11 meters across. This makes it longer but slightly narrower than the other new boat, the presumed Type-095, which was launched in February at the Huludao shipyard.
CIMSEC – Land-based AShMs should be understood not primarily as tactical enablers, but as relatively easy-to-use instruments of controlled strategic escalation. Accordingly, the strategic focus must shift from targeting platforms to shaping the behavior of the actors and networks that employ them.
USNI News – The Pentagon’s planned energy depot in the Philippines will be able to refuel the U.S. Navy’s guided-missile destroyers and Combat Logistics Force ships, according to new documents.
Interesting Engineering – The European Union has selected Austria-based Schiebel’s CAMCOPTER S-300 unmanned aerial system (UAS) as the airborne platform for a major new anti-submarine warfare initiative to strengthen Europe’s ability to detect and counter underwater threats.
(Thanks to Alain)
NOSI - Naval Open Source Intelligence™ 
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