Breaking Defense – The Navy’s youngest of its four public shipyards is more than 100 years old. Now, President Donald Trump says it’s time for a fifth, in an effort to expand repair capacity for nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines.
Indian Navy Leases Two Additional MQ-9B SeaGuardian UAVs
Navy News – India signed a contract with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) for the leasing of two MQ-9B Sea Guardian High-Altitude Long-Endurance (HALE) Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) for the Indian Navy for a period of 30 months.
The growing threat to Royal Navy ships in harbour
Navy Lookout – The security of the RN’s home bases has recently drawn fresh scrutiny as cheap uncrewed weapons present an expanding challenge. Some will argue this is scaremongering, but there are good reasons to believe that the fleet is now more exposed to unconventional attack while in port than at any time since the Second World War.
U.S. Navy Looks to Carrier-Basing, Submarine Replenishment Missions for UUVs
Naval News – The U.S. Navy’s Pacific-based submarine force is exploring a number of new mission sets for uncrewed undersea vehicles (UUVs) as they rapidly proliferate across the fleet, including new mission sets involving carrier-basing and underway submarine replenishments for contested environments.
What China’s PLA says it is learning from the Iran war
Breaking Defense – From AI integration to the economics of air and missile defense, Chinese military commentators are paying especially close attention to the US-Israel war in Iran.
Indications Russia Will Re-Route LNG Exports Via Arctic To Avoid Ukrainan Threat
Covert Shores – A Russian LNG (liquified natural gas) tanker, Portovyy (IMO 9246621), has sailed out of the Baltic. Unusually, confusingly, her declared destination of Murmansk in Russia’s Arctic. It is unlikely that she is really going there. Although it is too early to declare it a fact, this may be an early indication that Russia is deploying a new tactic to avoid Ukrainian surface drone (USV) threats.
New Patriot Battalion To Bolster Guam’s Defenses Within Months
The War Zone – The new unit will also have short-range counter-cruise missile systems that will enhance the strategic island’s defenses and grow the Army’s overextended Patriot force.
Russia’s doomsday submarine sets sail for the first time
The Barents Observer – The special-purpose nuclear submarine Khabarovsk, designed to carry the Poseidon nuclear-powered giga-torpedo, is currently undergoing sea trials in the White Sea.
Floating Bombs: New Trend In Dangerous Fuel Types Aboard Merchant Ships
Covert Shores – There is a burning ship abandoned off the west coast of the Americas. On August 6th there was a serious fire aboard the Chinese car carrier (a specialised ship which delivers cars for export) Min Jiang Kou (IMO 9991771) in the Pacific. This is a useful news hook for an article I have been planning for a while: cause of the fire, or at least its significant factor, was that the ship uses high-flammable (/explosive) LNG as a fuel. Here’s a quick overview of the trend in highly dangerous fuels aboard merchant ships, with an eye on Defence relevance.
Full steam in reverse: Trump orders US Navy back to old-style aircraft catapults
Navy Lookout – President Donald Trump has ordered the US Navy to develop a plan to abandon electromagnetic aircraft launch systems on future Ford-class aircraft carriers and return to steam catapults. The wider memorandum contains some sensible measures to address America’s serious naval shipbuilding problems, but imposing a fundamental engineering redesign on an aircraft carrier already under construction is extraordinarily difficult to justify.
Trump opens door for foreign-built Navy ships. It could get complicated
Breaking Defense – In a new memo certain to make significant waves for the future of US Navy shipbuilding, President Donald Trump on Thursday called for the US to outsource the building of at least a few Navy ships to foreign shipyards.
America is sailing through the Taiwan Strait less. Does it matter?
Breaking Defense – A Heritage Foundation study shows a significant drop in Taiwan Strait transits by the US military under the second Trump administration.
U.S. Navy Orca XLUUV Completes 1,000-Mile Pacific Transit
Naval News – The U.S. Navy completed a 1,000 nautical mile transit with the service’s Orca XLUUV uncrewed submarine in July, a first for the service.
Royal Canadian Navy Asserts Arctic Presence in Operation NANOOK-TUUGAALIK
ReadyAyeReady – The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) is at the forefront of Canada’s latest Arctic sovereignty efforts as Operation NANOOK-TUUGAALIK gets underway. Launched on August 14, 2026, this maritime-focused serial of the Canadian Armed Forces’ signature northern operation runs from August through October and centres on maintaining a visible naval presence, enhancing domain awareness, and building operational proficiency in one of the world’s most demanding environments.
New White House Memo Calls for Foreign-Built Warships, Return to Steam Catapults on Ford Carriers
USNI News – President Donald Trump has ordered the Pentagon to consider foreign-built warships and auxiliary vessels for the U.S. Navy, in addition to other proposed changes to shipbuilding, in a sweeping presidential memo released on Thursday.
Ukrainian Drone Strike Damages Russian Frigates in Novorossiysk
Naval News – Early in the morning on Wednesday, August 12th, Ukrainian drones savaged Russian warships and supporting infrastructure at the Black Sea Fleet’s reactivated main port, Novorossiysk, striking at least 4 vessels in the process.
Reimagining General Quarters For Surface Ships
CIMSEC – During World War II, General Quarters (GQ) was essential to U.S. Navy ship survivability. Setting GQ established the highest material condition—Zebra—throughout the ship and manned every combat and repair station with the crew’s most qualified personnel. That model reflected an era in which major naval engagements were expected to be intense but comparatively short. Today, however, surface ships face a different problem: they may need to sustain elevated readiness for hours, days, or longer under persistent missile and drone threat. Traditional GQ remains vital for brief periods of peak danger, but it is no longer a practical default for prolonged combat operations. The surface force should update how it employs GQ by preserving continuity at key watchstations and pre‑setting survivability measures in high‑threat environments before a ship is forced to react under severe time constraints.
USS Abraham Lincoln sailors tried to jump overboard amid extended deployment
The Guardian – Military families and Congress members are sounding the alarm about an intensifying mental health crisis onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, as its 5,000 sailors and marines endure a record-breaking deployment at sea tied to the war with Iran.
Chinese research vessel sparks alarm in Palau after repeated incursions
ABC – In the final days of May, a Chinese research vessel ventured 74 kilometres into Palau’s waters and reportedly spent 14 hours moving slowly through the island nation’s maritime zone. With a bow built to push through a metre of Arctic sea ice, the 89-metre icebreaker Ji Di might have looked out of place in the warm waters of the North Pacific.
The Existential Estuary – Taiwan’s Defense on the Tamsui River
USNI News – Taiwanese forces mobilized mechanized units, engineering troops and mines across a river estuary crucial for the defense of the island’s capital city during the opening days of Han Kuang 42. Among the paths for a potential Chinese invasion of the island’s capital, the approach from the Tamsui River will be critical for both attacker and defender.
Royal Navy ships take respite in Kenya after months in Middle East
Navy Lookout – HMS Dragon and RFA Lyme Bay have arrived in Mombasa for maintenance, resupply and crew rest after several months deployed in the Middle East. The visit takes the two ships temporarily away from preparations for a potential multinational operation in the Strait of Hormuz.
2026 and All That: Another Benchmark Year in Royal Navy Decline
War On The Rocks – For other navies, including the U.S. Navy, the Royal Navy’s experience offers a blunt warning: When naval leaders rely on political leadership to preserve fleet size, industrial capacity, and force design, decline can arrive by increments and then suddenly become irreversible.
Chinese, Indonesian naval frigates complete maritime exercise in waters east of China’s Taiwan island
Global Times – The Chinese Navy’s guided-missile frigate Honghe (Hull 523) and the Indonesian Navy frigate KRI I Gusti Ngurah Rai completed all scheduled exercises in waters east of China’s Taiwan island on Wednesday morning, marking the conclusion of a China-Indonesia maritime passage exercise,
Royal Navy Reports 25 Percent Increase in Russian Activity in U.K., North Atlantic Waters
USNI News – Russian activity around the U.K. and in the North Atlantic has risen 25 percent in the first half of the year compared to the same time frame in 2025, according to the Royal Navy.
China’s stealth test ship swaps weapon for a mystery system
Defence Blog – Social media images published Sunday show China’s unnamed experimental stealth corvette fitted with a new system in place of its previous missile turret. Analysts differ on whether the system is a sonic weapon or a naval version of a high-power microwave weapon designed to counter drone swarms.
(Thanks to Alain)
NOSI - Naval Open Source Intelligence™ 
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