Covert Shores – When President Zelensky visited Odesa recently, the Ukrainian Navy (VMS-ZSU) presented him with a range of interesting and, in several cases previously unconfirmed, pieces of kit. These included Harpoon missiles in a disguised launcher, Norwegian NSM missiles and Swedish RBS-15 missiles. Those systems have understandably been getting a lot of attention. Yet sitting next to a couple of Seawolf surface drones (USVs) was something completely unreported. A new type of underwater drone (UUV – uncrewed underwater vehicle).
Naval Strike Missile Appears in Ukrainian Service for the First Time
Naval News – A photo appearing to show a truck-based launcher for the Norwegian-built Naval Strike Missile (NSM) anti-ship cruise missile surfaced on social media following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the Command of the Naval Forces of Ukraine.
Iran was the most successful failure in US airpower history
Breaking Defense – The US entered the conflict with a detailed plan for a war of destruction, but no serious plan for Iran’s war of disruption.
FLEETEX250: ‘They’re Here, We Might as Well Train’
USNI News – Fleet Exercise 250 Combined 32 Ships from 15 Navies in a Once-in-a-Generation Naval Exercise.
Squaring the circle: the nine decisions that will make or break the Hybrid Navy
Navy Lookout – With the Defence Investment Plan committing to Common Combat Vessels (CCV) and a family of uncrewed platforms, the Royal Navy’s hybrid navy has moved from ambition to funded programme. The question is no longer whether to build it, but how. In this guest article, Jake Rigby, Head of Innovation and Research at BMT, argues that industry’s ability to deliver will depend on how it navigates nine unresolved trade-offs.
UK DIP Details Platform Types to Underpin Royal Navy Hybrid Force Structure and Atlantic Fleet Series
Naval News – The UK’s new Defence Investment Plan (DIP) has detailed four platform types to be introduced into Royal Navy (RN) service, as central elements of the RN’s new ‘hybrid’ force structure and the spine of its ‘Atlantic Fleet’ operational concept series.
Ukraine is launching strike-drones from everything – including Black Sea robo-boats
Defense News – Ukraine has turned its signature naval drone – the little boat that drove Russia’s fleet out of the western Black Sea – into a launch platform for first-person-view attack drones, putting Kyiv’s strike reach beyond the coast.
Russia’s UAV Campaign Over Europe
International Institute for Strategic Studies – Russia’s UAV campaign over Europe, likely enabled by shadow-fleet vessels operating in international waters, exposed critical gaps in allied air defences, legal authority and political cohesion, revealing that the threshold for collective response is higher than European deterrence has assumed.
Lightning strikes: new F-35 radar could have directed-energy attack mode
Australian Strategic Policy Institute – Bill Sweetman writes that F-35 program leader Lieutenant General Greg Masiello delivered something of a lite-beer testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee last week, with many questions deferred to a closed session. But the discussion pointed to a big and little-discussed change to air warfare technology – fighter radars so powerful that they can act as high-power microwave (HPM) weapons. And this involves not just the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning but also British Eurofighter Typhoons and the multinational Global Combat Aircraft Program (GCAP).
EUROGUARD M-SASV Project Moves From Design To Reality With Hull Presentation
Naval News – The European Defence Fund’s (EDF) €95 million EUROGUARD program has completed its Critical Design Review (CDR) and unveiled its 45-meter semi-autonomous prototype hull at the Baltic Workboats shipyard in Estonia.
The US Navy just tested a drone submarine fired from a torpedo tube that swims off on its own to plant a minefield miles from the boat, then settles on the seabed and never comes back, built from the start to be thrown away
Autonocion – General Dynamics drone doesn’t go looking for mines. It plants them, and then it stays down there for good.
(Thanks to Alain)
U.S. Marines Use Commercial Ferries to Haul Anti-ship Missiles Across the Philippines
USNI News – Marine anti-ship missile launchers and air defense rolled off contracted Philippine commercial transport vessels onto an island in the middle of the Luzon Strait near Taiwan during drills earlier this month.
Britain’s laser weapon system will be on warships by 2027
Defence Blog – A British laser weapon capable of destroying drones for roughly $13 a shot is on track to be installed aboard Royal Navy destroyers in 2027, making the UK the first European NATO member to field an operational shipborne directed-energy weapon.
(Thanks to Alain)
What the Defence Investment Plan means for the Royal Navy
Navy Lookout – The Defence Investment Plan (DIP), published on 30th June, finally provides indicative funding and timescales to many of the ambitions set out in the Strategic Defence Review published more than 10 months ago. In this overview, we look at the key decisions impacting the RN.
64 US sailors sickened in diesel generator glitch on ballistic missile submarine
Stars and Stripes – The Navy is investigating a recent generator malfunction aboard the ballistic missile submarine USS Nebraska that sickened dozens of sailors.
(Thanks to Alain)
The C-2 Greyhound Has Made Its Last Landing Aboard A Carrie
The War Zone – It’s truly the end of an era for naval aviation as the C-2’s carrier onboard delivery role has now been turned over to the CMV-22 Osprey.
Anti-Drone Warfare: The Missing Tier in Maritime Defence Architecture
Naval News – The proliferation of autonomous one-way attack (OWA) drones has exposed a critical gap in defence architecture: Anti-Drone Warfare (ADW) is neither conventional air defence nor C-UAS. It is a distinct operational domain — with unique threat physics, unique engagement economics, and unique platform requirements. For maritime environments, that gap is structural and cannot be closed by shore-based systems alone.
Air Force Discloses B-2 Can Launch Stealth Anti-Ship Missiles In Surprise Announcement
The War Zone – Pairing LRASM with the B-2 creates a powerful, penetrating, fleet-killing combination, especially in the broad expanses of the Pacific.
Poland signs $4.8 billion contract for Saab-made A26 submarines
Breaking Defense – Saab has finalized a SEK 47 billion ($4.8 billion) contract with the Polish government for the production of three Swedish-made A26 submarines intended to replace the country’s Soviet-era Kilo-class submarines.
All in on the hybrid navy – the Royal Navy’s surface fleet gamble
Navy Lookout – The Defence Investment Plan (DIP) will confirm the RN’s most significant shift in surface warfare for decades. Rather than replacing the Type 45 destroyer with another generation of large air defence ships, the RN intends to build a distributed force of crewed and uncrewed vessels designed to fight as an integrated system.
Royal Navy downsizes its assault ship ambitions
Navy Lookout – The Defence Investment Plan (DIP) is expected to be published this week. In advance of publication, the MoD has already made some announcements about the shape of the future fleet. Here, we consider the issues surrounding the Commando Force.
U.S. Stations Marine Anti-Ship Missiles in the Western Pacific
Naval News – A Japan-based U.S. Marine Corps unit designed to lock down maritime chokepoints and sink naval vessels has deployed the first forward-based American anti-ship missiles along the first island chain this week.
Royal Navy maintains continuous 3-month watch on Russian warships in UK waters
Navy Lookout – The Royal Navy has been conducting back-to-back monitoring operations, tracking Russian warships in and around UK waters for almost three months, and that vigil continues today. Here we summarise recent efforts.
Romania bolsters Black Sea fleet with Turkish-built corvette
Defense News – Romania received its first new warship in 30 years last week, a the vessel destined to boost Black Sea security and relations with seller country Turkey at the same time.
White House budget director calls for fifth public shipyard amid push to expand fleet
Breaking Defense – The Trump administration is pushing for a fifth public shipyard to support a growing fleet, the head of the Office of Management and Budget said Wednesday.
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