Army Recognition – According to Izvestia, Russia’s Project 09851 nuclear-powered submarine Khabarovsk could begin sea trials in 2026 following completion of outfitting work at the Sevmash shipyard. Designed as a dedicated carrier for the Poseidon nuclear-powered unmanned underwater vehicle, the Khabarovsk was launched in November 2025 and has since entered mooring test preparations.
(Thanks to Alain)
Asia Martime Transparency Initiative – China’s deployments of buoys in the Yellow Sea add yet another layer to its approach toward managing disputes with South Korea while furthering its own maritime interests. Like many of China’s maritime activities, the buoys accomplish several things simultaneously: they increase China’s monitoring and sensing capabilities in an important maritime area; they assert control over a less sensitive but still disputed portion of overlapping maritime claims; and, importantly in the Yellow Sea context, they test South Korean reactions to inform future deployments.
The War Zone – While today’s surface Navy puts major emphasis on carrier strike group and expeditionary strike group deployments, driven by the resource realities and the global threat environment, the current Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) wants to take a far more flexible and tailored approach to sending his vessels on cruise.
The War Zone – One of the many capabilities of the new SSM is the ability to spiral during its attack run to help evade close-in gun systems.
Navy Lookout – Royal Navy submarine HMS Anson arrived in Gibraltar last week, her first stop after sailing from Faslane on 10th January. It was officially confirmed last year that a boat would be going to join Submarine Rotational Force–West in Western Australia during 2026.
FRPI – Plans have now been unveiled for the USS Defiant, the lead ship of the so-called Trump class of guided-missile battleships. According to the concept materials released so far, this vessel would combine a sprawling arsenal of vertical launch cells, hypersonic missiles, and lasers with a forward-mounted 32-megajoule railgun. In other words, at a moment when American shipyards are struggling to produce sufficient numbers of current surface combatants, the proposed solution is to task them with building 35,000-ton “super combatants” packed with immature or outright nonexistent technologies.
Could such a ship actually work? What risks does it introduce, technologically and industrially? And perhaps most importantly, what would a return to battleships mean for American fleet structure and an already overstretched US shipbuilding sector?
Naval News – In this second instalment of this annual Naval News review for the Chinese Navy (PLAN) in 2025 we will cover relevant events for submarines, fleet auxiliaries, infrastructure modernisation and, finally, experimental efforts.
Naval News – Statements by U.S. Navy Rear Admiral (RADM) Derek Trinque, the Director of Surface Warfare (N96) at the 2026 Surface Navy Symposium reveal the U.S. Navy’s intentions to spread the hypersonic Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) missiles throughout the surface fleet.
Breaking Defense – After rounds of prototyping, the Navy is ready to deploy two of its medium-sized drone boats this year and even integrate one with a carrier strike group, according to a service official.
Defense News – U.S. President Donald Trump calls the vessel a new class of “battleship” graced by his own name, but China just calls the U.S. Navy’s latest concept a larger and “easier target” for its growing array of anti-ship drones and missiles.
Naval News – During the Future Fleet Panel at SNA 2026, Chris Miller, the Executive Director at Naval Sea Systems Command, and Rear Admiral Derek Trinque, the U.S Navy Director of Surface Warfare (N96), Rear Admiral Brian Metcalf, and Rear Admiral Peter Small went in depth regarding the newly unveiled BBG(X) Trump-Class Battleships.
The War Zone – The Navy is pushing back on concerns about the built-in capabilities of FF(X) frigates, including the lack of a vertical launch system array.
Navy Lookout – The RN has reached a significant milestone in naval aviation with the first flight of the UK’s first autonomous, full-size helicopter. The Proteus Rotary Wing Uncrewed Air System (RWUAS) technology demonstrator lifted off from Predannack airfield in Cornwall, another step forward in the integration of uncrewed systems into frontline maritime operations.
USNI News – The U.S. and Japan have pledged to further expand joint training across Japan’s southwest region, including the first island chain, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Thursday.
The War Zone – As the U.S. is reportedly moving at least one and perhaps more aircraft carrier strike groups to the Middle East ahead of a potential future attack on Iran, open-source tracking is beginning to show some U.S. Air Force assets may be heading that way as well.
Defense News – U.S. Navy leaders speaking at a military conference this week outlined what they described as the strategic opportunities of the recently announced Trump-class battleships and why the service is embracing the development.
Naval News – General Atomics is holding discussions with the U.S. government regarding the role of railguns on the Trump-class guided-missile battleships.
USNI News – The Coast Guard has spent close to $7.7 billion of the nearly $25 billion awarded to it by the Trump administration in July, investing in new hardware, infrastructure and personnel to support the largest overhaul of the service since World War II.
Naval News – During Surface Navy 2026’s Future Fleet Panel hosted by Mr. Chris Miller, Executive Director at NAVSEA, and featuring Rear Admiral (RADM) Derek Trinque, the U.S Navy’s Surface Warfare Director (N96), new details surrounding the U.S Navy’s FF(X) program were unveiled.
The War Zone – The USS Gerald R. Ford has been on cruise since June and the Navy’s top officer does not want to send it to the Middle East on extended deployment.
The War Zone – The U.S. Navy’s top officer wants directed energy weapons to become the go-to choice for the crews of American warships when faced with close-in threats. He also said that more powerful megawatt-class lasers should not be seen as “beyond” the capabilities that could be found on the future Trump class warships.
USNI News – Beijing’s newest variant of its J-20 fifth-generation fighter aircraft has the ability to conduct precision strikes on maritime targets, according to Chinese state media.
USNI News – New robotic autonomous systems and forward-deployed forces are key to the Navy’s emerging hedge force concept the service is adopting to supplement the tasks of the existing fleet.
China Military Online – The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy’s hospital ship Silk Road Ark (Hull 867), which is on the Mission Harmony 2025, recently held open ship day activities at the Port of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. The vessel’s advanced medical equipment and distinctive traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatments were warmly received by the local residents.
Navy Lookout – The US Navy says it wants to terminate the Constellation-class frigate programme after years of design instability, opting instead for the procurement of a simpler ship based on the US Coast Guard’s Legend-class cutter. Here, we consider the crisis in American naval procurement and the implications of the switch from frigate to cutter.
NOSI - Naval Open Source Intelligence™ 
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