Naval News – The new dry dock, designated “Atlas” was announced as received by General Dynamics Electric Boat’s primary shipyard in Groton, Connecticut. The primary purpose of Atlas is targeted towards supporting the construction of the Columbia-class of Ballistic Missile Submarines (SSBN) currently under construction.

CIMSEC – To win the fight against a peer adversary, the navy’s surface warfare officer (SWO) community must display a level of warfighting proficiency – one of excellence – not yet seen in many years. The collisions of 2017 and continued near misses and actual mishaps since, such as the grounding of USS Howard (DDG 83) in 2023 and the Harry S. Truman (HST) Carrier Strike Group (CSG) friendly fire incident in 2024, reveal that the surface force lacks a high level of operating proficiency, in terms of both shiphandling and tactical skill. However, while sweeping reforms were swiftly implemented to increase shiphandling proficiency, the SWO community has not shown the same kind of fervor to implement the sweeping changes needed to dramatically increase tactical proficiency.

CIMSEC – While keeping the generalist approach, the surface navy should still continue to create more opportunities to specialize — to build more tactical and technical proficiency — across an officer’s career.

USNI News – Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are in U.S. custody following his capture in the capital of Caracas early Saturday morning, President Donald Trump said during a midday Saturday press conference.

ArmyRecognition – The U.S. Navy has completed a Service Life Extension Program refueling overhaul for USS Cheyenne (SSN 773) at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, marking the first submarine to undergo an SLEP overhaul. The milestone extends Cheyenne’s service life beyond 44 years and highlights the Navy’s strategy to ease attack submarine shortages by sustaining existing platforms.

(Thanks to Alain)

U.S. Congressional Research Service – Ronald O’Rourke analyses this new US Navy program.

The War Zone – With Trump class ship construction many years off, the survival of a program to build such large and expensive warships is even more questionable.

The War Zone – The USS Defiant would be the first Trump class battleship, but major questions remain about affordability and logic of such a massive design.

The War Zone – The U.S. Navy has confirmed that the armament package for its first “flight” of its new FF(X) frigates will not include a built-in Vertical Launch System (VLS). A lack of any type of VLS on the FF(X) design is a glaring omission that can only raise questions about the operational utility and flexibility of the ships. At the same time, the new frigates will be able to carry modular payloads, including containerized missile launchers, on their sterns.

The National Interest – James Holmes writes that the US Navy still needs new frigates, and is still intent on building them. But it must make basic changes to its acquisition process to avoid a second Constellation fiasco.

The War Zone – The Navy is leveraging the Coast Guard’s Legend class National Security Cutter to plug the gap left by axing the Constellation class frigate.

The War Zone – Being able to deploy LUCAS kamikaze drones from Navy ships drastically opens the aperture as to where swarms of these aircraft can emanate from.

Defense Opinion – Once again, the undersea domain is growing contested, as it was during the Cold War. Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) promise to enhance the combat reach and responsiveness of existing U.S. nuclear submarines. They remain, however, a complementary capability, and not a substitute for the irreplaceable advantages of manned nuclear submarines. The U.S. Navy should pursue the concept of teaming manned units — like attack submarines — with unmanned units as the best method to maximize combat potential.

USNI News – Two new reports on the V-22 Osprey, following a series of fatal mishaps that killed 20 people from 2022 to 2024, show years of problems, ranging from faulty parts to poorly understood maintenance procedures and a lack of communication across the services, that led to safety and reliability across the Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps.

The War Zone – The U.S. Navy says it is aiming to have the first of a new class of frigates based on an existing American design “in the water” by 2028. The U.S. Coast Guard’s Legend class National Security Cutter is reportedly the basis for the design in question. This all follows a decision to cancel the Constellation class frigate, a program marred by major delays and cost growth, which has now further exposed a highly concerning gap in the service’s future force structure plans.

Breaking Defense – Navy Secretary John Phelan recently told attendees at a private dinner that the new frigate would be a modified National Security Cutter.

The Guardian – US forces have seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, in a major escalation of Donald Trump’s four-month pressure campaign against the South American country’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro, whose government called the seizure “an act of international piracy”.

Interesting Engineering – US nuclear-powered submarines that may carry nuclear weapons could dock at Australian ports without the knowledge of the Australian public or even its government, defense officials told a Senate hearing, reigniting debate over the country’s obligations under nuclear nonproliferation treaties and the long-term risks of the AUKUS security pact.

(Thanks to Alain)

War on the Rocks – I focus on three types of corrective action Pentagon leadership should take immediately. This cancellation risks atrophying critical shipbuilding capacity in Wisconsin. It risks sending a negative signal to shipbuilders and capital. And like any risky march deep into the enemy’s territory, with supply lines severed and necessity driving the advance, this maneuver must strike a strategic blow — it must be worth the risk. The Navy now should move with speed and precision to use the Constellation-class cancellation as such a blow in the greater 2025 campaign of acquisition reform.

Center for Maritime Strategy – Naval and amphibious forces now face a new threat in the form of suicide drones and cruise missiles from traditional adversaries and insurgent groups. Autonomous drones are increasingly becoming an integral part of naval forces, flying reconnaissance, anti-submarine and anti-surface missions. But as current conflicts drive the rapid evolution of warfare, ships and troops are being targeted by unmanned weapons. New mission roles will undoubtably be assigned to naval drones to counter these threats in the air and on the sea. As low-cost drones and cruise missiles saturate defenses, the Navy needs equally low-cost sea-based counters. A new class of ships dedicated to operating drones at sea could provide a cost-effective approach to protecting friendly forces. The answer may look less like an aircraft carrier or destroyer, and more like a converted oilfield support ship.

Breaking Defense – The Navy and Marine Corps have chosen a ship design by the Dutch company Damen as the basis for a number of new vessels to be part of the Medium Landing Ship program, senior leaders announced today.

Breaking Defense – “This is going to be devastating for [Fincantieri’s] workforce. They invested heavily buying the yard in 2009 and invested a lot to win the frigate class competition,” one analyst told Breaking Defense.

Breaking Defense – If the US is to stand a chance against China, the time is now to move out on the Navy’s future next-gen fighter, explains Rebecca Grant of the Lexington Institute.

National Interest – James Holmes writes that the purpose of the aircraft carrier’s visit to the waters near Venezuela is still unclear—but it makes for a powerful warning to Caracas about what might follow.