The War Zone – The Navy wants ships to be able to launch decoys that are capable of luring away missiles for tens of minutes to help defend against incoming barrages.

The War Zone – Houthi attacks in the Red Sea prompted the Navy to rush the counter-drone Hellfire capability to the Freedom class LCS.

The War Zone – After spending years charting a way forward to a family of unmanned surface vessels in a specific array of sizes and configurations, the Navy is eyeing a major course alteration that would see it pursuing a simpler and more interchangeable design. According to Rear Adm. William Daly, head of the Navy’s surface warfare division (N96), the wish list is now simple: he wants to amass a large number of these unmanned boats quickly and equip them with payloads that fit in common containers and are designed to confuse the enemy.

The War Zone – Such a reality, and its implications for a war with China, are driving the development of the Transferrable Reload At-sea Method used to reload missiles underway.

Breaking Defense – A senior Navy officer overseeing the service’s investments into unmanned surface vehicles says he’s “skeptical” of fielding the Large Unmanned Surface Vessel.

The War Zone – The Navy’s head of surface warfare says DDG(X) is a “clean-sheet imperative” that will prioritize electricity production, endurance and advanced weapons.

Breaking Defense – A top Navy fleet commander says the service should be “embarrassed” by the fact it hasn’t managed yet to scale directed energy weapons onboard its ships despite having experimented with the technology since the Reagan administration.

The War Zone – We dive deep with the captain in charge of the Orca program on the drone’s current abilities and what it could be capable of in the future.

USNI News – Training and learning from ships that already spent months in the Red Sea was focus of a panel that included the heads of naval surface forces and aviation at the Surface Navy Association Symposium Tuesday.

The War Zone – Navy surface combatants have fired off hundreds of missiles and five-inch shells to repel Houthi drone and missile attacks.

CIMSEC – CIMSEC recently engaged with the commander of the Surface and Mine Warfighting Development Center (SMWDC), RDML Wilson Marks, to discuss the latest developments and priorities of the command. RDML Marks discusses multiple topics in this interview, including how SMWDC is learning from Red Sea combat, the wartime role of the command, and how far SMWDC has come ten years after its establishment.

Naval News – In the Fall of 2024, Naval News sent media inquiries to the United States’ Navy, Marines, DARPA, and Special Operations Command for progress updates on their seaplane programs. Although it took a few months to obtain the answers, these U.S. military agencies responded to Naval News with the following information.

The War Zone – USS Michigan’s operations included three separate missions vital to national security and ones that involved special operations forces.

The War Zone – Sold after the Cold War, the U.S. Navy remains interested in once again using the Olavsvern complex as a hub for Arctic operations.

The War Zone – A wide array of chronic cost overruns and industrial capacity factors could torpedo the Navy’s goal of fielding a 390-ship force by 2054.

The War Zone – The U.S. Navy is now officially using “Murder Hornet” to refer to F/A-18E/F fighters armed with five AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) and four AIM-9X Sidewinders. The air-to-air ordnance configuration for the Super Hornet made its combat debut last year in operations over and around the Red Sea and was enabled by a crash program to allow F/A-18E/Fs to carry more AIM-9Xs.

The War Zone – The Combat Information Center (CIC) is the nerve center and tactical brain of a U.S. Navy surface combatant. These high-tech floating command centers and their watchstanders have been put to the test over the last year, unlike any other time in history, as missile and drone barrages from Houthi rebels in Yemen have plagued the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. With this in mind, TWZ spoke with multiple surface warfare officers (SWOs) about the realities sailors face when fighting their ship from within the CIC, including what factors come into play, what mistakes can arise during tense, time sensitive engagements, and the effects of being on patrol in a free-fire zone for months on end.

Naval News – The U.S. Navy’s LCS fleet continues to expand its capability portfolio as new systems are integrated onto the multi-mission ships.

China Military Online – The US littoral combat ship USS Savannah(LCS-28) docked at the port of Sihanoukville in Cambodia on Monday. According to AFP, the US warship docked at a dock kilometers away from a Chinese-renovated naval base, marking the first American military port call to one of Beijing’s closest regional allies in eight years.

(Thanks to Alain)

The War Zone – The friendly fire incident also came amid a sustained Houthi drone and missile attack targeting the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group.

National Interest – James Holmes reflects on the US Navy’s big debate: stick with massive ships or embrace a fleet of smaller, nimbler vessels for the future fight.

BBC – An American fighter jet has been shot down over the Red Sea in an apparent “friendly fire” incident, the US military has said.

Center for Maritime Strategy – Bipartisan, bicameral legislation is now in play on Capitol Hill to give U.S. commercial shipbuilding industry the boost it needs to both compete with China and better serve national security needs.

The War Zone – For the cost of adding relatively short extra service life to its three modernized cruisers, the Navy could have nearly bought two brand-new destroyers.