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.

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.

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.

Defence Blog – Haddy, a St. Petersburg, Florida manufacturing company, announced on Saturday it produced the TF-179 Drone Boat using large-format robotic additive manufacturing.

(Thanks to Alain)

Navy Lookout – The US Navy has begun seeking a new generation of submarine payload launchers designed to deploy uncrewed systems as well as weapons. The move raises questions about how far the Royal Navy’s future SSN-AUKUS boats will share in the evolving American approach to undersea payloads.

The War Zone – One Block V Virginia class submarine will be unlike any other, capable of highly specialized intelligence and sabotage missions on the seafloor.

The War Zone – The sightings highlight concerns about drone attacks from the sea, especially at a time of extreme hostility between Iran and the U.S.

CIMSEC – NAVADMIN 123/26 affords the Information Warfare Community a once-in-a-generation chance to overhaul its officer career paths and shift attention to resourcing and requirements, changes that would yield significant long-term benefits for both the community and its personnel.

The War Zone – While Theodore Roosevelt is ready now, the Navy is not aiming to start flying the MQ-25 operationally until 2029, years behind schedule.

The War Zone – Putting JDAM-LR into production will give the Navy an important new stream of lower-cost standoff munitions for its carrier air wings.

USNI News – The first Trump-class battleship (BBG(X)) could cost about $23 billion with an overall cost for the 15-ship program to be about $275 billion, according to a new Congressional Budget Office estimate published on Wednesday.

The War Zone – The P-8A and MQ-4Cs were designed to work in concert, but direct in-flight control of Tritons will open new tactical possibilities and greatly extend the Poseidon’s reach.

Defence Blog – The U.S. Navy has placed its biggest order yet for an underwater weapon nobody has ever seen and designed to sit silently on the seafloor for months, waiting for an enemy submarine to wander close enough to torpedo without warning.

(Thanks to Alain)

Breaking Defense – Maritime drone manufacturer Saildrone has received a new task order from the Navy worth $16.3 million to continue their operations in the US Southern Command region into next year.

The War Zone – The Navy will no longer categorize enlarged Virginia Block V and VI types as attack submarines ahead of Ohio class guided missile boats’ retirements.

CIMSEC – Artificial intelligence aboard a warship should not look like a revolution. It should look like a well-trained petty officer who never sleeps, never tires, and never lets a maintenance log fall through the cracks.

Breaking Defense – German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall unveiled today a new guided-missile frigate, dubbed the GMF 140, intended for an undisclosed procurement tender in North America.

Breaking Defense – CSIS’s Mark Cancian responds to a recent op-ed in Breaking Defense about the relative standstill at the strait.

The War Zone – The Navy has a plan for a revolutionary modular surface-to-air missile arsenal, and submarines are intended to be added as launch platforms.

Modern War Institute – Deterrence today is a contest over time. The United States and its Pacific allies and partners need time to decide, move, repair, and coordinate. Beijing needs speed, ambiguity, and an opportunity to present the region with a fait accompli. Those opposing clocks point to five practical plays available to the United States and its allies and partners to deter Chinese aggression in the region now.

Navy Lookout – The US Navy has confirmed that its planned Trump-class guided-missile battleship, whose lead ship would be USS Defiant, will be nuclear-powered. The propulsion decision could have consequences extending beyond the BB(X) programme (now redesignated BBGN), placing additional pressure on US aircraft-carrier construction and the naval nuclear industrial base, with potential second-order implications for AUKUS and the submarine programmes of Australia and Britain.

National Defense – Traditional sea mine countermeasures tend to flounder in contested environments, and the Navy is looking to add more autonomy to its demining practices.

(Thanks to Alain)

CIMSEC – Congress already requires long-range reporting for ships and aircraft because force structure cannot be understood in a single fiscal year. Readiness and risk evolve over similarly long periods. Yet no comparable statutory mechanism exists to track the condition of the fleet, the persistence of readiness deficiencies, or the consequences of failing to address them.