CIMSEC – Recent naval operations in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz have demonstrated that the United States Navy remains extraordinarily capable in combat. Precision strike operations, integrated air and missile defense, continuous maritime presence, and sophisticated joint operations have reinforced the credibility of American naval power. By nearly any operational measure, the force has performed at a very high level under demanding conditions.

That success should not be mistaken for proof of how the Navy would perform in prolonged conflict against a peer adversary. The true benchmark in high-end warfare against a peer is whether naval power can be sustained over the course of a prolonged Pacific conflict. Therefore, it is important to establish a framework for examining the details that will determine success in protracted conflict. The framework suggests that success hinges on distributed forward-based logistics, renewed emphasis on neglected warfare competencies, and sufficient operational depth in munitions, ships, and manpower.

CIMSEC – The first week of June 2026 marked a seminal event in the history of sleep and fatigue in the military. The Department of War (DOW) Fatigue Related Management Working Group hosted the first ever Sleep and Fatigue Summit with over 130 experts in the field from all military services, providing a huge burst of momentum in the area of fatigue management as an operational imperative for our warfighters. For the first time in years, there is hope that the military, and especially the Navy, is finally turning a corner in this critical arena. But there remains much work to be done.

CIMSEC – Guam is the westernmost territory of the United States in the Pacific region. The Congressional Research Service notes that Guam is closer to Beijing than Hawaii, making it vital to the United States’ national defense for air and naval operations in the Indo-Pacific region. The Port of Guam is designated as one of eighteen National Port Readiness Network commercial seaports. Military and civilian logistical experts believe that Guam will be a critical logistical hub for any conflict in the Asia-Pacific. Despite the geographic importance of the island, Guam’s logistical capacity is far below the needs of the United States in the event of a conflict in the Indo-Pacific region.

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.

Breaking Defense – In this op-ed, Steven Wills of the Center for Maritime Security rebuts the idea that the US Navy shoulders the blame for instability around the critical waterway off the coast of Iran.

USNI News – Big deck amphibious ship USS Tripoli (LHA-7), lead ship of the Tripoli Amphibious Ready Group, wrapped up on Wednesday a six-month patrol that took the group to the Indo-Pacific and Middle East.

Defense News – Concerned by the lack of docks on the West Coast that can service large vessels such as aircraft carriers, the U.S. Navy is moving forward with plans to build a new dock at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

Breaking Defense – The mission has not succeeded in its core goals, and it’s using up military manpower and munitions at a time when the US is stretched on both, writes Daniel R. DePetris.

The War Zone – Saronic, the company that makes the first sea drones ever to be used as kinetic weapons by American forces, announced it will build a big new shipyard in Brownsville, Texas where they plan to construct an array of crewed and uncrewed ships as big as 850 feet. It is a big step for a company whose largest vessel is a 180-foot drone boat called Marauder.

The War Zone – What looks to be the largest at-sea replenishment ship anywhere in the world is taking shape at a Chinese shipyard.

Defense News – The U.S. Navy’s expensive effort to install hypersonic missiles on three Zumwalt-class destroyers is two years behind schedule, according to government auditors.

Breaking Defense – Why can’t the world’s most powerful military secure the Strait against a country that has no navy?

US Navy – As part of the ongoing Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2026 naval exercises, a Splash Industries Typhoon Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) successfully landed in the well deck of the Wasp-class Landing Helicopter Dock USS Essex (LHD-2), marking the first instance of a USV performing an underway replenishment for a larger, crewed vessel.

The War Zone – More than 20 U.S. Navy warships, including two carrier strike groups and an amphibious ready group, are underway in the Middle East.

USNI News – The U.S. will resume its blockade of Iranian ports, coasts and ships, according to a Monday announcement from U.S. Central Command, signaling an end to the 60-day ceasefire between Iran and Washington.

USNI News – Three Saronic Corsair unmanned surface craft were used in a Sunday attack on an Iranian port, U.S. Central Command announced on social media.

Naval News – The US Navy (USN) is seeking “seabed superiority” in both offensive and defensive operations around the ocean floor as part of enhancing asymmetric advantage in underwater warfare, the USN’s Commander, Submarine Force (COMSUBFOR) told the annual Combined Naval Event 2026 (CNE26) conference.

CIMSEC – In the last two weeks, CIMSEC featured writing submitted to our Call for Articles on maritime conflict with Iran. Authors covered a wide range of topics, including strategic differences between allies, new paradigms in warfare, and underappreciated yet decisive dimensions of the conflict. The maritime domain has prominently featured in this conflict and exerted a major influence over the terms of war termination. The broader impacts of the war still remain to be seen, but could include a wider degradation of freedom of the seas and lesser readiness for great power conflicts. This war deserves the most careful examination from navies and maritime forces to better understand how the changing character of warfare and global connectivity is evolving the security maritime domain.

The War Zone – The flagship of Carrier Strike Group 3, which is currently operating in the Middle East, has not made a port call since December 2025.

Defense News – When hidden deep in the vastness of the ocean, America’s ballistic missile subs are practically invulnerable. But berthed in port — or sailing on the surface while transiting to and from port — these powerful yet fragile boats can be sitting ducks for drones, mines and even anti-tank rockets.

War on the Rocks – To sustain future maritime operations, the U.S military will need to run supplies through an environment that spans thousands of miles of open ocean, denied ports, contested straits, and archipelagic chokepoints against adversaries that have spent decades studying how to target American logistics. That problem does not require one identical vessel for every mission. It does require a more common family of watercraft for the manned ships that carry cargo and vehicles inside a theater, built for scale, interoperability, and wartime replacement. Getting this right is arguably the most important acquisitionproblem the joint force faces in the next decade.

Clios Musings – This post is the text that accompanies a slide presentation on a naval mine blockade strategy briefing entitled “Close Iran, Open Hormuz.” The briefing is by Bradford Dismukes, Capt., USNR (ret.), with Bruce F. Powers, SES-4 (ret.) and Peter M. Swartz, Capt., USN (ret.). It is currently being presented to interested people and institutions concerned with national and naval strategy. Its immediate purpose is discussion and critique with the aim of improving it. It is also hoped that this briefing will help make the existence of the naval mine blockade strategy option known to the nation’s senior leadership which, by all evidence in the public domain, has never been made aware of it.

USNI News – The U.S. Navy plans to homeport up to nine McClung-class medium landing ships at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to support the Marine Corps’ area denial and sensing operations across the Pacific.

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)