Telegeography – While new submarine cable systems are being built to expand global internet capacity, the maintenance of submarine cables has not seen the investment required to maintain these systems.
JMSDF changes its largest ‘destroyer’ classification from ‘DDH’ to ‘CVM’
Naval News – The Japanese Ministry of Defense has revised the hull classification symbols for Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) vessels effective October 2024. The change adds two new symbols, “CG” and “CVM,” which will be applied to upcoming ship types.
China’s New Giant Underwater Drone Increases Naval Mine Threat Around Taiwan
Naval News – China unveiled its AJX002 underwater minelaying drone, signalling a significant expansion and modernization of its capabilities. The dedicated platform enhances blockade potential, particularly around Taiwan, raising strategic concerns as its covert, almost deniable nature increases the likelihood that China will use naval mines.
Safety of Navigation is Not the Priority
Center for Maritime Strategy – Safety of navigation is not the priority. It’s the minimum. The surface warfare community’s narrow approach to navigation and seamanship training rewards risk-avoidance instead of risk-mitigation and prevents naval officers from mastering the skills needed for their primary duty—waging war at sea.
Norway’s Purchase of Type 26 Frigates
RUSI – Beyond the economic boost for the UK, the sale of Type 26 Frigates to Norway is a vote of confidence for the strategic partnership and NATO planning.
Can Drones Replace Navy Destroyers? Yes and No
National Interest – James Holmes writes that all in all, the expansion of USV use is a promising experiment that could ameliorate the US Navy’s force-structure woes—while amplifying US fleets’ combat power in a hurry.
Chilean Thomson Submarine in California for the DESI 2025 Program
El Snorkel – The Chilean Navy’s CNS Thomson (SS 20) submarine arrived at the Point Loma Naval Base in California on August 25, marking the formal start of the Diesel-Electric Submarine Initiative (DESI) program for the year 2025…Established in 2001 by the U.S. Fleet Forces Command. USA, the DESI program is designed to strengthen alliances and interoperability with South American navies operating diesel-electric submarines. Through joint exercises, it is sought to improve the preparation of the fleets, increase regional security and promote the exchange of knowledge and experience among the participating forces.
(In Spanish)
(Thanks to Alain)
Japan successfully tests ship-based railgun
Defence Blog – Japan’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) has announced the successful completion of offshore firing trials using an electromagnetic railgun.
(Thanks to Alain)
The future of the Russian Navy
GIS Reports – Despite submarine strength, Russia’s navy struggles with obsolescence, strategic setbacks and dwindling seaborne relevance.
(Thanks to Alain)
In focus: HMS Mersey – Royal Navy patrol ship at high readiness
Navy Lookout – We visited HMS Mersey to speak with the Commanding Officer and learn how this Batch I OPV continues to make a valuable contribution to UK maritime security. Now more than two decades old, Mersey remains an active and adaptable platform, with recent upgrades and new ways of working helping to extend her utility.
Historic Shuttered Navy Base Back In Action For Caribbean Counter-Drug Mission
The War Zone – In 2004, the Navy disposed of the former Naval Station Roosevelt Roads in Puerto Rico, but current events have seen it awaken once again.
Indian Navy’s indigenous submarine programs gather steam
Naval News – India’s homegrown submarine projects Project 76 and Project 77 are confirmed to be in the design stage even as Project 75(I) in collaboration with TKMS and Project 75(AS) with Naval Group are in various stages of progress.
Navy forces land at Franz Josef Land as part of exercise Zapad-2025
Barents Observer – Large areas in the Barents Sea have been sealed off as Russia and Belarus start their major joint exercise.
Royal Navy brings mine sweeping back into the fleet
Naval News – After a gap of two decades, the UK Royal Navy (RN) is reintroducing an influence minesweeping capability as part of the broader recapitalisation of its mine countermeasures (MCM) force under the Mine Hunting Capability (MHC) programme.
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It is Time For Naval Mines to Enter the Missile Age
CIMSEC – Naval mines need a new kind of delivery platform, specifically by either rocket or missile. Mine missiles will be used here to describe this delivery method and differentiate it from rocket-propelled naval mines activated after deployment, like the Chinese EM-52/T-1.
USAF’s Quicksink Ship-Killing Smart Bomb Seen In Detail Like Never Before
The War Zone – The USAF has offered new views of the Quicksink anti-ship bomb after a B-2 stealth bomber deployed the weapon off Norway in a test.
Ports, Politics, and Power: The Messy Reality of China’s Overseas Port Investments
War on the Rocks – What if China’s global port empire isn’t the master plan Washington fears, but a patchwork of messy deals shaped as much by local politics as Beijing’s ambitions?
Think Medium: The Case for “Minilateralism” to Boost Naval Shipbuilding
War on the Rocks – NATO’s maritime readiness gap is not simply a matter of numbers but also a question of credibility. In an environment where adversaries are investing heavily in naval capabilities and contesting critical maritime domains, the alliance’s reliance on three overstretched national fleets is a vulnerability that could limit deterrence and operational reach. Without coordinated investment in shipbuilding capacity, workforce regeneration, and fleet modernization among some of its main players, NATO risks having a maritime strategy that outpaces the means to deliver it.
Countering the People’s Republic of China’s Maritime Insurgency in the South Pacific
CIMSEC – Guadalcanal, the Coral Sea, Tarawa, New Guinea, and Iron Bottom Sound highlight the strategic location of the South Pacific during the Second World War. Today, U.S. and allied preeminence in this vital region is under threat. The People’s Republic of China (PRC,) through a sophisticated blend of economic inducements, political influence, and maritime coercion, is executing a campaign to erode U.S. and allied presence and reshape the Indo-Pacific order. Such activities mirror the tactics of insurgency, where control is gained not just through force, but by blurring legal boundaries, exploiting economic vulnerability, and using civilian fronts to advance strategic ends.
Coast Guard Caribbean Anti-Trafficking Missions Continue as Military’s Role is Redefined
USNI News – Coast Guard law enforcement operations in the Caribbean Sea are continuing as the Pentagon formulates its mission in U.S. Southern Command following a lethal military strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat.
First Sea Lord sets very ambitious targets for Royal Navy transformation
Navy Lookout – The new First Sea Lord, General Gwyn Jenkins, used his opening address at DSEI 2025 to set out an uncompromising plan to move the Royal Navy to full war-fighting readiness within four years. He stressed that the era of incremental change is over and that taut delivery timelines must drive every programme from now on.
Singapore selects Boeing P-8 Poseidon as its next Maritime Patrol Aircraft
Breaking Defense – Singapore has decided to acquire the Boeing P-8A Poseidon multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft.
Rising dragon, slumbering Sam
The Strategist – Bill Sweetman analyses the air power on display in last week’s military parade in Beijing.
Design, Decide, Forget: Why the Navy Needs a Lessons-Learned Center for Shipbuilding
CIMSEC – In March 2025 testimony before the House Armed Services Committee’s Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, Ronald O’Rourke, naval analyst for the Congressional Research Service since 1984, sharpened an excellent recommendation he has raised over more than a decade: the U.S. Navy should establish a dedicated institutional mechanism for systematically capturing, analyzing, and transmitting lessons learned from its shipbuilding programs.
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