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.
Navy’s New Frigate Will Not Have A Vertical Launch System For Missiles
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.
Pax Americana to Pax Sinica
Australian Naval Institute – Guided by Geoffrey Till’s emphasis on naval balance and freedom of navigation[i], this essay argues that China’s expanding naval posture near Australia signals a contested transition from Pax Americana to a prospective Pax Sinica. The analysis evaluates the broader implications for Canberra’s alliances, strategic autonomy, and regional security and considered whether these developments represent a natural recalibration of great-power behaviour or a deliberate challenge to Australia’s sovereignty.
Progress with the Royal Navy’s PODS programme
Navy Lookout – In this guest article, Paul Keating-Brown considers the RN’s Persistent Operational Deployment Systems (PODS) concept and outlines developments to date.
Alarm over ‘exploding’ rise in use of sanctions-busting shadow fleet
The Guardian – The “shadow fleet” used by Russia, Iran and Venezuela to avoid western sanctions and ship cargo to customers including China and India is “exploding” in its scale and scope, and there are concerns that efforts to counter it are drawing closer to dangerous military confrontations.
“We. Are. Watching,” says NATO
The Barents Observer – Ships operating for Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 shadowed the Russian spy ship Yantar and the Northern Fleet destroyer Severomorsk along the North Norwegian coast.
The US Navy Has Canceled the Constellation-Class Frigate. What Comes Next?
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.
CMSI Translations #25: A New Pillar for Distant Oceans: Concepts for the Chinese Navy’s New Generation of General-Purpose Destroyers
China Maritime Studies Institute – A recent unconfirmed rumor about the Chinese Navy developing a new general-purpose guidedmissile destroyer has stirred debate online. Many commenters argue that the Type 055 already offers exceptional capability across air defense, missile defense, anti-ship, anti-submarine, and general warfare roles, and is more than capable of meeting current mission needs. But because it’s expensive to build, it is not practical to produce in large numbers or to use for routine tasks, so it will likely remain a smaller part of the fleet. In contrast, the more affordable Type 052D class is limited by its size and displacement, which restricts how much it can be upgraded. As a result, it still cannot match the endurance or sustained firepower of the U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class destroyers.
This Will Be The Navy’s New FF(X) Frigate
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.
Ukraine Strikes Russia-Linked Tanker In The Mediterranean With ‘Bomber Drone’
War Zone – In a significant escalation of the ‘tanker war’ between Russia and Ukraine, which has so far played out mainly in the Black Sea, Ukrainian aerial drones have struck a tanker belonging to Russia’s so-called ‘shadow fleet’ in the Mediterranean.
Shallow Waters, Big Lessons: What the Falklands War Reveals About Submarine Warfare
War on the Rocks – The war remains one of the very few real-world examples of post-World War II submarine combat and is rife with lessons for contemporary naval planners. Most notably, unlike the classic convoy battles of the 1940s, what made the difference in this conflict was not the marathon endurance of the submarine crews, or the number of torpedoes they carried on board, but the peculiar physics of shallow water. In messy littorals — full of wrecks, kelp forests, and irregular seabeds that raise the ambient noise level — the side that can operate close to the bottom, exploit these natural disturbances, and survive the inevitable anti-submarine hunt after firing holds the decisive advantage.
Littoral Combat Ship Launches Shahed-136 Kamikaze Drone Clone
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.
Weak in Battle, Dangerous in Resistance: Venezuela’s Military Preparedness and Possible Responses to U.S. Action
War on the Rocks – Understanding how Venezuela might respond to U.S. military action requires an accurate assessment of the capabilities, readiness, and doctrinal approach to external intervention of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (Fuerza Armada Nacional Bolivariana). The country’s government under President Hugo Chávez (1999-2013) adopted that name to honor Simón Bolivar, the 19th-century liberator who fought for South American independence and whose ideals form the basis for modern Venezuelan nationalism, known as Bolivarianism, linking the military to his revolutionary legacy.
The Atlantic Bastion
RUSI – This research paper explores the strategic concept of the Atlantic Bastion, a key element of the UK’s Strategic Defence Review 2025, designed to bolster NATO’s maritime deterrence against Russian submarine threats in the North Atlantic. The authors assess the Bastion’s current deterrent value and propose refinements to enhance its effectiveness in countering Russian naval strategies.
Royal Navy recruitment up but trained strength goes down
Navy Lookout – Quarterly figures released by the MoD show the number of trained sailors and marines in the RN declined by about 1.1% in the last 12 months. Although this sounds insignificant, this amounts to about 220 people, equivalent to the crew needed for two Type 31 frigates. Recruitment is improving, but the legacy of shortages continues to impact the frontline.
Carrier USS Nimitz Returns to Bremerton, Wraps Final Deployment
USNI News – USS Nimitz (CVN-68) returned for what may be the last time to Bremerton, Wash., concluding its final deployment after nearly nine months at sea.
Aftermath Of Ukraine’s Underwater Drone Attack On Russian Submarine Seen In Satellite Imagery
The War Zone – Ukraine’s submersible drone navigated into a protected harbor and detonated very close to the targeted submarine.
As the Undersea Grows More Contested, U.S. Navy Subs are the Right Response
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.
Thales develops modular sonar for uncrewed anti-submarine and seabed warfare
Navy Lookout – Thales has unveiled its Sonar 76Nano prototype developed in response to a growing recognition within the Royal Navy that traditional approaches to anti-submarine warfare are no longer sufficient. While the system draws lineage from the highly effective Sonar 2076 submarine sonar, its true significance lies in how it has been conceived for uncrewed operations, rapid deployment and roles extending well beyond classic ASW.
Decline of Operational Art: The Story of A Strategic China Wargame
War on the Rocks – Planners today struggle to properly apply operational art in large scale war — and they don’t fully realize why. It takes something like firsthand experience in a strategic level wargame against a human red team to fully realize how much understanding of classical military art has been lost.
US wargames played out scenarios for Maduro’s fall. None of them ended well for Venezuela
The Guardian – Venezuelan politicians battling to end Maduro’s rule reject claims his downfall would thrust their country into maelstrom of bloodshed and retribution.
Philippines and Taiwan Explore Coast Guard Cooperation
Naval News – The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration (CGA) held a meeting in Manila this week to discuss potential lines of cooperation – including intelligence sharing and capacity-building efforts – in the face of increasing tensions in the South China Sea and Luzon Strait.
Fiction Week 2025
CIMSEC – 15 FICINT stories that examine the future of maritime security and war at sea. Authors creatively envision emerging threats and technologies through novel scenarios and narratives. These stories can help us gaze into the future and flesh out the possibilities of future conflict.
New Zealand’s frigate choice: Mogami or Type 31?
Navy Lookout – New Zealand is approaching a pivotal decision on the future of its surface combatant fleet as the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) looks to replace its Anzac-class frigates in the mid-2030s. Two designs have emerged as the most likely contenders: Japan’s upgraded Mogami-class and the British Type 31 frigate.
New V-22 Mishap Reviews Find Material Issues with Osprey, Poor Communication Between Services
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.
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