Naval News – China is now undertaking construction of new Type 071 LPD (landing platform dock) at a second location, in addition to existing production at Hudong in Shanghai. Detailed satellite imagery obtained by Naval News shows two additional hulls under construction at the COMEC shipyard (formally CSSC Offshore and Marine Engineering), also known as Guangzhou Shipyard International (GSI), on Longxue Island in Guangzhou.
Russian Navy Cancels Modernization of Kirov-Class Battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy
Naval News – The Russian Navy has officially canceled modernization plans for the Kirov-class / Project 1144.2 “Orlan” nuclear battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy, permanently sidelining the Northern Fleet’s largest surface combatant amid ongoing budget constraints.
HMS Venturer to be delivered to the Royal Navy in 2028
Navy Lookout – Babcock has confirmed they expect to deliver HMS Venturer to the RN in 2028, around two years later than the handover anticipated when she was launched. The date provides some clarity on the delayed Type 31 programme, but delivery is a very different milestone from being ready for operations.
Stealthy GJ-21 Drone Has Launched And Recovered From Type 076 Amphibious Assault Ship, China Claims
The War Zone – Signs that the PLAN has been building up to this significant milestone in naval airpower have been growing for more than a year.
Iran Used Limpet Mine Placed On Ship’s Hull In Latest Strait Of Hormuz Attack
The War Zone – More air defenses, ships, troops, ammo and supplies are flowing into the Middle East as the clock ticks down to the potential start of a new air campaign against Iran.
Washington’s Counter-Mine Wakeup Call
Center for Maritime Strategy – The Islamic Republic of Iran delivered a wakeup call to the U.S. Navy regarding the service’s ability to clear mines. The still-contested Strait of Hormuz demonstrates that mine clearing under fire is a slow, risky process.The mission served as a litmus test for the Navy’s capabilities. While some systems proved effective, improvement and scaling are still required. The Pentagon needs to identify and implement corrective measures or else it may pay a higher price in a future conflict with China, whose mine stockpile dwarfs Iran’s.
Long Deployments to Be Navy Standard For Next Couple Years, MCPON, CNO Say
USNI News – It will take a couple years before deployment lengths shift from the extended 10-11 months back to the normal seven, the Navy’s top enlisted sailor said Wednesday.
CMSI Translations #38: Furious Seas, Raging Waves: The PLA’s Development of Sea-to-Shore Strike Capabilities
China Maritime Studies Institute – At present, driven by anxiety and panic over China’s rising power and a desire to contain its peaceful development, U.S. political circles frequently provoke China on core interests related to Taiwan. They have even schemed to exploit “Taiwan Independence” elements to cross a red line regarding forced reunification. Such plots aim to “Ukrainize” Taiwan and drive the island to ruin, thereby raising the cost of reunification for China in order to weaken the country’s national strength and curb its development. Meanwhile, in recent months, “Taiwan Independence” forces on the island, emboldened by the backing of external powers, have acted with increasing brazenness. In response to the repeated actions by U.S. and Taiwan authorities that challenge the bottom line of peace, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army must intensify preparations for military conflict so that, when necessary, it can force a crossing of the Taiwan Strait, launch large-scale amphibious landing operations, completely eliminate the “Taiwan Independence” forces, and achieve the complete reunification of the country.
Record deployment for destroyer USS Spruance casts doubt over US Navy maintenance
Defense News – The Arleigh-Burke class destroyer USS Spruance has set a post-World War II record for a U.S. Navy destroyer deployment and is raising questions about the maintenance work that could follow its eventual return.
Kaliningrad is more than the Suwałki Gap, and NATO cannot ignore it
Breaking Defense – In an age of drones and long-range precision weapons, Kaliningrad’s location shows Europe’s security isn’t neatly divided between frontline states and everyone else.
NATO’s Black Sea nations decry Ukraine war spillover endangering commercial ship traffic
Defense News – The Ministers of Defense of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey have condemned attacks against commercial vessels in the Black Sea and call on all parties to refrain from any further actions that could endanger commercial vessels, maritime infrastructure and freedom of navigation in the Black Sea.
Three Royal Navy Vanguard-class submarines at sea does not signal change in nuclear posture
Navy Lookout – Three of the Royal Navy’s four Vanguard-class ballistic missile submarines are currently at sea, an unusual concentration of boats that has prompted speculation about a change in Britain’s nuclear posture. The available evidence instead points towards routine operational activity and, more positively, improving submarine availability after several years in which maintaining the deterrent has placed exceptional demands on boats and crews.
China’s New Trimaran Submarine: 16 Missiles And An Unconventional Design
Naval News – China is building more submarines, of more classes, than any other country. It has several brand-new ambitious design readying for series production and is forging ahead in the uncrewed space. But this unique trimaran design appears the strangest of them all.
Canada modifies River-class Destroyer combat system design to focus on Aegis and MOTS solutions
Naval News – Canada’s new River Class Destroyer (RCD) has continued to evolve its weapon and sensor fit. Updated CGI released in May, corroborated by a physical scale model showcased earlier this year by the Royal Canadian Navy, revealed further changes to the combat system solution embodied in the design.
Marine Rotational Force Concludes Deployment to the Outback
USNI News – Marine Rotational Force-Darwin 26.3 completed its six month rotational deployment to Australia and the Indo-Pacific.
Babcock pitches Type 31 for US Navy frigate programme
Navy Lookout – Babcock is preparing to offer its Arrowhead 140 frigate, the design behind the Royal Navy’s Type 31, to the US Navy as Washington looks abroad for a proven escort it can build quickly. Any deal would probably see the majority of ships built in American yards, with the UK supplying design and engineering expertise.
U.S. Navy Taps Attack Boat for 2027 Australian AUKUS Assignment
USNI News – The Pentagon announced Monday the Virginia-class submarine that will be the lead nuclear attack boat in western Australia. USS Colorado (SSN-788) will be assigned to Submarine Rotational Force-West, which will be based HMAS Stirling outside of Perth starting in 2027.
Second Chinese Uncrewed Submarine Mothership
Covert Shores – Unique naval technologies require unique support vessels. China’s unparalleled uncrewed submarines (XXLUUVs – extra-extra large uncrewed underwater vehicles) now have two special motherships. These vessels feature a unique submarine lift system in the stern which is lowered directly down through a gap in the ships bottom. The second mothership was launched in Guangzhou earlier this month.
HD Hyundai, Kiewit unveil plans for new US shipyard
Breaking Defense – South Korean firm HD Hyundai and North American Kiewit Maritime Co. have unveiled plans to launch a new shipyard in the US aiming to build both US Navy auxiliary and commercial vessels.
Army Activates Air Defense Guam Battalion Focused on Chinese, North Korean Threats
USNI News – The U.S. Army’s recently activated a Guam-based air defense battalion meant to protect the island from increasingly advanced air and missile threats fielded by China and North Korea.
Royal Navy to trial its first Large Uncrewed Surface Vessel next year
Navy Lookout – The MoD is close to placing a contract for a large uncrewed surface vessel (LUSV) that will be in the water next year as an early test of the RN’s Hybrid Navy concept. The demonstrator is the first hardware step towards replacing the Type 45 destroyers, which senior officers say they have no wish to keep beyond their planned retirement from 2035.
Collaboration on Autonomous Undersea Warfare is on Track, AUKUS Officials Say
USNI News – While the trilateral agreement initially focused on nuclear-powered submarines and the industrial base, military officials in AUKUS Pillar II have expanded the focus to new and emerging robotics and autonomous technologies for undersea warfare.
China’s first aircraft carrier forms ‘evolving pattern’ of voyages in disputed Asian seas
Defense News – So frequent are the Chinese aircraft carrier CNS Liaoning’s publicly visible voyages that military analysts presume that the People’s Liberation Army Navy has fixed a routine that will let the relatively aged carrier help train and equip the fleet’s two more modern ones.
Closing the Sea: Lessons From Ancient Mediterranean Blockades
CIMSEC – Practitioners of naval power have long looked to the past for warnings, lessons, and insights that might inform the challenges of the present and future. This post follows in that tradition by considering what antiquity might offer for understanding one of the most enduring applications of naval power, the blockade.
Royal Navy frigate crisis is even worse than Commons Defence Committee report suggests
Navy Lookout – The House of Commons Defence Committee has published its report on Defence in the High North. It concludes that RN strength falls far short of the government’s declared targets, particularly in frigates and attack submarines. The fleet available in 2030 may even be smaller than the report projects, and the Hybrid Navy concept will not be sufficiently developed in time to offset this collapse.
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