European Defence Review – HII (Huntington Ingalls Industries), America’s largest shipbuilder and producer of the Romulus Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) and the Remus Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV), hosted a media briefing on July 20, 2026, discussing its Odyssey Autonomous Control System and recent developments.
(Thanks to Alain)
Defense News – The U.S. Navy is rapidly advancing its unmanned surface fleet. Just a little over two weeks after U.S. Central Command utilized three Corsair unmanned surface vessels to strike a submarine and ship maintenance facility at the Bandar Abbas naval base in Iran, marking the “first time American forces have employed sea drones in combat operations,” the Navy confirmed its first live-fire training exercise of its Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft uncrewed surface vessel.
Energies Media – Sweden generates more than 20 percent of its electricity from onshore wind and has staked its industrial competitiveness on a green power future. Yet when it comes to the sea, the country keeps saying no. In the latest round of offshore wind decisions, the Swedish government denied 11 permit applications while approving just two — following 13 rejections in 2024. For a nation racing to expand renewable capacity, the pattern is striking. What keeps blocking development just beyond the shoreline is a question the numbers alone don’t answer.
(Thanks to Alain)
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.
Ashai Shimbun – Experts believe that the Chinese have constructed a new nuclear-powered attack submarine that is topped with a low-profile sail and has advanced stealth capabilities.
(Thanks to Alain)
The War Zone – Putting YJ-20s on Type 052D destroyers, not just the giant Type 055, distributes the capability across many more hulls and potentially a much larger area.
UK Defence Journal – The Royal Navy has tested uncrewed and autonomous technology alongside its US and Australian counterparts to demonstrate how the three AUKUS allies could protect critical undersea infrastructure.
(Thanks to Alain)
China Maritime Studies Institute – Vice Admiral (VADM) Zhang Zheng (张峥) appears to have been promoted to the most senior billet in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy (PLAN). He seems to have taken up this responsibility as early as December 2025.
Defence Blog – Sevmash shipyard rolled the Yasen-M class submarine Ulyanovsk out of its construction hall, completing the sixth vessel’s slipway construction phase. Five Yasen and Yasen-M submarines currently serve in Russia’s Navy, and Sevmash laid the keel for a ninth vessel, Murmansk, on June 17, 2026.
(Thanks to Alain)
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)
USNI News – U.S. and Taiwanese officials revealed this week that a joint exercise was held at an unspecified time between their respective Coast Guard agencies.
Jerusalem Post – Israel’s defense establishment is considering purchasing a maritime patrol and multirole aircraft designed primarily to detect submarines, according to an IDF source.
(Thanks to Alain)
USNI News – The U.S. pledged to fund the expansion of a Coast Guard base used for operations in the South China Sea and increase foreign military financing for Manila last week.
China Maritime Studies Institute – From 17-23 July, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) deployed a 3,000-ton fisheries research ship, the Lan Hai 201, to waters east of Taiwan. China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, which owns the vessel, declared that the cruise was intended to “comprehensively understand the state of fisheries resources in China’s jurisdictional space.” During its cruise, the Lan Hai 201 engaged in survey activities in the EEZs of Taiwan, Japan, and the Philippines, in clear violation of their sovereign rights to regulate fisheries resources under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
Naval News – Following Poland’s order for Saab A26 submarines, Naval News breaks down the weapons package, undisclosed missile integration, HMS Södermanland lease, and 2031 delivery timelines.
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.
War on the Rocks – Uncrewed amphibious forces obviate the traditional and gravest risks of an amphibious assault. Those nations that adapt to this reality can execute such assaults as a viable course of action during future military operations.
CIMSEC – At present, Russia is exploiting European seaports and maritime infrastructure. Despite port interception and seizure operations from allied nations, Russia’s acquisition of ghost vessels continues in an upward trend. While primarily used as a strategic tool to augment sanctions evasion and sustain defense expenditures, Russia’s irregular tactics, alongside vulnerable seaport ecosystems, create conditions that could facilitate covert human movement under commercial cover for the Russian Federation.
Breaking Defense – The US Coast Guard wants technology solutions to take down unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) as a way to bolster port security.
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.
China Maritime Studies Institute – Foreign media sources believe that, in recent years, the Chinese Navy has shown keen interest in “small-reactor” nuclear submarines—vessels utilizing compact nuclear reactors as air independent propulsion (AIP) systems—and do not rule out the possibility that engineering trials have already been conducted. So, what exactly is the Chinese Navy’s requirement for such submarines, and through what technical pathways might this requirement be realized?
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.
Navy Lookout – With an increasing number of Russian warships operating close to the UK, the overstretched Royal Navy is being forced to employ lightly-armed OPVs, RFAs and minehunters to monitor them. This sends a message of weakness. This editorial argues that also deploying multiple small, fast uncrewed surface vessels offers a rapid and affordable means to provide more effective deterrence.
CIMSEC – As great power competition expands into new domains and climate change alters global geography, the Arctic and Antarctica have become central pieces of the national security conversation. However, the conversation around these strategic regions often lacks a nuanced understanding of the distinct governance frameworks that regulate each polar region. There is a frequent, yet flawed, tendency to view “the poles” as a single, uniform operational environment.
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