Naval Warfare News

DARPA’s NOMARS program aims to revolutionize naval operations by designing a ship that can operate autonomously for extended periods at sea without an onboard crew.One project at the forefront of maritime innovation is the development of a vessel called “Defiant,” a project of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The Defiant is referred to as a NOMARS vessel – “No Manning Required Ship.”The project’s been underway at least since January 2020, when DARPA held a “proposers day…

The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) has implemented SkillGrader for simulation assessment in the Naval Officer Training Centre’s Navigation and Bridge Simulator (NABS) environment.Developed by Marine Learning Systems (MLS), SkillGrader will gather, store and report training metrics from student assessments. The project supports the RCN’s efforts to continuously enhance the quality of professional development of their Naval Warfare Officers.SkillGrader is a first of its kind tablet-based…

On a windswept island 50 miles north of Seattle sits a U.S. Navy monitoring station. For years, it was kept busy tracking whale movements and measuring rising sea temperatures. Last October, the Navy gave the unit a new name that better reflects its current mission: Theater Undersea Surveillance Command.The renaming of the spy station at the Whidbey Island naval base is a nod to a much larger U.S. military project, according to three people with direct knowledge of the plans:…

When it comes to war, the old adage that the best defense is a good offense rings true. Nowhere is this more the case than naval warfare, where initiative can make the difference between victory and defeat. As an integral part of naval warfare, mine warfare – both mine countermeasures and mine laying, or “offensive” mine warfare - will continue to influence naval operations. Yet the latter of these sub disciplines - the “other” mine warfare, as Admiral James Winnefeld, Jr. calls it - has often been missing from mine warfare discussions.

When Ukraine successfully deployed self-driving “drone” boats for a major attack on the Russian navy at Sevastopol in Crimea in September 2022 it was a defining moment that changed the future of naval warfare. Uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) have been used before, but this was the first instance of multiple, armed USVs, used simultaneously in combination with aerial drones for a successful, offensive naval operation on a military target.Several Russian ships were damaged in the attack…

“Synergy” is an overused word. But in the case of the “Advanced Naval Technology Exercises” that are held around the country, ANTX is truly a sum greater than its parts.ANTXs are conducted by the Naval Research & Development Establishment (NR&DE) and hosted at the various Naval Warfare Centers to demonstrate emerging technologies and innovations aimed at solving Navy and Marine Corps problems and addressing mission priorities and gaps. They are not so much exercises, which usually denotes training, but more like technology demonstrations.

Pemamek has provided automated welding solutions to the shipbuilding industry for more than 25 years. Modular lines consisting of everything from simple robotic welding systems to entirely integrated plate preparation, joining and finishing operations can be built according to customer needs. But, according to Michael Bell, Sales Director for Pemamek LLC, the North American subsidiary of Finland-based Pemamek Oy, their systems are customizable for all types of vessels ranging from sub birthing barges…

The Navy is known for its big ships. It has a lot of smaller boats and craft, too—3,200 of them.The three primary stakeholders for these craft are the Surface Fleet, Commander Navy Installations Command and Navy Expeditionary Combat Command. Other stakeholders include Submarine Forces; Air Forces (which own the aircraft carriers); Naval Special Warfare; the Coast Guard; Naval Facilities Command and the Naval Warfare Centers.Boats and craft are procured and managed by Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Program Executive Office for Ships (PEO Ships)…

Maritime training and assessment software solutions provider Marine Learning Systems (MLS) said it has been awarded a contract by the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) to implement a simulation assessment metrics solution.MLS will configure its enterprise application, SkillGrader, to gather, store and report training metrics from student assessments on the RCN’s Navigation and Bridge Simulator. The project will support the RCN’s efforts to enhance the quality of professional development…

“All the business of war, and indeed all the business of life, is to endeavour to find out what you don’t know by what you do”Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of WellingtonIt is hard to get past headlines painting the portrait of a world besieged physically and economically by a medical crisis on a global scale and a nation that has turned the national spotlight onto the fundamentals of its constitutional democracy, including the persistence of racism, the right to protest and the character of local and national security forces in the United States.

The wreck of one of the U.S. Navy's longest serving battleships has been found 15,400 feet beneath the surface about 65 nautical miles southwest of Pearl Harbor, researchers said Monday.The USS Nevada (BB-36), which served in two world wars over the course of a career that spanned more than three and a half decades, was discovered by underwater and terrestrial archaeology firm SEARCH, Inc. and marine robotics company Ocean Infinity at the bottom of the Pacific.The mission was jointly coordinated between SEARCH's operations center and one of Ocean Infinity's vessels, Pacific Constructor.

At one time the most powerful lighthouse in the United States was Twin Lights in Highlands New Jersey. Today it is a wonderful little museum and right now it has a very interesting show of paintings by Maarten Platje on the War of 1812. One painting is called the Great Chase and it tells this amazing story of the US Frigate Constitution being becalmed off the New Jersey coast and becoming engaged in a rowing race to keep out of range of a powerful British Squadron. The Constitution escaped and went on to have her amazing victories that year…

Turkey's military launched the largest naval exercise in its history on Thursday, February 28, carrying out drills with frigates, corvettes and submarines in the Black Sea, Aegean and eastern Mediterranean.The nine-day exercise is aimed at testing the readiness of command bases and operation centers throughout Turkey's territorial waters, the defense ministry said.On board the frigate TCG Barbaros, gunners fired live ammunition at mock targets floating on the waves. Nearby, helicopters lowered soldiers onto a ship's deck…

The Navy will commission its newest aircraft carrier, the future USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), during a 10 a.m. EDT ceremony Saturday, July 22, at Naval Station Norfolk. USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) is the lead ship of the new Gerald R. Ford class of aircraft carrier, the first new class in more than 40 years and will begin the phased replacement of Nimitz-class carriers when the ship is commissioned. CVN 78 honors the 38th president of the United States and pays tribute to his lifetime of service in the Navy, in the U.S. government and to the nation. During World War II, Ford attained the rank of lieutenant commander in the Navy, serving on the light carrier USS Monterey (CVL 26). Released from active duty in February 1946, Ford remained in the Naval Reserve until 1963.

Royal Australian Navy apprentices have been working directly with industry in Adelaide, building on their initial trade training, and at the same time becoming part the next phase of naval warfare from the ground up. The Air Warfare Destroyer Alliance shipyard has provided a hand-on training environment for the sailors as part of the team building the Navy's new destroyers. Developing and strengthening their skills to complete the final elements of their trade qualifications, 11 apprentices are working in the shipyard, with another nine possible positions to be filled in the future. On joining the Alliance, the apprentices complete a rotation through the shipyard where they are assigned to their relevant trade groups including electrical, mechanical, refrigeration and welding.

The Navy's fifth Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite has reached operational orbit and has successfully deployed its arrays and antennas. On Oct. 22, the MUOS team raised the MUOS-5 satellite to an operationally-suitable orbit. The team completed a series of deployments of the satellite's solar arrays and antennas, with the last occurring successfully Oct. 30. MUOS-5 launched June 24 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and experienced a failure of its orbit raising propulsion system that halted the satellite's transfer orbit maneuver to its geosynchronous test orbit. The MUOS team ensured the satellite remained stable, safe, and under positive control while it investigated the issue and examined options.

Throughout the history of naval warfare a consistent pattern has evolved between the development of anti-ship threats and the development of shipboard protective measures against those threats. Since the 1980’s, the combination of ship-board protective measures has been colloquially referred to as ‘survivability’ and is defined more precisely as the measure of a vessel’s ability to complete its mission after an attack. The measure of survivability considers one or more of the following aspects: susceptibility (the ability to avoid being hit)…

The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) and the People's Liberation Army (Navy) (PLAN) concluded the inaugural Exercise Maritime Cooperation, a new bilateral naval exercise series on Tuesday (May 26). The exercise comprised conventional naval warfare serials such as gunnery firings and manoeuvring drills. Personnel from the two navies also engaged in exercise planning and combined simulator training ashore, the Ministry of Defence (Mindef) said in a statement. Singapore's Fleet commander Colonel Lew Chuen Hong highlighted the growth in professional interactions between the two navies at the opening ceremony, saying both navies can learn from each other and deepen professional knowledge to strengthen mutual trust and mutual understanding.

The Chinese government has approved a set of technical guidelines that require all civilian shipbuilders to ensure that their new vessels are suitable for military use in an emergency, the China Classification Society has revealed, reports Reuters. The plan will enable China to convert the considerable potential of its civilian fleet into military strength, said the China Classification Society, a shipping industry association, reported the official China Daily. The Technical Standards for New Civilian Ships to Implement National Defence Requirements cover five categories of vessels - container, roll-on/roll-off, multipurpose, bulk carrier and break bulk.

China set to retrofit 172,000 merchant ships for military purposes so they can be used in the event of a war, reports the Diplomat. Chinese civilian shipbuilders have to ensure that their vessels can be used by the People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) during times of ‘crisis’. While the recruitment of civilian maritime assets for military purposes is not unusual, the recent announcement is nevertheless a sign of the growing aspirations of Chinese naval planners in developing naval expeditionary warfare capabilities. The Communist Party newspaper People’s Daily, citing a notice by the China Classification Society, reported Beijing has…

Capt. Joseph J. Leonard (U.S. Navy, Ret.) has joined Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) as corporate director of customer affairs, large surface combatant program, the shipbuilder announced. In his new role, Leonard will provide solutions in the development and implementation of customer-focused activities for HII’s surface ship programs. He will work in HII’s Washington, D.C., office and will report to Dan Holloway, corporate vice president, customer affairs. Prior to joining HII…

After a two-day delay due to tropical storm conditions, the Navy's fourth Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite launched at 6:18 a.m. EDT from Space Launch Complex 41. MUOS-4, whose signal was acquired approximately three hours after launch, completes the initial operational constellation and provides near global network coverage for warfighters and combatant commanders. This array allows mobile forces, including submarines, surface ships and aircraft, to communicate around the world via the narrowband spectrum. User communities that will primarily benefit include ground forces at the individual soldier level but also include members of all services and special forces.

SeeByte, creator of smart software for unmanned maritime systems, said it will demonstrate software solutions for unmanned systems as part of the Royal Navy’s Unmanned Warrior exercise. The exercise will feature more than 50 vehicles, sensors and systems and aims to demonstrate never-seen-before capabilities in the field of autonomy and unmanned systems. SeeByte’s software forms the core components of the Hell Bay 4 and MCM Challenge elements of Unmanned Warrior. The aim of these exercises is to develop and push the capabilities of autonomous systems…