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Royal Navy Plans to Use Hybrid Fleet to Keep Pace with Russia in High North The Royal Navy will use its hybrid fleet, enhanced with autonomous and uncrewed vessels, to keep pace with Russia in the High North and North Atlantic, according to the service’s transformation plan. First Sea Lord Gen. Gywn Jenkins, head of the Royal Navy, outlined the service’s Hybrid Navy transformation plan last week in a Wednesday speech at the Royal United Services Institute in London. The First Sea Lord stated that the RN’s Hybrid Navy will be geared towards the North Atlantic and High North, reflecting the priorities of the Strategic Defense Review and the U.K.’s geography. “This is where our
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Carrier USS Gerald R. Ford Operating in the Mediterranean Sea Aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) is now operating in the Mediterranean after leaving the Red Sea last week, USNI News has learned. Ford transited the Suez Canal last week, a defense official confirmed to USNI News. The carrier is expected to sail home to Naval Station Norfolk, Va., after breaking the post-Cold War deployment record last month, USNI News reported at the time. As of Monday, Ford has been deployed for 314 days. The carrier operated in the Red Sea over the last several weeks amid the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. During that time, the U.S. briefly
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USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: May 4, 2026 These are the approximate positions of the U.S. Navy’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups throughout the world as of May 4, 2026, based on Navy and public data. In cases in which a CSG or ARG is conducting disaggregated operations, the chart reflects the location of the capital ship. In Japan Aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73) is in port in Yokosuka, Japan. In the Caribbean Sea The ships of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group are operating in the Caribbean Sea. The Amphibious Ready Group includes USS Iwo Jima, USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28) and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit based out of
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Shipbuilding Advisor William Toti Now Performing Duties of Under Secretary of the Navy A former advisor to Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg is now performing the duties of the under secretary of the Navy, the service announced last week. Retired Navy Capt. William Toti, a career submariner who until recently worked for Feinberg on shipbuilding issues, is filling in as the Navy’s number two civilian as Hung Cao takes on the acting secretary role. “He has my full trust and authority to drive change, increase efficiency, and accelerate decisions—so we can deliver warfighting capability, support our sailors and Marines forward, and defend our nation every day,” Cao said in a statement posted Friday
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Green Berets Deploy Ship-Killing Drone in Luzon Strait Maritime Strike Exercise MANILA, Philippines — American special forces used unmanned surface vessels equipped with explosive charges against a maritime target in the Luzon Strait. U.S. Army Green Berets with the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) controlled the explosive-laden drone and other unmanned maritime systems from Batan Island, one of several territories that make up the Batanes archipelago near Taiwan. These islands have seen increased U.S.-Philippine military exercises in response to Manila’s concerns over a conflict spillover and refugee repatriation during a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan. From its northernmost point, the Batanes archipelago is located within 88 miles of Taiwan. H I
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CNO: U.S. Naval Aviators Will No Longer Command Amphibious Warships Naval aviators will no longer command amphibious warships, according to a directive issued last week by Chief of Naval Operations Daryl Caudle. Citing poor amphibious ship readiness and operational availability, Caudle said that surface warfare officers would become the only officers authorized to command amphibs starting in Fiscal Year 2028, according to the April 24 memo reviewed by USNI News. “Over the past two years, much work has been conducted to assess the reasons why, synthesize the root causes, and put into effect enduring solutions,” reads the memo. “Inherent in these improvements is the need for COs to not only
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Strait of Hormuz Commercial Transits at Lowest Level Since Operation Epic Fury Start, Shipping Data Shows Transits in the Strait of Hormuz dropped to their lowest numbers since the first days of the U.S.-Israel offensive in Iran, according to merchant shipping data. The shipping industry continues to be caught between the U.S. and Iran’s fight over the strait. Iran has claimed it should be able to control the part of the strait it considers to be territorial waters, while the U.S. argues the strait, under international maritime law, is open for navigation. Strait transits are less than 10 percent of the pre-conflict traffic. It would take until at least September for tanker and oil markets to
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Report to Congress on Russia’s Nuclear Weapons The following is the April 22, 2026, Congressional Research Service report, Russia’s Nuclear weapons. From the report According to the Pentagon’s 2026 National Defense Strategy, Russia “possesses the world’s largest nuclear arsenal, which it continues to modernize and diversify, as well as undersea, space, and cyber capabilities that it could employ against the U.S. Homeland.” Since Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has invoked Russia’s nuclear weapons in an apparent attempt to deter Western military intervention against Russia in Ukraine and stated that Russia has deployed nonstrategic nuclear weapons to its ally Belarus. The 2010 New
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Navy’s Modest $602M Unfunded Request Includes 6 Military Construction Projects Behind a record-breaking $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget request, the Navy’s unfunded wish list focused on a handful of military construction projects, according to the document reviewed by USNI News. The $602 million unfunded priority list leads with $50 million for a 16,118 square foot facility at Naval Submarine Base New London, Conn., for maintenance equipment for Virginia-class submarine, $169 million for a 77,400 square foot facility for the Theater Undersea Surveillance Command at Whidbey Island, Wash., and $86 million for stormwater management facilities for the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. Other items include $121 million for a periscope repair
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U.S. Navy Declares Initial Operational Capability for Modified P-8A Poseidon Patrol Aircraft The U.S. Navy declared Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for the P-8A Poseidon Increment 3 Block 2 system, Naval Air Systems Command announced Friday. The Inc 3 Blk 2 achieved IOC after the Initial Operational Test performed by Air Test and Evaluation Squadron One (VX-1) with support from the Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft Program Office (PMA-290), reads the NAVAIR news release. “The P-8A Inc 3 Blk 2 modifications enhance Naval Aviation’s Maritime Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance, and Targeting (ISR&T) capabilities – the eyes of the fleet,” Rear Adm. Michael Wosje, director of Air Warfare (OPNAV N98), said in the release. “This
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Fiscal Year 2027 Navy Unfunded Priority List to Congress The following is the Navy’s Fiscal Year 2027 unfunded priority list, delivered this week to Congress. From the Report The annual request comes after the Navy formally unveiled its FY 27 budget request on April 21, 2026. Download the document here.
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Marines Considering Alternative Ships for SOUTHCOM Deployments WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Marine Corps is preparing to deploy Marines on specialty platforms like the Expeditionary Fast Transport and the Expeditionary Sea Base to meet combatant commander demands in the Caribbean, a top general said Wednesday. Due to a lack of ready amphibious ships on both coasts, the next Marine Expeditionary Unit deployment from the East Coast will have to work with other platforms. The East Coast-based Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group and the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit are nearing the end of their current deployment to U.S. Southern Command after getting extended until the end of May. “We
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First Columbia-class Sub Tracking to 2028 Delivery, General Dynamics Says The first of the new Columbia-class of ballistic missile submarine is tracking for a 2028 delivery due to improvements in workforce efficiency and the supplier base, General Dynamics officials said Wednesday. District of Columbia (SSBN-826), currently being assembled at GD Electric Boat is “on a path to deliver that first boat by the end of 2028, so excellent progress in the last six or nine months on the Columbia program,” GD’s president Danny Deep said during a first-quarter earnings call on Wednesday. Delivering the 21,000-ton ballistic missile nuclear submarine on time is the top acquisition priority for the Pentagon for
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Ship that Debuted with the Nigerian Navy will be Key for Future U.S., Australian Naval Forces A class of landing vessels designed by a Dutch firm – first built in the United Arab Emirates and debuted by the Nigerian Navy – will become the mainstay of U.S. Marine Corps and Australian Defense Force amphibious operations across the Indo-Pacific Region in the coming decades. Within the last two years, Washington and Canberra have locked onto Damen’s LST-100 designs to meet their demand for littoral maneuvers assets to ferry specialized ground formations to the various archipelagic areas of the Indo-Pacific during a conflict with China, according to separate announcements from the defense contractor. While smaller than the traditional
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AUKUS Inquiry Report from the U.K. Defence Committee The following is the U.K. Defence Committee’s AUKUS inquiry report, published April 28, 2026. From the Report AUKUS, a trilateral defence and security partnership, was announced in 2021 by the leaders of the US, UK and Australia. Conceived with the overarching aim of preserving security and stability in the Indo-Pacific, AUKUS is made up of two distinct elements, or Pillars. Under Pillar 1, the UK and US will enable Australia to acquire a fleet of sovereign nuclear-powered, conventionally armed submarines (“SSNs”). This new submarine — the SSNAUKUS — will also replace the UK’s existing Astute-class SSN fleet when it leaves
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Navy Awards $282.9M FF(X) Frigate Contract to HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding This story has been updated to include additional information about the timeline for the lead ship in the FF(X) class. The Navy issued HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding a $282.9 million contract award Tuesday to do lead yard work for the new frigate based on the Coast Guard’s National Security Cutter. A Pentagon announcement noted that the Navy did not compete the contract and said the work should wrap up in April 2028. The award comes after former Navy Secretary John Phelan cancelled the Constellation-class frigate program last year and opted to pursue a new frigate based on the NSC Legend-class hull
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Amphib USS San Antonio Returns from Southern Command After More Than 8-month Deployment NAVAL STATION NORFOLK, Va. — One third of the amphibious force that has patrolled U.S. Southern Command since late August returned Tuesday to its homeport of Norfolk, Va. Amphibious warship USS San Antonio (LPD-17) moored at pier 9 at Naval Station Norfolk to a waiting crowd of families after 257 days. San Antonio departed in August as part of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group along with big-deck amphib USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) and Flight II San Antonio-class amphib USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD- 28). The Norfolk-based ships sailed to North Carolina to embark elements of the 22nd Martine Expeditionary Unit.
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U.S. Missiles Deploy Near Taiwan During Balikatan Exercise, Chinese Action Group Operates Nearby MANILA, Philippines — American missile systems were deployed last week to a remote Luzon Strait island 100 miles south of Taiwan as part of Washington and Manila’s Balikatan 2026 military drills. The arrival of Washington’s precision strike and anti-ship launchers for the annual exercise marks one of the most significant deployments on the Philippine archipelago to date and places advanced U.S. area denial capabilities within a strategic first island chokepoint. The annual series of U.S.-Philippine led exercises have shifted to focus on the defense of Manila’s strategic islands amid tensions with China. Translating from Tagalog to “shoulder-to-shoulder,” Balikatan continues to
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Russian, Chinese Warships Sail Through Japan’s Southwest Region to East China Sea Russian and People’s Liberation Army naval groups made separate transits over the past week through Japan’s southwest region to enter the East China Sea, according to officials from the island country. A Russian Navy task group consisting of submarine RFS Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (B-274), corvette RFS Gromkiy (335) and tugboat Andrei Stepanov were spotted April 21 sailing northeast around 50 kilometers south of Yonaguni Island and onward between Yonaguni Island and Iriomote Island to enter the East China Sea, Japan’s Joint Staff Office said. A Russian Navy surface action group, that included corvettes RFS Sovershenny (333) and RFS Rezkiy (343) and fleet
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Amphibs Bougainville, Fallujah Deliveries Are Pushed Another Year The next two big-deck amphibious warships will take about nine years each to build, as the Navy pushes the planned delivery date for the vessels by another year, USNI News has learned. The future USS Bougainville (LHA-8) will now deliver to the Navy in July of 2027 instead of August of 2026, according to the Fiscal Year 2027 budget justification documents. The service cited “construction performance indicators and shipyard labor challenges” as the reason for the delay. The future USS Fallujah (LHA-9) will now deliver to the Navy in July of 2031 instead of the previously projected September 2030 date
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Navy Pushes MQ-25A Stingray IOC Back to 2029 while Production Aircraft Takes First Flight The first unmanned tankers for the U.S. Navy won’t be ready to deploy on aircraft carriers until 2029, according to Navy budget documents. The Boeing MQ-25A Stingray, the unmanned carrier tanker developed to extend the range of the air wing, will reach initial operational capability three years later than the Navy planned, according to budget documents reviewed by USNI News. The first MQ-25As were set to deploy this year aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) but a variety of delays from carrier availability to production manufacturing hang ups have pushed the initial operational test and evaluation and IOC to 2029, USNI
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USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: April, 27 2026 These are the approximate positions of the U.S. Navy’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups throughout the world as of April 27, 2026, based on Navy and public data. In cases in which a CSG or ARG is conducting disaggregated operations, the chart reflects the location of the capital ship. Total Battle Force Deployed Underway 291 (USS 232, USNS 59) 105 (USS 74, USNS 31) (37 FDNF, 68 Rotational) 99 (66 Deployed, 33 Local) In Japan Aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN-73) is in port in Yokosuka, Japan. U.S. 7th Fleet command ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19) returned Thursday to Yokosuka, Japan,
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U.S. Forces Kill 5 in Strikes on Suspected Narco Boats U.S. forces with Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted two strikes over the weekend in the Eastern Pacific, killing a total of five men, U.S. Southern Command announced. A strike on Friday killed two men, while a Sunday strike killed three. At least 184 people have been killed in the strikes since President Donald Trump announced the first one on Sept. 1, according to USNI News’ data. The total is likely higher as the U.S. does not provide consistent updates on search and rescue efforts for survivors. In announcing both strikes, SOUTHCOM used the typical boilerplate language it has included
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U.S. Considering Foreign Designs, Shipyards for New Navy Frigate, Destroyer Work in $1.85B Study American officials are considering foreign designs and having U.S. warship components built in overseas yards as part of an expansive manufacturing study proposed in the Fiscal Year 2027 budget, USNI News has learned. To expand naval shipbuilding capacity for U.S. warships, the FY 2027 budget submission includes $1.85 billion in research and development funding for a pair of studies on building future foreign frigate and destroyer designs, according to budget documents reviewed by USNI News. The funds “will be used to investigate a full spectrum of procurement options to attract more shipbuilding capacity into domestic shipyards and bring additional ships
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Middle East Shipping ‘Paralyzed’ by Dueling U.S., Iranian Blockades, Analysts Say U.S. and Iranian forces are both interdicting ships as the two countries grapple with control of the flow of maritime traffic through the region, leaving the shipping industry ‘paralyzed,’ experts say. In the past week, the U.S. interdicted three ships – two in the Indian Ocean and one in the Strait of Hormuz – while Iran went after three ships, seizing two. There are reports that the third ship was able to continue its journey. The U.S. and Iran also continue to trade barbs, over social media, about the effectiveness of their efforts to wrestle control of the Strait of
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North Korea Test Launches Short Range Ballistic Missiles with Cluster Munitions North Korea recently launched five short range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) armed with cluster munitions against an island target in the Sea of Japan for the second time this month, further trialing the warhead’s capabilities, state media reported Monday. North Korea’s Missile Administration conducted the test fire Sunday to evaluate the characteristics and power of the cluster bomb warhead and the fragmentation mine warhead applied to the surface-to-surface “Hwasongpo-11-Ra” missile, state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. Five tactical ballistic missiles were launched towards an island about 136 kilometers away, striking a 31-acre area, KCNA reported. The state media agency
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Carrier USS George H.W. Bush Now in U.S. Central Command After Traveling Around Africa East Coast carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77) is now operating in the Middle East after a sailing around the southern tip of Africa, U.S. Central Command announced on Thursday. Bush’s entrance into CENTCOM marks the first time three carriers have been in the Middle East since the height of the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72) has been operating in the Arabian Sea since January while USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) has been operating in the Red Sea since last week, USNI News reported. Bush departed Naval Station Norfolk, Va., on March 31, embarked Carrier
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Navy to Integrate PAC-3 Missiles on Aegis Guided-Missile Destroyers NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The Navy has finalized its decision to integrate Advanced Capability 3 Missile Segment Enhancements aboard its warships, Lockheed Martin announced this week. The sea service will integrate the PAC-3 MSEs with the service’s ubiquitous Mark 41 vertical launching systems and Aegis Combat System, both of which make up the backbone of U.S. naval air defense. The decision, announced at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space symposium, coincides with the high tempo of Aegis-equipped destroyers and cruisers engaging aerial threats across the Middle East and concerns of reinforcing the U.S. naval stockpiles of air defense systems in a conflict
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Australia to Increase Defense Spending by $37.9B Over Next Decade Australia will increase its defense spending by $37.9 billion U.S. dollars over the next decade, according to its 2026 National Defense Strategy and accompanying Integrated Investment Program documents, which were unveiled last week. According to the documents released April 16, Australia plans to spend $425 billion and $560 billion Australian dollars – or between $303 billion and $399 billion U.S. dollars – on capabilities and equipment to further the AUKUS agreement, long-range weapons, underwater capabilities, surface ships and drones. The 2026 NDS, the first publication since 2024, reads that the international system is under greater strain than at any time
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Navy Secretary John Phelan Leaving Trump Administration; Hung Cao Serving as Acting Secretary This post will be updated as additional information becomes available. Navy Secretary John Phelan is leaving the Trump administration, the Defense Department announced Wednesday. Under Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao will now serve as the acting Navy Secretary. “Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan is departing the administration, effective immediately,” Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell wrote on X. “On behalf of the Secretary of War and Deputy Secretary of War, we are grateful to Secretary Phelan for his service to the Department and the United States Navy. We wish him well in his future endeavors. Undersecretary Hung Cao
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