Our Odin's Eye comment on such woeful hubris from a less than spectacular ex-UK Secretary of State for Defence:
'Just embarassing to boast about this - the fact that he sent a barely armed patrol ship, and not much of a 'gun boat', to allegedly do the job of an amphibious task
As Defence Secretary I sent a gun boat to Venezuela to defend neighbouring Commonwealth country Guyana. Maduro is a dictator who stole the election and it's very good he's been removed.
With US strikes, and it seems Special Forces intervention on the ground in Caracas - capital city of Venezuela - plus that country's leader allegedly 'captured' (according to President Donald J. Trump) then flown out, US Navy forces of one kind or another are likely to have been
Tanks for Ukraine delivered via global sealift: as the war approaches its fourth anniversary, here's ex-Australian Army M1A1 Abrams main battle tanks being loaded onto a commercial vessel. The image was take some weeks ago and these (plus other former Aussie M1A1s) are likely now
It was very clever of Santa to trick NORAD into thinking he'd used the traditional sleigh and reindeer method entirely. In fact, his globe-girdling present-delivery feat - or at least part of it - for 2025 was achieved via the United States Navy nuclear-powered submarine USS
A US Navy destroyer of the Arleigh Burke Class in the Gulf of Guinea launches a Tomahawk Class Land Attack Missile (TLAM) at terrorist targets in Nigeria. US defence sources said more than a dozen TLAMs were fired, at Islamic State lairs. The Christmas Day operation was
Check out our earlier post on this topic
1/3 Moving things along after expressing his desire for new 'battleships' earlier this year President Donald J. Trump has anounced a new class...named in honour of himself. They will, according to POTUS, be 'A.I'-controlled' and aim to 'inspire fear in America's enemies all over
Major American warship builder @WeAreHII has welcomed President Trump's 'intent to construct a new class of American-designed battleships.' HII added: 'We are proud to have built the Navy’s most technologically advanced surface combatants and our shipbuilders are committed to… https://twitter.com/i/web/status/2003409009374535866
1/3 Moving things along after expressing his desire for new 'battleships' earlier this year President Donald J. Trump has anounced a new class...named in honour of himself. They will, according to POTUS, be 'A.I'-controlled' and aim to 'inspire fear in America's enemies all over
2/3 In this depiction (below, left) the Defiant blasts away with lasers and guns and must surely be packed with missiles. At an envisaged 35,000 tons, that is some 13,101 tons less (standard displacement) than the US Navy's WW2 era Iowa Class battleships (below, right). They
3/3 If you want to read about old school battleships and also what new ones - in reality very large, well-armed modern cruisers - might be capable of, then we can offer a series by top contributors @MtarfaL @drfarls @JamesBosbotinis and Usman Ansari (the latter telling the story
Illustrating the fundamental importance of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary's role in defending the UK by keeping an anti-submarine warfare frigate at sea.
⛽️ Stocking up to ensure that HMS St Albans is always ready for action. Here’s RFA Tideforce carrying out the first full RAS of the deployment. This ‘Replenishment At Sea’ will ensure that she is fuelled and ready for operations. #StockingUpForChristmas #BigShop
Here's HMS St Albans outbound from @HMNBDevonport Plymouth yesterday morning. One of the few remaining @RoyalNavy Duke Class (Type 23) frigates in service, she was deploying allegedly on Towed Array Patrol Ship (TAPS) duty.
That means using a sonar reeled out at distance behind
Twitter feed image.
To get you all in a Christmas mood, here's the new edition of the magazine, officially out there tomorrow but you may find it in a news seller or supermarket already. And also going out globally, plus available direct in hard copy and/or digital variants https://sundialmedia.escosubs.co.uk/subscribe/warships.htm
A sailor tests a Mk 38 25mm gun during a live fire exercise aboard Wasp Class amphibious assault ship USS Essex earlier this week in the Pacific. Photo: MCSS Kenyatta Headley/US Navy.
Did Adolf Hitler escape to South America in this U-boat? That's one of the questions considered by host @IBallantyn and guest @Roger_Moorhouse during a dive into the war between the Allies and German submarines in WW2 for our new podcast episode: 'Churchill’s Peril: U-boat
This image shows U-977 off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, being consigned forever to the deep during a weapons test in November 1946, courtesy of an improved steam torpedo fired by USS Atule (left of image). It took ten seconds for the U-boat to be gone after being hit amidships at a
The Damen Landing Ship Transport (LST) 100 design has been selected by the USA's Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) to fulfil a need for the US Marines to utilise more, smaller vessels as they gear up for a island war in Indo-Pacific at some future date.
According to Damen 'up
Here's the Russian Navy Kilo Class missile-armed diesel-electric submarine RFS Krasnodar (entered service late 2015) in waters off the UK, with the naval tug RFS Altay (middle right). Commissioned 1988, note Altay's interesting profusion of aerials for a simple 'tug'. Monitoring
Here's the last HMS Formidable of the @RoyalNavy - a WW2 era aircraft carrier, left - along with a depiction of the next ship of the name, right, a Type 31 general-purpose frigate, whose keel has just been laid in the Babcock facility at Rosyth on the Forth, Scotland. There are
The forthcoming episode of our podcast is a deep dive into the world of U-boats in WW2, with host @IBallantyn talking to guest @Roger_Moorhouse whose latest book is 'Wolfpack' @HarperCollinsUK The episode is called 'Churchill’s Peril: U-boat Wolfpacks' and is out this week! In…
THE CASE FOR NUCLEAR & CONVENTIONAL SUBMARINES IN THE ROYAL NAVY - by our Editor @IBallantyn The UK needs nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) and Air-independent Propulsion (AIP) conventional boats. Or, go down the Japanese route to field a SSK that does not use an AIP…
And a fine welcome at Portsmouth for the destroyer HMS Dauntless and aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales as they too returned from the UKCSG 2025 deployment, deserving of their own BZ for a job well done. Photos by our contributor Derek Fox.
The Royal Navy Duke Class (Type 23) frigate HMS Richmond inbound to @HMNBDevonport this afternoon following completion of the eight-month Carrier Strike Group 25 deployment. Vid includes saluting guns firing and a Merlin flyby. BZ to the ship's company for all their defence…
The Royal Navy Duke Class (Type 23) frigate HMS Richmond inbound to @HMNBDevonport this afternoon following completion of the eight-month Carrier Strike Group 25 deployment. Vid includes saluting guns firing and a Merlin flyby. BZ to the ship's company for all their defence…
Here's @USNavy Virginia Class attack submarine (SSN), USS Vermont about to depart the sub base at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia after completing a maintenance period under AUKUS. Submariners of the Royal Australian Navy are in her crew as part of preparation for the RAN…
The @RoyalNavy Duke Class (Type 23) frigate HMS Portland is seen here outbound from @HMNBDevonport this morning. Note the absence of Naval Strike Missiles (NSM). Portland was the second of the Dukes to receive them. Completed 'trials and loading eight of the upgraded Naval Strike…
'Battleships Reborn!?' is the title of the latest Warships Pod episode https://pod.fo/e/357416 in which guest @JamesBosbotinis & podcast host @IBallantyn discuss the prospect of latter-day battleships, as suggested by President Donald Trump for the US Navy. It's a topic James…
One from earlier in the week, Monday to be precise. Daring Class (Type 45) destroyer HMS Dragon of @RoyalNavy outbound from @HMNBDevonport Plymouth, during a slightly dreary period early in the morning. Video courtesy of @StephenJagger4
Not exactly a surprise, but the troubled Constellation Class frigate programme for the US Navy has been cancelled, though the first two vessels will be completed.
Navy Secretary John C. Phelan said on X: '...we’re reshaping how we build and field the Fleet - working with…
Here's quite a sight, with Duke Class (Type 23) frigate HMS Richmond coming in alongside at Gibraltar, with Daring Class (Type 45) destroyer HMS Dauntless already there (background, if you wait for it) and with the Bay Class auxiliary landing ship RFA Lyme Bay in the foreground.…
By the way, HMS Richmond, like HMS Dauntless has been part of the @RoyalNavy #CSG25 global deployment. Also, @HMS_Richmond is the cover star of our new 'Guide to the Royal Navy' https://sundialmedia.escosubs.co.uk/store/products,guide-to-the-royal-navy-2026_640.htm Out now!
A moment of fine weather earlier this morning enabled us to catch the Royal Netherlands Navy @kon_marine De Zeven Provincien Class frigate HNLMS Evertsen outbound from @HMNBDevonport Plymouth. Video courtesy of @StephenJagger4
Worth noting is that sleek new main gun on the sharp end of the upgraded Evertsen, a project we looked at, with some smashing pics, in our July 2025 edition (see cover below, with Evertsen as the star). If you fancy a read https://sundialmedia.escosubs.co.uk/single-issues/warships-ifr.htm
Looking mighty fine on a crisp, sunny afternoon (today) is the @RoyalNavy Daring Class (Type 45) destroyer HMS Dragon inbound to @HMNBDevonport Plymouth. Video courtesy of @StephenJagger4
BANG! A new edition of the magazine is now deployed with the usual broadside of naval news, commentaries & analysis plus more, including terrific pics. Cover star this time is US Navy battleship USS Wisconsin firing a broadside to port (of 16-inch & 5-inch guns). Pic taken circa…
Amid headlines about the Yantar spy ship ('a laser-armed threat') & recent submarine Novorossiysk incident ('Moscow's sub needs a mechanic') our latest podcast episode sees @JamesBosbotinis & @IBallantyn discuss Russian Navy reality. Plus the air of uncertainty over US commitment…
