News, Articles and Comment

Ed. The author contemplates historical epistemology, with due regard to the Great Peloponnesian War and the nature of strategy. A 15 minute read.

Ed. If the recent conflict in the Middle East has confirmed anything, it is that sea power remains essential to our nation’s prosperity. Much has been written about Operation EPIC FURY, the rapidly evolving threats we face and our ability to counter them, and how advances in drones, uncrewed and autonomous systems have forever changed the way we fight. But some things remain constant, as evidenced by Iran shutting the Strait of Hormuz, the vital maritime chokepoint through which a fifth of the world’s oil transits.

Ed. As Operation EPIC FURY ebbs and flows, may I propose a new principle of war? Always follow the money.

Ed. When the 1980s Iran-Iraq War bled into the maritime sphere, the US Navy raced to halt depredations to oil shipments; the mine-warfare factor weighed heavily in the operation and offers lessons for today. Originally published in the USNI’s Proceedings, June 2025. A 15 minute read.

Ed. With Operation HIGHMAST complete, the author, Commander UK Carrier Strike Group (COMUKCSG), provides a retrospective on the deployment, demonstrating the range of defence engagement, diplomacy and deterrence embodying the flagship mission. A 10 minute read.

Ed. Two letters responding to recent RN developments and advocating for reform.

BRE. The latest book review is now available. It considers a new biography of Admiral Raymond Spruance, whose “achievement is not merely to reconstruct Admiral Raymond A. Spruance’s operational record, but to illuminate a deeper and more unsettling truth: that victory in industrial war may depend less on boldness than on restraint, less on charisma than on intellect, and less on the commander as hero than on the commander as thinker.”

Ed. The author argues that the RN’s shift toward a ‘hybrid’ model of crewed and autonomous systems is necessary but insufficient. As ministers warn of a worsening strategic environment and the need to be ready to fight, the Royal Navy faces an uncomfortable arithmetic: ambition exceeds resources. A 10 minute read.

Ed. The author reinforces the case for common sense port infrastructure national security priorities in terms of what he describes as “seamanship applied to national logistics.” A 15 minute read.