News, Articles and Comment

Ed. Churchill’s final volume of his war memoirs is titled Triumph and Tragedy: the theme of the volume is “how the great democracies triumphed and so were able to resume the follies which had so nearly cost them their life.” What did Churchill mean by tragedy? Was he referring to the incredible loss of life caused by the firestorms of Dresden and Tokyo or by the atomic bombs that were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Or was he lamenting the tragedy that, for most of Eastern Europe, he foresaw that one jackboot was to be replaced by another. As it wasn’t just the democracies that triumphed, the most successful victor of the Second World War was indeed Stalin claiming territories and spoils both in Europe and in Asia. Once again, we risk another tragedy as it looks increasingly likely the jackboots are on the rise.

Ed. Our correspondent defends the value of Initial Sea Training (IST), and argues that reduction of fleet size is the fundamental reason ‘at sea’ training has been discarded for Officer Cadets.

Ed. Our correspondent continues his Operation HIGHMAST reporting, with the Carrier Strike Group beginning the return voyage through the Indian Ocean and conducting defence engagement and Joint Operations with the Indian Navy, before turning for Suez. A 5 minute read.

Ed. In this article the expert authors pursue arguments in favour of conventional submarine development in the RN, with the goal of reducing strain on Service personnel and increasing the versatility of submarine operations. A 10 minute read.

Ed. The author contends that anti-ship and land-attack cruise missiles, launched from smaller, more cost-efficient and conventionaly-powered submarines, designed and built with Pacific allies in mind, would be an important step towards reaching revitalised maritime goals for the USN. Originally published in the USNI’s Proceedings, October edition. A 15 minute read.

Ed. Our CSG correspondent provides an update on the Task Group’s progress and describes defence engagement in Japan. A 5 minute read.

Ed. With the war in Ukraine escalating into a European ‘grey zone’ conflict, the author considers the First Sea Lord fit to the task of reestablishing Britain’s maritime role in terms of NATO strategy, recognition of a leadership situation different yet similar to that of the early 20th century. A 10 minute read.

Ed. This speech by the First Sea Lord, envisioning a paradigm shift with regard to uncrewed and autonomous systems in the RN Fleet, was delivered at the Defence and Security Equipment International (DSEI) exhibition on 9 September 2025. A 10 minute read.

Ed. Reproduced from the NR’s archives for Merchant Navy Day, the author in this article from 1931 [19/4, p. 641] engaged with an ongoing discourse then popular in the NR regarding the future of the Royal Naval Reserve, that Service having been vital to the conduct of the First World War at sea. A 10 minute read.