News, Articles and Comment

Ed. Does the RNZN have its sights set on the right future frigate class? The author believes the answer requires asking difficult questions about force structure and doctrine rather than purely technical specifications. A 25 minute read.

Ed. This article aims to identify the issues the Royal Navy will need to anticipate if it is required to rapidly generate thousands of additional trained personnel during a major crisis. The author argues that planning, skills-based recruitment, modular training and scalable infrastructure must be established before conflict begins. A 25 minute read.

Ed. With the precedent of HMS Ocean in mind, the author argues that the RN’s future Amphibious Transport Ships (ATS) should be through-deck and built to a mixed standard. A 30 minute read.

Ed. The author’s straightforward study of naval strategy in the Great War, comparing British, US and German approaches. In the final analysis, quantity produced a quality all of its own. A 15 minute read.

Ed. The independent researcher provides a unique and comprehensive, based on open-source intelligence and source-audited, order of battle and assessment of deployability for the Russian Submarine Service. Now available in the NR‘s Briefing Room.

Ed. The author’s investigation into the history of maritime strait multilateralism, a pertinent example of the ad hoc nature of sea control resulting from a rules-based vacuum, and the alternatives available to regional powers. A 25 minute read.

BRE. The latest book review is now available. It considers an edited volume, featuring an eminent selection of contributors, examining the development of maritime strategy from the 17th century through to the present.

Ed. Britain’s maritime rise and fall holds urgent lessons for a United States losing ground to China at sea and in the shipyard. Originally published in the USNI’s Proceedings, August 2026. A 15 minute read.

Ed. The vast population of this ‘sceptred isle’ is ‘sea blind’ or, if you prefer, ‘maritime illiterate’. We should acknowledge this as the steady state and the only thing that could change one’s appreciation would be total war.