A Panama-flagged bulker, Meshka (35,829 dwt), which went aground a week ago in the Øresund between Sweden and Denmark was refloated during the day on Saturday, June 7. The Swedish Coast Guard reports the operation proceeded without problem or pollution and the ship was moved to port for further inspections.
The salvage operation, undertaken by a salvage company hired by the vessel’s owners, began at 0300 on Saturday morning by emptying the ballast tanks. Before that, two tugboats had been connected to the stern and bow of Meshka. At 0830, the ship was floating freely and, after assistance from the tugboats, was able to continue an eight-hour journey to Landskrona, Sweden under its own power. Pilots from the Swedish Maritime Administration and officials from the Coast Guard were on board during the salvage operation.
On board Meshka there are approximately 938,000 liters of oil in fuel and lubricating oil tanks. The Coast Guard has had vessels on site monitoring the refloating to address any potential oil leak. Additional environmental rescue resources were standing by in Landskrona and Malmö, if required.
Meshka grounded on May 31 while it was southbound in the Øresund coming from Tarragona, Spain to the small Russian port of Vysotsk near the border with Finland. According to Swedish media reports, the Swedish Maritime Administration’s traffic center (VTS) spotted that the ship was outside the shipping lane and warned the ship around 1000 last Saturday morning. The crew either ignored the warning or did not have time to respond and change course.
An investigation was launched to determine why the vessel had traveled outside the shipping channel and ran aground on the soft sandy bottom. The ship was traveling only with ballast without cargo.
The Swedish Coast Guard reported shortly after the grounding that it conducted sobriety checks and found no suspicions of drunkenness among the crew. However, during the week, Sweden reported that it had charged one person from the vessel’s crew with negligence in maritime traffic. The Coast Guard said it was conducting a preliminary investigation into what it terms “the lack of good seamanship surrounding the grounding.”
It was the second grounding in less than a week by bulkers in the same area of the seaway. A Turkish-owned bulker went aground a week before the Meshka approximately 50 miles to the south and close to the Øresund Bridge. The Coast Guard reported in that case one seafarer was charged with drunkness and that there were charges also related to negligent navigation. The vessel was refloated on June 4.
The cases raised new concerns in the shipping industry after a number of situations of distracted or tired crewmembers contributing to casualties. In May, a cargo ship sailing in a Norwegian fjord grounded when the second officer who was alone on the bridge admitted he fell asleep and missed a turn. The ship grounded at a reported speed of 16 knots. In previous years, there have been other similar grounding situations as well as fatal accidents in the North Sea and Baltic due to distracted watch officers and in some cases a lack of a lookout despite requirements for the second person overnight and in limited visibility situations. A recent survey released in May also highlighted the increased issues of fatigue, anxiety, and stress which it said was contributing to issues on ships.
Swedish authorities noted that they were pleased to have successful conclusions to the recent groundings without significant pollution coming from either case.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has decided to further tweak its proposed port fee structure for Chinese-built vessels, rolling back a proposed deadline for U.S.-built LNG carrier capacity and a fee that would hit all PCTCs in the Maritime Security Program.
USTR’s original proposal was released in April, and its headline provisions were focused on fees on Chinese-built container ships. Less noticed, further down the list, it also proposed steep new fees on all foreign-built vehicle carriers (PCTCs) and laid out an ambitious LNG carrier construction and utilization requirement for American LNG exporters.
On Friday, the office proposed modifications to its PCTC fee plans. Instead of charging $150 per car equivalent unit, based on lane-meters of capacity, it will now charge based on each PCTC’s net tonnage. This will make the fee easier to administer and will help close off a potential avenue for fee evasion, the office said. Like lane-meters, net tonnage is a measurement of the vessel rather than the cargo, so even empty PCTCs arriving in ballast will still be charged – a point that foreign critics have emphasized previously.
USTR also proposed “targeted coverage” for imposing the fee on the foreign-built PCTCs that are flagged into the United States registry for the Maritime Security Program. The agency noted that the MSP “reduces dependence on China,” a core objective of the new port fees.
The office also rolled back the enforcement of its ambitious timetable for imposing a U.S.-built LNG carrier requirement on the U.S. LNG export industry. In the original proposal, USTR called for the LNG industry to begin shipping one percent of all of its exports aboard U.S.-built LNGCs by 2029. If LNG exporters did not meet this timeline, USTR proposed to begin suspending export licenses.
The challenge for this requirement is that this vessel class does not currently exist: the last LNGC delivered by an American yard entered service in 1980 and was scrapped in 2021. The shipyard that built that final hull closed in 1986.
Given the challenges of scaling a domestic LNG carrier construction program within four years – an uncertain prospect with real technical risks – LNG exporters informed USTR that they do not favor having their licenses suspended if the ships aren’t ready by 2029. USTR agreed, and it now plans to remove the license-suspension clause from the proposed regulation in order “to allay concerns about the provision’s impact on the U.S. LNG sector.”
Israel’s defense minister has vowed to take “all necessary measures” to prevent a 60-foot sailboat carrying activist Greta Thunberg from reaching the shores of Gaza.
Likud party Knesset member and current Minister of Defense Israel Katz said Sunday that he had given instructions to the Israel Defense Forces to block the vessel’s progress, before it reaches the territory’s shores. “You’d better turn back – because you will not reach Gaza,” Katz warned the boat’s operators, calling them a “hate flotilla” of “antisemitic” activists.
Gaza has been under a strict Israeli naval blockade for nearly two decades, a method of preventing infiltration of Iranian arms (and a source of longstanding friction for the enclave’s fishermen). The last time a foreign vessel attempted to run the blockade was in the Mavi Marmara incident of 2010. Israeli special forces boarded the ship as it neared shore, and the exchange that followed resulted in the deaths of ten people on board, including one who succumbed to his wounds years after the altercation.
The current mission’s organizers say that their plan is to deliver humanitarian aid to residents of Gaza, who have not received full-scale food imports since early March because of certain border control factors. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC, the UN’s reference system for degree of deprivation) currently classes all areas of Gaza as a Phase 4 nutrition “emergency,” with risk of edging into Phase 5, “famine.”
The size of the group’s boat suggests that the delivery would be symbolic in nature. The organizers originally intended to use a larger vessel, but it was damaged by two unexplained explosions while anchored off Malta. The group alleges that Israeli drones caused the blast damage, but no conclusive evidence has emerged and Israel has not claimed responsibility.
Thunberg and her co-organizers framed the voyage in symbolic terms. “We are seeing a systematic starvation of 2 million people. The world cannot be silent bystanders,” Thunberg asserted.
California is taking action to address the menace of derelict vessels in the expansive Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta after conducting the largest single-site commercial abandoned vessel abatement and site restoration in the state’s history.
California has been grappling with the problem of abandoned vessels for decades, with the hazard being most concentrated in the Delta. Since enacting a law that authorizes the removal and disposal of abandoned and derelict vessels and marine debris in 2011, California has been proactive in dealing with the problem.
The State Lands Commission says that it has conducted the largest operation in the Sevenmile Slough area in the Delta at a location known as the Skarry site, where abandoned vessels had been an eyesore for years. The deteriorating vessels were not just a navigational hazard, but were highly visible, attracting scavengers and vandals and marring the serenity of the beautiful area.
The Skarry site got its name from Skarry Brothers, a marine construction business that abandoned its equipment in the Slough. Michael Skarry, the last known responsible party, died without disposing of his vessels and machinery, despite efforts by multiple agencies to hold him responsible. The abandoned vessels included several large crane barges, two tugboats, and smaller work and recreational vessels, all of which were removed during the operation. Divers also discovered another sunken vessel and other debris while the removal work was underway.
During the operation, salvors also managed to remove almost 1,000 tonnes of debris, more than 1,000 gallons of diesel, and two large barges.
“The Delta is one of California’s most vital and cherished waterways, and it deserves to be protected,” said Lieutenant Governor and State Lands Commission Chair Eleni Kounalakis. “These abandoned vessels not only pose environmental and navigational hazards but also threaten the health and safety of nearby communities. I’m proud that we are taking decisive action to restore this site, protect our natural resources, and prevent illegal dumping in our public waterways.”
The operation in the Skarry site is the latest in the Commission’s efforts in dealing with a hazard that it contends is stubborn, perennial and expensive to deal with. Over the last two years, the Commission has removed at least nine high-priority commercial abandoned vessels and forced the owners of an additional 10 abandoned vessels to remove them.
The wrecks of three U.S ships, including the first U.S Navy aircraft carrier to be lost during World War II, are set to be accorded special preservation status after Australia added their final resting place off the Australian coast was added to the country’s National Heritage List.
The USS Sims, the USS Neosho and the USS Lexington, which participated in the Battle of the Coral Sea during WWII, have been granted a special honor that includes extra protection after the Battle of the Coral Sea Site was added to the list.
The site is located about 1,000 kilometers off the northeast coast of Australia in the middle of the Coral Sea. The four-day battle in May 1942 was a significant turning point during WWII. Japanese forces had enacted Operation MO with the intention of capturing Tulagi in the Solomons and Port Moresby in New Guinea. Had they been successful, the occupation would have led to Japanese aerial dominance over northeast Australia and the sea lanes connecting Australia with the United States.
U.S and Australian allied forces were decisive in defeating the Japanese in the battle, which introduced a new mode of fighting that relied on airpower rather than cannonfire. The entire four-day battle was fought using aircraft and aircraft carriers and marked the first time naval engagement took place without opposing ships ever making contact. The Battle of the Coral Sea had significant casualties, with the U.S losing over 600 servicemen.
In 2018, a search led by US billionaire Paul Allen’s research organization located the wreck of Lexington, which went down during the battle with the loss of 216 crew and 35 aircraft.
Australia, which regards the Battle of the Coral Sea as the “Battle that saved Australia,” has now added the site where the three ships are resting to the National Heritage List. Sitting more than 3,000 meters below the ocean surface, the shipwrecks are incredibly well preserved.
“The Second World War was a time of such terrible and unimaginable loss suffered by so many and the Battle of the Coral Sea was central to keeping Australians at home safe,” said Murray Watt, Minister for the Environment. “By including the site on the National Heritage List, we can ensure greater protection for a number of historic shipwrecks while preserving a significant piece of world history for future generations.”
[By David Kirichenko]
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 shocked the international order. What surprised the world even more was Ukraine’s ability to resist. While many in the West believed Ukraine would only hold out for a few weeks, the war has now entered its fourth year. Ukraine has relied on agility and innovation – especially in its use of drones and battlefield technology – to fend off Russian forces. This technological edge has extended beyond land warfare to the sea.
Over the past few years, Ukraine’s growing use of naval drones has pushed both sides to rapidly adapt, accelerating the race for countermeasures and maritime innovation. NATO would do well to study Ukraine’s approach as it prepares for the future of warfare at sea. Rear Admiral James Parkin, the Royal Navy’s director of development, notes that in 28 maritime battles, the larger fleet won all but three. Parkin believed that larger fleets win, but Ukraine has changed that paradigm, for now. The future of naval warfare is here and Ukraine is demonstrating what the future looks like.
Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s former commander-in-chief and current ambassador to the U.K., stated, “I have repeated many times that the nature of modern warfare has changed and continues to change.” Zaluzhnyi added, “The nature of modern warfare is far from what NATO is now operating.”
Ukraine’s Naval Lessons
At the outset of the war, Ukraine’s navy was virtually nonexistent, having lost most of its fleet when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. Its only major warship, the frigate Hetman Sahaidachny, was scuttled by Ukrainian forces in February 2022 to prevent its capture. Yet through asymmetric tactics – naval drones, coastal missile strikes, and aerial attacks – Ukraine has transformed the Black Sea battlefield, forcing Russia into retreat and reclaiming strategic control of key waters around Ukraine’s coast.
Serhii Kuzan, chair of the think tank Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center and a former adviser to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, explained that even before the full-scale invasion, Ukraine understood it could not match Russia in conventional naval strength.1 As a result, it adopted an asymmetric strategy focused on coastal missile systems, small vessels, and air support. After 2022, sea drones were added to this concept and have since become the navy’s primary strike weapon at sea. These unmanned systems emerged out of necessity, filling the gap left by the absence of a traditional fleet.
Ukraine is now rebuilding its navy around a fleet of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs), making sea drones central to its maritime strategy. When Russia attempted to blockade Ukrainian shipping, Kyiv responded swiftly with sea drone strikes. Even after the Russian Navy retreated from occupied Crimea to the safety of its mainland ports, Ukrainian USVs continued to harass and damage its fleet.
Following the sea drone offensive in 2023, Former US Navy Admiral James George Stavridis noted, “We’re at a juncture in military evolution akin to the game-changers like Agincourt or Pearl Harbor. Expensive manned surface warships now face existential threats from affordable drones.” The Ukrainians issued a warning in August 2023 that “There are no more safe waters or peaceful harbors for you in the Black and Azov Seas.” The Russians eventually learned to heed that warning and hid from Ukraine’s sea drones. According to Roy Gardiner, an open source weapons researcher and former Canadian Armed Forces officer, “These asymmetric victories have forced the relocation of the Russian Fleet to the eastern Black Sea, and broke the blockade to reopen the vital grain export routes.”
Ukraine’s drones have even achieved the unprecedented. By January 2025, modified Magura V5 sea drones armed with heat-seeking missiles shot down two Russian Mi-8 helicopters and damaged a third off the coast of Crimea – marking the first time a naval drone successfully downed enemy aircraft. In May 2025, Ukraine stunned the world by using sea drones equipped with AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles, each worth about $300,000 to shoot down two Russian fighter jets, each worth $50 million. The Ukrainian sea drones themselves are worth only several hundred thousand dollars. HI Sutton, a naval warfare expert wrote, “The success of Ukraine’s uncrewed surface drones (USVs) cannot be overstated. They are rewriting the rules of naval warfare.”
A Magura V5 maritime drone. (Photo by Daniyar Sarsenov/Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine)
Ukrainian forces are increasingly adapting these drones for multi-role capabilities, equipping them with missile launchers and advanced payloads. Ukraine has effectively turned its USVs into robotic drone carriers capable of launching explosive FPV drones at Russian coastal targets. One of Ukraine’s latest sea drones, can launch up to four quadcopter First-Person View (FPV) drones and may carry naval mines, enabling complex multi-phase attacks. Ukrainian intelligence recently announced that their sea drones have been upgraded to carry over a ton of explosives and can now operate across distances exceeding 1,000 kilometers (about 621 miles), significantly expanding their strike range and lethality across the Black Sea. “We completely blocked the Russian Black Sea fleet in the water area near the port of Novorossiysk,” said Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s defense intelligence (HUR). He added that said the Russian fleet can no longer come out to the open waters.
“The cost of USVs such as Magura V5 and Sea Baby is about $250,000, which is inexpensive relative to their significant tactical and strategic success,” said Gardiner. “With naval targets gone from the western Black Sea, some Ukrainian USVs have transitioned to FPV carriers and launched successful attacks on multiple radars and air defense systems in Crimea.”
According to Kuzan, sea drones have emerged as one of Ukraine’s most effective tools against the Russian fleet. Ukrainian unmanned systems have struck Russian ships and boats 21 times, with 10 vessels confirmed destroyed and several others severely damaged. As a result, Russian naval forces have lost the initiative at sea and are now largely confined to operating near the ports of Sevastopol in occupied Crimea and Novorossiysk on the Russian mainland. Kuzan highlighted that these drone strikes have also enabled Ukraine to reopen the grain corridor despite Russia’s withdrawal from the agreement, effectively restoring maritime trade.
Despite Ukraine’s impressive string of successes at sea, Russia has begun mounting a more effective defense. According to Ukrainian Navy Commander Oleksiy Neizhpapa, Moscow has built a multi-layered system around key locations like Sevastopol Bay, including long-, medium-, and short-range detection zones designed to identify and destroy incoming sea drones. “In the past, we could easily enter Sevastopol Bay with our drones,” Neizhpapa said.
“Now it’s not so simple because the enemy has established a tiered defense system.” In response, Ukraine is working to upgrade its unmanned systems with more advanced weaponry and modular designs that can adapt to rapidly evolving threats. Russia has adapted but by bringing out its ships into the open sea, meaning that the success rate of Ukraine’s sea drones has also dropped. According to Gardiner, “Naval vessels have been equipped with thermal vision systems to better combat Ukrainian USV nighttime attacks.”
The naval drone war is also becoming more symmetric: Russian forces are beginning to deploy their own sea drones. “They are gearing up for it,” Neizhpapa warned, “so we are preparing not only to deploy drones against the enemy but also to defend against them.”
Gregory Falco, an autonomous systems and cybersecurity expert at Cornell University, commented on the design balance between sophistication and scale. According to Falco,
“The sea is a highly dynamic environment so it has been a more difficult domain to design robust and reliable systems for. Given Ukraine’s people-constrained navy, they have relied on unmanned systems which Ukraine has adeptly made cost efficiently and therefore largely disposable. The sophistication of this technology right now is less important than its scale and cost. Scale for drones is what will help win wars.”
The war in the Black Sea shows how asymmetric innovation can shift the balance of power. Despite having no traditional fleet, Ukraine has dealt major blows to a superior naval force using low-cost, adaptable technology. Dmitry Gorenburg, a researcher with the Center for Naval Analyses, remarked that,
“Russia has been forced to erect barriers for harbor protection, which have been relatively effective. But Ukraine showed that it could still damage Russian ships at sea. In the future, the cost asymmetry between cheap drones and expensive ships will mean that even a low success rate will prove highly damaging to naval forces, including Russia. The advantage of having a powerful navy will thus be somewhat decreased.”
However, Kuzan stresses that drones alone cannot provide full control over maritime space. A balanced navy remains essential. Looking ahead, Ukraine’s future fleet will likely combine Ada-class corvettes, missile boats, and coastal defense systems, with sea drones continuing to serve as the main offensive force.
Adaptability and Technology
Moreover, both China and Russia “are surging ahead in the realm of small drones, while the United States moves at a relatively glacial pace,” the Modern War Institute at West Point noted in a March 2024 report. Deborah Fairlamb, founding partner of Ukraine-focused venture capital firm Green Flag Ventures said, “I still believe that the West really does not understand how much warfare has changed.” Fairlamb pointed out the rapid technological advancements on the battlefield, increased mass production, and the decreasing cost of effective weaponry – such as $500 drones that can take out a $5m tank, a $30m radar system.”
Now, the U.S. Navy is embracing unmanned systems with urgency, spurred by lessons from Ukraine’s naval drone success and asymmetrical threats like the Houthis in the Red Sea. Ukraine is already working closely with artificial intelligence (AI) and is rapidly reshaping modern warfare, particularly through machine vision in drones and ground platforms, allowing for autonomous targeting. Ukraine is at the forefront of this transformation, with over 90 percent of AI military technologies coming from domestic developers, including swarming drone systems.
??Ukraine is placing innovation at the heart of its defense strategy, leveraging homegrown technologies to stay ahead on the battlefield. Mykhailo Fedorov, the country’s minister of digital transformation, emphasized this approach in a speech at the The NATO-Ukraine Defense Innovators Forum:
“In Ukraine, we fight with innovations made in Ukraine. It is a constant work, a continuous R&D process, solving logistical problems with components and looking for solutions five steps ahead. Ukraine is already the best R&D center for any innovation. Today we get a technology for testing, and tomorrow we will scale it hundreds of times.”
Ukraine’s defense tech sector is accelerating rapidly under the pressure of war, driving battlefield innovation in drones, robotics, AI, electronic warfare, and demining systems. Platforms like the government-backed Brave1 fast-track promising technologies – by providing funding, testing, and streamlined certification, bypassing the slow procurement systems common in the West. “I always tell our American and other international partners: if your drone hasn’t been tested in Ukraine, it’s still just a toy,” said Oleksandra Ustinova, a Ukrainian member of parliament.
Economics of War
Modern warfare is now a battle of economics and scale, where the key metric is no longer troop numbers, but the cost and quantity of systems deployed. Cheap, one-way drones costing under $1,000 have become central to the fighting in Ukraine and elsewhere, capable of destroying far more expensive targets. As Christian Brose noted in “The Kill Chain,” U.S. military dominance has long relied on costly platforms like tanks, stealth fighters, and aircraft carriers. First-person view drones invert that model, using cheap, smart, networked machines to challenge the traditional military-industrial complex. As the U.S. continues to rely on high-cost systems, adversaries like China, Russia, and even non-state actors are leveraging mass-produced, inexpensive drones and missiles to inflict outsized damage at a fraction of the cost.
Andy Yakulis, a former Army special operations commander, highlighted how expensive the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier is at $13 billion, with other platforms, “such as the F-35, costing between $80m to $100m per aircraft. While the U.S. was building such systems, China has been focused on cheaper systems that, in mass, can destroy these large systems.” Yakulis further pointed out that in the Red Sea, the U.S. Navy has been using two $1 million missiles to shoot down Houthi drones that cost just $40,000 each. That means the cost of the drone is only about two percent of the price of the missiles needed to destroy it.
“Our adversaries use $10,000 one-way drones that we shoot down with $2 million missiles,” said Army Gen. Bryan P. Fenton. “That cost benefit curve is upside down.” The Houthis in under two months were also able to shoot down $200 million worth of U.S. drones in the Yemen conflict.
Taiwan is Taking Note
Taiwan has also recently unveiled its first uncrewed surface vessel (USV), the Endeavor Manta, developed specifically for naval defense in the Taiwan Strait. Built by CSBC Corporation, the vessel is designed for swarm operations, can carry light torpedoes and a warhead for kamikaze-style strikes, and includes autonomous navigation, AI target recognition, and anti-hijacking features. Inspired by Ukraine’s use of naval drones, the Manta is part of Taiwan’s broader strategy to counter Chinese military superiority through low-cost, asymmetric warfare, joining a growing global trend of using drones as force multipliers in modern conflicts. Alessio Patalano, Professor of War and Strategy at King’s College, London, noted that relying on weapons that are cheaper and easier to acquire will be critical to helping Taiwan defend itself against a potential Chinese invasion.
The Endeavor Manta USV during the launch event held in the port of Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan. (Photo via Taiwan Ministry of National Defense)
Rather than attempting to match China’s drone production, Hunter Keeley of the U.S. Marine Corps suggested Taiwan should adopt Ukraine’s targeted approach: deploying naval drones and missiles in focused, intelligence-led strikes near expected landing zones. A limited, layered Hellscape – centered on drones, jammers, and mobile sensors – could significantly disrupt PLA amphibious operations and buy Taiwan critical time in the opening stages of a conflict.
According to Kuzan, “Taiwan already benefits from U.S. support and has its own advanced defense industry, which is testing both surface and underwater maritime drones. For example, Taiwan’s Smart Dragon underwater drone is reportedly armed with torpedo systems.” He believes that incorporating torpedoes into Ukrainian sea drones could be the next step in their development. Kuzan remarked that, “If the opportunity and necessity arise, Ukraine could potentially sell or exchange its military technologies with Taiwan. This would be mutually beneficial, allowing both countries to enhance their capabilities.”
China and Russia Prepare
Russia is also taking notes. While it has significantly lagged behind Ukraine in naval drone warfare, it is now preparing for the future at sea. At the Army-2024 defense show, Russia unveiled the Murena-300S, a new naval drone resembling Ukraine’s successful sea drones. With a 500 km range, the fast and compact USV is built for coastal missions such as reconnaissance, mine-laying, and strike operations, possibly with a large explosive payload. The Murena appears to feature a Starlink antenna, suggesting Russia is seeking to match Ukraine’s real-time drone control capabilities.
The Russians have learned hard lessons from Ukraine’s asymmetric warfare and are now applying those insights more rapidly. Russia is creating unmanned systems regiments within its Navy that will integrate aerial, ground, and maritime drones to carry out reconnaissance and strike missions across all fleets. These new units, equipped with systems like Orlans, Lancets, FPVs, and USVs, are expected to form the backbone of the Navy’s unmanned component, with deployments planned across the European, Pacific, Caspian, and Dnieper naval forces.
At the same time, Russia is steadily advancing toward the development of AI-enabled autonomous drone swarms. It is investing heavily in AI research, both domestically and through partnerships with countries like Iran and China. Russia is focusing its efforts on leveraging cheap, scalable drone technology to overwhelm adversaries. This can be applied to the battle at sea as well. If the U.S. aims to deploy large expensive ships across the Asia-Pacific, we could see our adversaries working together to deploy cheap drones to destroy the ships.
China has also unveiled the Feiyi drone earlier this year, the world’s first known aerial and underwater drone capable of launching from a submarine, transitioning between air and sea multiple times, and returning to its original platform.
Preparing NATO for the Future
In a February 2025 interview, Anduril founder Palmer Luckey laid out bold ideas for revitalizing the U.S. defense industry and countering China’s growing military threat. He argued that the U.S. should shift from “world police” to “world’s gun store,” prioritizing mass production of weapons over elite, slow-to-build systems. Citing China’s massive manufacturing capacity and militarized civilian infrastructure, Luckey warned that Beijing is preparing for full-scale war, including repurposing commercial ships and producing cruise missiles far faster than the U.S.
Warfare is rapidly evolving into a battle of algorithms and adaptability. If the West clings to its old-school model of building massive, slow-to-deploy systems, it risks a harsh wake-up call – where billion-dollar warships are struck down by sea drones costing a fraction of that. In this new era, speed, scale, and software will determine who dominates the battlefield. When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, it was unprepared for how quickly warfare would evolve, and how drones would come to dominate the skies.
Now Ukraine has amassed a massive war-time video dataset, over 2 million hours of drone footage through its OCHI system, which collects and analyzes feeds from 15,000 frontline drone crews. This data is being used to train AI for battlefield applications such as target recognition, weapon effectiveness analysis, and autonomous drone tactics.
Kuzan believes that Ukraine is already working on building AI technologies for its sea drones as well. “Notably, during the successful maritime drone attack on December 31, 2024, which resulted in the destruction of Russian helicopters, many researchers speculated that AI was used to enhance target identification and missile guidance,” said Kuzan.
NATO should work closely with Ukraine on the development of these models to prepare its own autonomous sea drones to deploy them in future conflicts. The UK-built Kraken3, inspired by Ukraine’s battlefield innovations, was recently unveiled, showcasing AI-powered swarming capabilities, kamikaze drone launches, and GPS-free navigation, reflecting how Ukrainian success is already influencing NATO procurement.
NATO itself has begun expanding its unmanned maritime capabilities, recently demonstrating autonomous surface vessels in the Baltic Sea through Task Force X, an initiative designed to deter sabotage and fill surveillance gaps. But these sea drones are focused on addressing the threat of Russian sabotage. More practical drones are needed to help disable enemy warships, such as in the event of a Chinese blockade of Taiwan. Expensive systems will no longer do the job. Cheap and scalable solutions are what is needed for NATO. Some in the U.S. are already thinking about how naval warfare is being transformed. For example, the U.S.-based Anduril has unveiled the Seabed Sentry – a network of AI-powered mobile undersea sensor nodes designed for persistent monitoring and undersea kill chains.
Lithuania is leading by example as it is moving toward shared sea drone production with Ukraine under a “1+1” model, where one Magura-class sea drone would be retained for Lithuania’s defense and the other delivered to Ukraine. “Whether you want to believe it or not, whether you have or are about to sign contracts for tanks and helicopters for the next 10 years, the nature of military power has already changed,” said Zaluzhnyi.
Today, Ukraine’s sea drones control a significant extent of the Black Sea. In a future conflict over the Arctic or the Asia-Pacific, we can expect an even greater surge – a true sea of drones. As Ukraine’s navy chief put it, “After the war we will certainly write a textbook and we’ll send it to all the NATO military academies.”
David Kirichenko is an Associate Research Fellow at the Henry Jackson Society. His work on warfare has been featured in the Atlantic Council, Center for European Policy Analysis, and the Modern Warfare Institute, among many others. He can be found on X/Twitter @DVKirichenko.
This article appears courtesy of CIMSEC and may be found in its original form here.
The Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) released its final report detailing its conclusion that a wreck lying on the seabed in Newport Harbor, Rhode Island, is the famed HM Bark Endeavour, which carried Capt. James Cook and his crew on their voyage of exploration to Australia and New Zealand.
ANMM published its final report on the location of Endeavour, detailing a site known as RI 2394 in Newport Harbor indicating that it stands with its 2022 conclusion on the identity of the vessel at the wreck site. In the report, ANMM concludes that based on a “preponderance of evidence,” the wreck is that of Endeavour.
ANMM is hoping that the report, which is a culmination of a 26-year archival and archaeological research, will bring to rest the controversy that has continued to surround the identification of the sailing vessel that is of significant importance to Australia’s maritime history.
In 2022 when ANMM first announced the identification, archeologists at the Rhode Island Marine Archaeology Project (RIMAP) termed the announcement as “premature,” going on to add that Australia was being driven by emotions or politics. RIMAP, which was partnering with ANMM to locate the wreck, is yet to comment on the final report.
After 25 years of research, we confirm: the shipwreck in Newport Harbor, RI 2394 is HM Bark Endeavour (later Lord Sandwich) made famous by James Cook. The Final Report is now out. https://t.co/nbAGwy0yTc
— Australian National Maritime Museum (@seamuseum_) June 3, 2025
Thanks to USA Bicentennial Gift Fund for supporting this critical work. pic.twitter.com/fAdvcRv2LP
In its detailed 129-page report, ANMM contends that after Cook’s Pacific voyage on the Endeavour that began in 1768 and saw him reach the New South Wales coast in 1770, the vessel returned to England a year later. For about seven years, the vessel was of public view, being used as a naval transport before being sold to private owners, who renamed her Lord Sandwich. She was used to transport troops to the American colonies in support of British campaigns.
In 1778, the vessel was in poor condition and relegated to holding American prisoners of war in Newport Harbor. When American and French forces besieged the British-held town, Lord Sandwich was one of 13 vessels that were deliberately sunk to act as a submerged blockade. The ship was never salvaged.
For decades, historians and archeologists have been undertaking extensive research on the vessel. Part of the research was able to confirm the names and the details of five vessels scuttled by the British in August 1778 within a section of Newport Harbor that would later be identified as the Limited Study Area (LSA). One of these vessels was the 368-tonne Lord Sandwich.
In 2019, ANMM and RIMAP signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly identify the wreck and went ahead to establish a 10-point criteria necessary for the Lord Sandwich (ex-HMB Endeavour) shipwreck site to be identified with a reasonable degree of certainty. The teams carried out diving expeditions, surveying a large area of Newport Harbor with the hope of locating the vessel. Apart from the history of the ship, factors like the ship’s hull and keel, timber used to construct the ship, and repairs that had been carried out made the team conclude the wreck on the RI 2394 site was indeed that of Lord Sandwich.
ANMM highlights that in 1999 and again in 2019, an agreement had been reached with RIMAP on a set of criteria that, if satisfied, would permit the identification of RI 2394 as Lord Sandwich. “Based on the agreed preponderance of evidence approach, enough of these criteria have now been met for the ANMM to positively identify RI 2394 as the remnants of Lord Sandwich, formerly James Cook’s HM Bark Endeavour,” states ANMM in its final report.
Endeavour remains an important vessel in Australian maritime history and one that elicits mixed opinions. For some, the Pacific voyage embodies the spirit of Europe’s Age of Enlightenment, while for others it symbolizes the onset of colonization and the subjugation of First Nations Peoples.
An Australian navy warship is taking the spotlight away from an event supposed to celebrate sister city relationship between Canberra and Wellington after it appears it accidentally blocked wireless internet and radio services in New Zealand. HMAS Canberra, one of the Royal Australian Navy’s largest ships, was sailing to Wellington to participate in the Wellington–Canberra sister city celebrations, an event which is aimed at fostering collaborations across areas like tourism, education, and creative sectors.
The hallmark of this year’s celebration was expected to be the Freedom of Entry parade through Wellington. In the parade, over 300 Australian and New Zealand defense force personnel were on Saturday marching through the streets of Wellington.
On Wednesday, however, the 230-meter Canberra stole the spotlight after its sophisticated navigation radar interfered with 5GHz wireless access points — devices that bridge wired and wireless networks — in regions on both New Zealand’s North and South islands, according to media outlet ABC. The New Zealand Defense Force notified their Australian counterparts of the blocking in the Taranaki and Marlborough regions, prompting the problem to be rectified.
“On becoming aware, HMAS Canberra changed frequencies rectifying the interference. There are no ongoing disruptions,” said an Australia Department of Defense spokesperson.
Wireless internet and mobile telecommunications company Primo was among those affected. The firm’s MD Matthew Harrison, termed the widespread disruption caused by Canberra as a dramatic example of just how fragile New Zealand’s spectrum environment.
“This wasn’t just a blip. It was full-scale, military-grade radar triggering built-in safety protocols designed to protect airspace. It rolled across our network in sync with the ship’s movement. We’ve never seen anything like it here before,” he wrote in a post on LinkedIn. “It’s not every day a warship takes your gear offline.”
Commissioned in 2014, Canberra is the flagship of the Australian navy. The ship is capable of transporting more than 100 ground vehicles, four landing craft, up to 18 helicopters and more than 1,000 troops, in addition to its crew of more than 400.
Its presence during the sister city relationship celebration was meant to cement the friendship between the two countries’ defense forces that has endured for over a century. Both famously fought together as the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps during World War I. The members of that corps were known as “Anzacs.”
[By: Med Marine]
A bold new chapter is unfolding in the maritime industry as MED MARINE embarks on the construction of VoltRA—the first fully electric tugboat powered by Caterpillar’s advanced Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) battery system. This groundbreaking collaboration was further solidified with the signing of a Letter of Intent (LOI) between MED MARINE and Borusan Cat on June 3rd, during the Nor-Shipping 2025 exhibition in Oslo, marking a shared commitment to shaping the future of sustainable maritime solutions.
VoltRA marks the beginning of a new age that seamlessly blends cutting-edge technology with environmental responsibility and redefines the future of sustainable tugboat operations. Developed in collaboration with Borusan Cat and Caterpillar, the integrated battery system is the heart of the VoltRA series, offering a high-performance and future-focused alternative
to conventional propulsion methods. Designed with dual power sources, the tug combines the trusted reliability of diesel generators with the innovative advantages of LFP battery technology. This hybrid configuration allows for seamless transition between electric and hybrid modes, providing unmatched operational flexibility.
Beyond its environmental credentials, VoltRA is built for durability and performance. Caterpillar’s LFP battery packs are equipped with an intelligent Battery Management System (BMS) that ensures optimal temperature, voltage, and current control, minimizing maintenance while maximizing safety and efficiency throughout the vessel’s lifecycle. Set to be launched next year, the first VoltRA tugboat will pave the way for a family of five distinct models, offering bollard pulls ranging from 40 to 90 tons. From compact harbor operations to large-scale terminal support, the VoltRA series is designed to meet the wide-ranging demands of modern maritime operations, with each vessel carrying escort notation.
“VoltRA represents more than a technical achievement—it’s a clear statement about the direction our industry must take,” said Y?ld?z Bozkurt Ozcan, General Manager of MED MARINE. “As ports around the world prepare for a carbon-neutral future, MED MARINE is proud to lead this transformation by investing in smart, efficient, and environmentally responsible solutions.”
Speaking at the ceremony, Borusan Cat Marine Director Ilker Ozgur Dogruoz expressed the company’s satisfaction with its long-standing and successful partnership with Med Marine, saying: “Our primary goal is to provide our customers with the solutions they need, under any circumstances. Collaborating with Med Marine on this important project, now also featuring our new Cat Battery Systems, will mark a new milestone in our partnership. We are fully confident that this project will serve as a model for many others around the world.”
Shaped by MED MARINE’s deep-rooted expertise and forward-looking vision, VoltRA is not merely a tugboat, but a bold step toward cleaner, quieter, and more conscious maritime operations.
[By: ABS]
ABS issued approval in principle (AIP) to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD HHI) and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering (HD KSOE) for an innovative new design of a cargo handling system and fuel gas supply system.
Named Hi-ecoGAS and Hi-neoGAS, the systems are designed to handle boil-off gas in dual-fuel engines on gas carriers. The innovative approach has an optimized fuel gas supply system for feeding the fuel gas to the dual-fuel engine, or an LNG subcooling system for handling boil-off gas.
Presented at the 60th anniversary of the Nor-Shipping maritime trade fair, the AIP signifies the Hi-ecoGAS and Hi-neoGAS systems are technically feasible and ready to take the next step to commercialization. ABS completed design reviews based on class and statutory requirements.
“Boil-off gas can present significant challenges to storage and transportation, which can lead to safety hazards. ABS is proud to use our expertise as the world’s leading classification society for gas carriers to support HD HHI and HD KSOE with these new designs,” said Patrick Ryan, ABS Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer.
“Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) has recognized that developing a fuel gas supply system (FGSS) that minimizes methane slip is a critical step in the era of decarbonization. HHI expects that its newly designed cargo handling and fuel gas supply system will make a significant contribution toward achieving the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) 2050 Net Zero target,” said Hong-Ryeul Ryu, Executive Vice President, CTO of HD HHI’s Shipbuilding Business division.
“The development of Hi-ecoGAS and Hi-neoGAS strengthens HD KSOE’s and HHI’s ability to meet the evolving needs of global shipowners. As a leading provider of advanced shipbuilding solutions, HD KSOE remains committed to driving innovation and leading the global shipbuilding industry,” said Kwang-Pil Chang, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of HD KSOE.
ABS is the world’s premier classification society for gas carriers with more than 50 years of experience building and classing gas carriers of every type and size, from the transport of liquefied natural and petroleum gas to the next generation of gas carriers. Learn more here.
