Alex Luck

Breaking: Australians on US sub sat out operation to sink Iranian ship, PM says The prime minister has confirmed three Royal Australian Navy personnel were on board a US submarine that sank an Iranian warship earlier this week.

Government confirms the initial reporting on RAN submariners onboard the USN SSN involved in the sinking.

The explanation is that they sat out operations, which probably makes for extended study in bunks or mess.
www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03...

The "if safe to do so" operationally speaking allows such enormous leverage and discretion on behalf of the submarine CO, that for all intents and purposes it frees them from engaging in SAR in the majority of conceivable scenarios.

The law of armed conflict applies whether a war is declared or not. Application is separately defined in any international agreement.

That said no relevant treaty includes an unambiguous & supreme obligation for submarines or any combatants to conduct SAR after sinking an enemy combatant.

By tomorrow someone on social media with a straight face will claim the Montreux Convention forbids American warships any access to the Indian Ocean, and Iranian frigates are in fact protected from being fired upon by papal dispensation.

For what its worth, this really just reinforces my view of popular polling having little to no weight for NatSec decision-making. Its more of a topic for the gossip column of reporting.

When RN can send more than one DDG, maybe I acknowledge them as a Mediterranean naval power. 😉

All of which except the UK are mediterranean military and especially naval powers. So I think this is hardly surprising, no matter what European framework there would be.

Dutch MoD Selects F21 MK2 torpedoes over MK48 for future submarines - Naval News The Dutch Ministry of Defense announced it has selected the French F21 MK2 heavyweight torpedo for its future Orka-class submarines. The initial plan was to integrate the American MK48 which is curren...

"The initial plan was to equip them with the MK48 torpedoes from the current Walrus fleet. The Ministry of Defence has now decided against this plan because accelerated replacement of the MK48 appears feasible."

I suspect the word really is "unavoidable".
www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2...

Und das ist immer wieder der Knackpunkt, wenn in Politik oder Streitkraeften behauptet wird, man waere ja transparent mit der Berichtspflicht an den Bundestag. Wo die Kompetent, zu verstehen, worum es geht, weiterhin extrem ueberschaubar ist.

Wenn man Artikel liest, ist zu erkennen, dass dieses mulmige Gefuehl nur beim Autor, und nicht in den USA oder Israel umgeht.

Several aspects on the Iranian frigate sinking for other, future conduct of operations to wonder about.

The Iranian Navy, which for years paraded warships in dog & pony shows seeking prestige & respect, finally meeting someone taking them at their word shouldnt be among them.

US Forces Sink Iran's Jamaran-Class Corvette, CENTCOM Confirms - Naval News US Central Command announced on March 1, 2026, that American forces struck and sank an Iranian Navy Jamaran-class corvette at a pier in Chah Bahar on the Gulf.

Probably safe to guess this wont be the only combatant loss for the Iranian Navy (no, the "carrier" doesnt count).
www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2...

Anyway, these are just random thoughts off the top of my head. Undoubtedly over the next few years we will get some significant additional insights into PLAN submarine development and posture. Some of which will IMO dramatically impact assessments for other navies. /end

There are of course some interesting UUV-developments China appears to be actively evaluating. Unfortunately, the most interesting ones rarely appear in imagery of reasonable quality. China likely developed the largest UUV designs worldwide. But future posture remains tbc.

I am unsurprised at the relative paucity in UUV revelations. The comments generally support my impression that while PLAN undoubtedly pursues UUVs like everyone else, it is not a priority compared to spending on "legacy" designs such as SSN, SSGN and other crewed innovations.

The Zhou-type remains a big mystery for now, but the comments for intended production of at least three Zhous over the next few years is notable. It would explain why Type 039C production appears to have slowed or stopped, while Wuchang completes the Pakistan-contract.

This is because the curious new "trimaran submersible" appears to have originated at Huangpu, suggesting some level of submarine production expertise. Note that Huangpu is a historical producer of submarines as well, having participated in Type 033 production.

More recently JN appears to have halted submarine production, but notably producing at least one experimental design (the "sailless submarine"), which remains at the yard.

Does this report indicate resumption of production? Perhaps. The other candidate could be Huangpu.

As for questions on what the three yards are: Wuchang and Bohai are obvious. The third yard historically for submarine production has been Jiangnan, which has contributed output from the earliest days (Type 033, 035, Type 039, and some of the Type 039A/B).

Interesting testimony on PLAN submarine development. Note comments on expansion of submarine production at three yards. Also on the mysterious Zhou-type produced by Wuchang in 2024, and of course PLAN rebalancing towards a significant nuclear powered submarine force.
www.uscc.gov/sites/defaul...

I think both the Type 903 and Type 901 are quite good looking oilers, yes.

Chinese Navy Inducts More Type 903 Fleet Replenishment Ships The Chinese Navy has commissioned the first two new Type 903 series replenishment ships, out of renewed production of at least five vessels.

The Chinese Navy has taken into service two additional Type 903-series fleet replenishment oilers 🇨🇳
By @alxluck.bsky.social
www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2...

Chinese Navy Inducts More Type 903 Fleet Replenishment Ships The Chinese Navy has commissioned the first two new Type 903 series replenishment ships, out of renewed production of at least five vessels.

I've written a short piece on recent PLAN inductions of two new Type 903-series replenishment oilers, for @navalnews.com. Auxiliaries remain a somewhat underappreciated, but critical naval capability. Any changes in this respect are always consequential.

www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2...

Mixed weather with some solid downpour in between. Still managed to tick three mountains for this Sunday's ride.

How much it will cost Jakarta to generate a useful capability with this vessel is anyone's guess, considering the carrier is 40 yrs old and end of life by original service requirements. I think its safe to say the ship wont operate as an aircraft carrier, though.

Italy moves to transfer Garibaldi aircraft carrier to Indonesia, looking to new programmes - Naval News The Italian Government has formalized a plan to transfer the decommissioned Garibaldi aircraft carrier to Indonesia

Tidy reporting on the free transfer of ex Italian Navy carrier Garibaldi to Indonesia under cooperation agreement. Total cost covered by Italy is €54.02 million, which ensures basic functionality of ship for transfer. Scrapping would have cost >€18 mln.

www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2...

EPC, more recently called MMPC, was a poster child for European multinational cooperation in the naval industrial space. How the French withdrawal impacts the program, beyond pledges and promises, remains to be seen.

Either way, I guess its not always Germany who walks away. 😉

Le retrait de la France du projet de corvette européenne se précise après l’alliance entre Fincantieri et Navantia - Zone Militaire Lancé à l’initiative de l’Italie dans le cadre de la Coopération structurée permanente , le projet de corvette européenne de patrouille était censé

France pulls out of the European Patrol Corvette project (EPC), originally intended to provide replacements for Marine Nationale Floreal-class corvettes by ca 2030. EPC was set up as a PESCO-funded collaboration primarily between France, Italy and Spain.
www.opex360.com/2026/02/26/l...

Two PLAN Type 054AG of the most recent production batch conducting live fire exercises using their new 100 mm H/PJ-87 mod main gun. Via 撒手锏_/Wb.

Nice image of Type 004 under construction at Dalian in the article. Compare with Fujian (second image) at roughly comparable state of assembly back in the day at Jiangnan.
www.newsweek.com/chinas-first...