Alex Luck

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...

Insight: How China is masking drone flights in potential Taiwan rehearsal A large Chinese military drone has conducted regular flights over the South China Sea in recent months while transmitting false transponder signals that made it appear to be other aircraft, including ...

"...while the masking is unlikely to fully deceive air traffic controllers or military-grade radars, it could sow time-wasting confusion in a conflict, conceal sensitive surveillance activity or be used for propaganda or misinformation..."
www.reuters.com/world/china/...

I dare say what these much touted efforts mostly achieve is "grow local (cottage) industry", while observable performance and capability for defence remain very much in doubt.
www.beehive.govt.nz/release/kiwi...

Quoting @rupprechtdeino.bsky.social here. No series production is known to have occurred.

Marine hat ersten BlueWhale übernommen Der Inspekteur der Marine, Vizeadmiral Jan Christian Kaack, hat heute in Eckernförde das erste unbemannte Unterwasserfahrzeug des Typs BlueWhale übernommen.

German Navy announces official handover of first IAI BlueWhale UUV and the establishment of its "hybrid" (crewed/uncrewed) fleet concept. No further details on how many additional UUV will be acquired over what timeframe.

www.hartpunkt.de/marine-hat-e...

Chinese Navy Progresses Development Of New Large Calibre Gun New imagery shows installation of a previously unidentified large calibre naval gun onboard a PLAN test ship in Liaonan, Lianoning Province.

My observations on a new Chinese large naval gun revealed in imagery last week. Via @navalnews.com:

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

Australian government announces spending of A$ 310 mln on the purchase of long lead items for the future "AUKUS" SSN fleet. In particular this money will purchase reactor components for the first two Australian SSN to be build in cooperation with the UK.
www.minister.defence.gov.au/media-releas...

Ask the German Navy how they intend to crew all these fictional frigates "Kurs Marine" wants to buy. Or Luftwaffe & Heer, how the units serving various suddenly en vogue again air defence roles are to be stood up.

You'll get lots of long faces and something about Pflichtdienst.

This paragraph is very funny though if you know a thing or two about the history of the French Foreign Legion. 😉

Only an army — and true integration — will solve Europe’s defence problem Atlanticists fear this would hasten America’s departure from the continent, but what is the alternative?

I think this outline, like most pieces digesting repercussions from renewed European defence spending, misses the forest for the trees.

Regardless of cash not a single European country found a solution to severe readiness issues caused by a dramatic recruitment crisis.
www.ft.com/content/2445...

Bundeswehr hat die ersten fünf Patria-Radpanzer erhalten Der Geschäftsführer von Patria Deutschland, Antii Huuskonen, hat bereits Anfang der Woche die ersten fünf Vorserienfahrzeuge des 6x6-Patria-Radpanzers an die

Bundeswehr received five Patria CAVS 6x6 APC in pre-production config earlier last week. Germany in 2025 ordered an initial 349 vehicles, with plans for 876 CAVS based on contracts signed. CAVS will be produced in Germany once entering series production.
www.hartpunkt.de/bundeswehr-h...

Nice day for a ride, and she's still got it.

TKMS und Elbit Systems eröffnen Produktionsstätte für U-Boot-Komponenten in Israel Der israelische Rüstungskonzern Elbit Systems und der deutsche Marineschiffbauer TKMS haben in Israel eine neue Produktionslinie für die Herstellung von U-Boot-Strukturkomponenten eingeweiht.

Elbit in cooperation with TKMS launches an Israel production facility for structural components of submarines.

Thus Israel slowly expands local competency in submarine development & construction.

The effort is part of existing offset agreements.
www.hartpunkt.de/tkms-und-elb...

From me

I will also note with amusement that Luftwaffe, in one shape or another, repeatedly denied the need for a 1:1 replacement. A logic motivated IMO by politics & budget starvation, not actual requirements on the ground, which havent featured as a real concern for and within Bundeswehr for a long time.

Incidentally, "F-35 instead of FCAS/bridging solution/FCAS too late"-narratives are dramatically misleading. F-35, as it stands, replaces Tornado long before FCAS would have provided airframes in a best case scenario. A (very notional) fleet of 70+ F-35 matches that requirement, first & foremost.

Der Zeitraum bei FCAS war stets klar, und wurde durch die Unentschlossenheit der relevanten Offiziellen unnoetig verlaengert. F-35 hatte stets einen hoeheren Bedarf als Tornado-Ersatz, insofern ist ein derartiger Erwerb auch nicht neu oder eine wirklich strukturelle Uebergangsloesung im Bedarf.

From an industrial (business) POV this may make limited sense, but it does little for operational needs. The Ukrainian Antonov fleet is tiny and constantly flying. Europe will rely on the whim of the Americans borrowing future capacity when in demand. And even the US have no successor planned yet.

European Future Tactical Airlifter Concepts Moving Forward | Aviation Week Network European efforts to develop a future medium airlifter are steadily moving toward a concept, an Airbus official says, but he warns that if the program is to move into development, the number of nations...

Europe kicks the development of a new strategic transport aircraft into the long grass. Meanwhile the continent fixates on developing a smaller tactical airlifter, even though such demand can arguably be filled with one or another existing product.

aviationweek.com/defense/airc...

Das Problem derzeit ist prinzipiell, dass man in Berlin nicht in der Lage ist, aus wiederholten u lange erkennbaren Fehlern zu lernen. Aus diesem Grund gibt es vier Jahre nach Zeitenwende null kohaerente Planung, FCAS mit anderen europaeischen Programmen, zusaetzlich zu F-35 etc, zu ersetzen.

Over the following days and months you will have the dubious pleasure of reading big opinions on FCAS in German & European media from numerous politicians in Berlin who over the course of their long careers in one way or another contributed to the current dilemma.