Marcus Faulkner

MQ-25 Stingray Carrier-Based Uncrewed Tanker Ground Testing Now Underway Boeing and the Navy are hopeful that a production representative MQ-25 will fly for the first time this year after repeated delays.

the saving being taking the human out of harms way initially which we do not like to metricise in financial terms.

MQ-25 is a good example for a relatively 'simple' role the cost of the first 3 production units (might come down) of $161.51 million each is steep.

www.twz.com/air/mq-25-st...

Pie in the Sky: The Robotic Loyal Wingman The United States is not prepared to win if the current competition with China goes hot.

Worth reading on high end UAV feasibility & issues, some might be overcome some though are intrinsic. They don't reduce personnel demands, merely shift it around. They aren't substantially cheaper, probably more expensive, even when factoring in lifetime crew cost....

www.usni.org/magazines/pr...

Spionagetechnik für Russland - Geheimprojekt "Harmonie" Ein Geschäftsmann muss sich seit dieser Woche vor dem Landgericht Frankfurt am Main verantworten. Die Staatsanwaltschaft wirft ihm nach Informationen von NDR, WDR und SZ vor, jahrelang Geräte zur Unte...

“Ein 🇷🇺 Geschäftsmann muss sich seit dieser Woche vor dem Landgericht Frankfurt am Main verantworten. Die 🇩🇪 Staatsanwaltschaft wirft ihm nach Informationen von NDR, WDR und SZ vor, jahrelang Geräte zur Unterwasserspionage an Russland verkauft zu haben.”

France’s third Suffren-class SSN - Tourville - enters service - Naval News The French Navy's (Marine Nationale) third Suffren-class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) Tourville (S637) entered "active duty"

The @marinenationale.bsky.social third Suffren-class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) Tourville (S637) entered “active duty” (admission au service actif in French) on July 4th, 2025 🇫🇷
www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2...

Ukraine war briefing: Two Chinese nationals arrested in Neptune missile espionage case US resumes deliveries of artillery shells and rockets, say officials; Kyiv under heavy bombardment again. What we know on day 1,233

Chinese espionage targeting the Neptune missile programme, a reasonably new, combat proven Anti-Ship Missile with land attack capability - not too surprising.

www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

YouTube video by KNDS Deutschland Naval Strike Missile successfully fired from MARS 3

What a difference a decade makes, Costal Defences are all in now. The reasonably rapid integration and testing of NSM on this mount is a positive though (even if it is not necessarily the most complex adaption).

www.youtube.com/watch?v=l75I...

Italian light cruiser Bartolomeo Colleoni transiting the Suez Canal on return from the China station. The picture is black and white, taken at an angle from the port bow. It shows the cruiser in the narrow body of water with the desert behind it.

Arriving in Benghazi on 8 July, the cruisers were scheduled to transfer to the Aegean to raid British shipping transiting from the Bosphorus, after a shore bombardment of Sollum and Martruh.

@rjhammond215.bsky.social @dreadships.bsky.social @marcusfaulkner.bsky.social @karljames1945.bsky.social

It looks the part. Whether this design has the rail erosion issues solved or at least under better control is the only issue that really matters though.

Geoffrey Roberts, Stalin's General, would be the best English language treatment to date.

Video: FC/ASW - Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapon by MBDA - Naval News Exclusive coverage of the FC/ASW program during the 2025 Paris Air Show with Pierre-Marie Belleau, Deep Strike Product Line Owner at MBDA.

Video: FC/ASW – Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapon by MBDA 🚀
www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2...

When Sabotage Goes Orbital: Rethinking the Russian Space Threat

🚨Publication alert🚨Next up on our Insights blog is an examination of the threat of sabotage from Russia in space by @kloosha.bsky.social:
kcsi.uk/kcsi-insight...

Prolonged, intense combat operations is becoming the norm and an outcome too of autonomous systems entering the battle. While naval engagements have always been intense affairs sustained exposure to enemy action seen in the Red Sea is rare, comparable to SWW RN operations in the Med and Arctic.

Every Robot Will Do Its Duty How will the proliferation of autonomous, uncrewed, and minimally crewed systems change naval warfare by 2040, and how should navies respond?

A concise and very astute piece on autonomous systems in the maritime domain:

'By shortening the observe-orient-decide-act loop, the tempo of combat becomes faster; by lowering the threshold for recourse to violence, opportunities for action are more frequent, '

www.usni.org/magazines/pr...

French Navy Rafale M fires Meteor air-to-air missile - Naval News A French Navy (Marine Nationale) Rafale Marine fired a Meteor long range air-to-air missile. The firing, which took place on 18 June

A French Navy @marinenationale.bsky.social Rafale Marine fired a Meteor long range air-to-air missile. The firing, which took place on 18 June, was the first one conducted from an aircraft belonging to an operational airwing: Flottille 11F 🇫🇷
www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2...

The Tobruk Run – Loss of HMS Auckland 24 June 1941 Introduction The Tobruk Run (colloquially known as the “Tobruk Ferry”) was a series of convoy and naval supply operations that operated with some interruptions from April to December 1941, and whic…

#OTD in 1941 sloop HMS Auckland sank with the loss of 38 men NW off Gambut while escorting the small tanker Pass of Balmaha to Tobruk.

The 'Tobruk Run' had claimed another victim.

@alanallport.bsky.social @marcusfaulkner.bsky.social @cedricmas.bsky.social

#WW2 #navalhistory #desertwar

Agile lethality and lethal agility not to be forgotten.

Hollywood monster or vital ecosystem manager?

For 50 years, Jaws has shaped our view of sharks. But this stunning photo, "Picking Through the Bones," shows their true, vital role. Daniel Browne captured over 100 sharks performing a clean-up of a whale carcass at Ningaloo Reef.

#Sharks

A more expletive infused term probably captures the gravity of the situation better.

Pro-Palestinian activists break into RAF Brize Norton to spray planes The Ministry of Defence condemns "vandalism" after Palestine Action activists spray paint on military planes.

So about that base security issue and FPV drone strikes from the other week....

An incursion enabling demonstrators to get onto the ramp and physically engaged with aircraft, even if it is Voyager - it's a tanker so a strategic enabler - is suboptimal.

www.bbc.com/news/article...

It is a genuinely interesting question. The impetus for this no flag approach is as a result of a very partial political circumstance, and thus the not so secret nation of origin might suddenly have an opinion. The cargoes are the detent though - no one will sink tanker like this owing to the impact

It reflects more that an instantaneous victory cannot be had because there is uncertainty about whether a large bomb can go deep into a mountain to finish the job someone else started. Though it won't finish the job even if physics looks benevolently at the problem.

Ready to go might be a touch optimistic, but it does not seem an unrealistic proposition to take over from Crowsnest in due course.

bsky.app/profile/nava...

MQ-9B Airborne Early Warning Variant Could Fill Major Aerial Surveillance Gaps The early warning MQ-9B is being pitched in carrier-based form to the Royal Navy, but could have wider appeal, including for land-based use.

The future of AEW does seem to be in uncrewed or leanly crewed aircraft at best (or space in the US case). Using UAVs as a sensor truck streaming data to ops centres makes sense.
The article expands on the Reaper based option for the RN as a long term AEW replacement.

www.twz.com/air/mq-9b-ai...

Oil tanker Torrey Canyon. One careless owner. Sold as seen. In this image it's almost completely awash and broken in half. At the very least you've got to imagine they've voided the warranty.

Because of [waves hands at the state of the world] there's been a bit of discussion about how difficult it is to sink oil tankers.

As this account firmly approves of the empirical method, ie the boffin lingo for fucking around and finding out, let's look at an example.

Meet Torrey Canyon.

There is direct and indirect US so Israeli defence is subsidised, though to a far lesser extent and indirectly US support does prop up elements of UK defence. The UK does have a nuclear overhead which needs to be factored in when comparing to European militaries too, but Israel also has this.

A Royal Navy Nuclear Submarine Is Being Scrapped For The First Time Including the former HMS Swiftsure, the Royal Navy has a backlog of 23 retired nuclear-powered subs that it needs to dispose of. Including the former HMS Swiftsure, the Royal Navy has a backlog of 23 ...

With a backlog of 23 boats the situation regarding the scrapping of decommissioned RN nuclear submarines was suboptimal, so seeing the process finally start is good.

www.twz.com/air/a-royal-...

'On the first night of the offensive against Iran, Israel had 220 combat aircraft in action. By way of comparison, opening Nato strikes against Colonel Ghaddafi’s Libya in 2011, the Royal Air Force managed six strike planes, two of which went unserviceable en route.'

Well worth reading.

UK declared FOC for Crowsnest airborne surveillance and control - Naval News The UK Royal Navy (RN) has confirmed that its carrier-borne Crowsnest airborne surveillance and control (ASaC) role fit system has reached Full Operating Capability (FOC).

The UK Royal Navy has confirmed that its carrier-borne Crowsnest airborne surveillance and control (ASaC) role fit system has reached Full Operating Capability (FOC) 🇬🇧
www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2...