The crew of USCGC Resolute (WMEC 620) poses for a group photo during a drug offload at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg, July 17, 2025. Resolute deployed in support of Joint Interagency Task Force-South (JIATF-South), an interagency and international task force that conducts counter-illicit trafficking and security cooperation operations in the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Riley Perkofski)
The Coast Guard announced last week that it exceeded its fiscal year 2025 (FY25) recruiting goals, achieving the highest accession numbers since 1991.
The Coast Guard accessed 5,204 active-duty enlisted service members in FY25, which was 121% of its FY25 target of 4,300. This success was the second year in a row that the Coast Guard met its active-duty enlisted recruiting goals after the Service brought in 4,422 new service members last year.
In addition to the success of the active-duty enlisted recruiting efforts, the Service commissioned 371 new officers to achieve 101% of the overall goal. This represents the largest officer target achieved in recorded history.
In the reserve component, the Coast Guard accessed 777 reservists, which was 104% of the official target of 750. This was the third year in a row that the Coast Guard met its recruiting goals for the Coast Guard Reserve.
The Coast Guard opened 7 new recruiting offices in FY25 and has been expanding its CGJROTC program, which is now at 14 units, with program-wide enrollment of over 1,200 cadets.
In conjunction with those numbers, the service, a few days ago, announced an RFI to identify prospective locations for an additional training center “that can be used to support projected service growth of up to 15,000 personnel.”
The authorized strength of the USCG is 44,500 active-duty members, and approximately 7,000 reservists, with another 8,577 civilian employees, and 21,000 volunteers in the Coast Guard Auxiliary.
The center would need to have:
Lodging for 1,200 recruits
A dining facility capable of seating 400 personnel
A medical facility to support 1,000 personnel (minimum 200 medical encounters and 200 dental encounters per day)
14 classrooms sized to accommodate 30-60 students
An auditorium with a capacity of 500+ students
A pool with 6 lanes, 25 yards in length, and a minimum depth of 4 feet
A multipurpose gymnasium/athletic/sports facility suitable for sitting 1,200 personnel
Office space for 400 staff members
A land area of 150-250 acres
Proximity to a small commercial service or larger airport within 30 miles.
Even with the longest U.S. federal government shutdown in modern history and the cancellation of myriad Veterans Day parades, observations, and related airshows, some watches are still maintained.
At Arlington, the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, known as “The Old Guard,” continues to stand watch at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier 24/7 as it is considered a sacred, unquestionable duty. This perpetual watch is maintained regardless of weather or national events, and has been standing continuously since 1948.
An interview with Tomb Guards on what goes into the honor.
On a smaller level…
In Hattiesburg, for at least the past 35 years, the University of Southern Mississippi’s ROTC programs have performed a 24-hour vigil around the four granite pillars of Hattiesburg’s Veterans Memorial Park from 1100 on 10 November until the City’s Veterans Day ceremony begins the next day at 1100. The cadets take shifts in standing watch over the pillars bearing the names of the 173 individuals from the Hattiesburg area who died at war, from 1917 to the present day.
Although the “official” vigil was canceled due to the shutdown, volunteer cadets from USM’s Army and Air Force ROTC units, many not under scholarship, have begun the watch and held it overnight, with temperatures dropping into a hard freeze.
The Blue Ensign-flying Tide-class Royal Fleet Auxiliary fast fleet tanker Tidespring (A136)is a modern ship, commissioned in 2017.
At some 37,000 tons, the AEGIR-26 designed double-hulled auxiliary has three RAS stations, a hangar and flight deck for a Chinook-sized helicopter, and can tote 6.3 million gallons of deliverable avgas/fuel/POL while her efficient CODELOD engineering suite allows for sustained 20 knot speeds for 18,200 nm. She can carry 20 20-foot containers on deck.
Self-defense armament includes allowance for two CIWS and two 30 mm cannons, as well as additional GPMGs sprinkled around as needed.
Although manned by 63 civilians much like the MSC (although far worse paid) she can also carry 46 embarked personnel and is currently deployed 75 RFAs and 33 MoD personeel with the latter made up of an ASW-capable Merlin Mk 2 detachment from 814 (Swordfish) NAS, drone operator/maintainers and Puma UAVs from 700X NAS, and a ship’s protection detail of Royal Marines from 42 Commando.
Tidespring as seen from a Merlin Mk 2 from 814 NAS
700X NAS Puma UAV
42 Commando Royal Marines = guys you do not want to meet in the passageway
Since leaving England in April, Tidespring has sailed 36,358nm, most of that in support of the HMS Prince of Wales carrier group’s Op Highmast deployment to the Pacific, and has thus far delivered 79 replenishments while underway.
Besides PoW and her CSG25 group, Tidespring provided services to and sailed with four other allied flattop TFs– the USS America ARG, the USS George Washington CSG, the Japanese Kaga CSG, and the Indian INS Vikrant CSG.
Now, rounding the Cape of Good Hope alone on her way to the Caribbean as PoW is proceeding through Suez to the Med and home without her, Tidespring has a fourth equator crossing (no pollywogs there!) and another planned 13,457nm to go before spending Christmas deployed and a 2026 homecoming.
The first City-class mine countermeasures vessel in active service has arrived on station, with the Belgian mine hunter Oostende (M940) pulling into Zeebrugge earlier this week.
The soon-to-be-donated Tripartite class mine hunter Lobelia (M921) met her at sea and escorted her home.
The 1980s vintage Tripartites are being replaced in Belgian, French, and Dutch service with the City-class vessels, which, as you can see above, are a huge upgrade.
The 2,800-ton, 270-foot City class carries a BAE Bofors 40mm Mk4 DP mount forward and two FN Herstal Sea deFNder remote mounts with FN M3R .50 cal heavy machine guns (one on the starboard bridge wing and the other overlooking the port stern). There are also four multipurpose mounts for GPMGs, LRADs, and water cannons for more constabulary sort of work.
The aviation deck is designed to carry and operate a pair of 500-pound UMS Skeldar V-200 rotary UAVs, also enabling vertical replenishment, personnel insertion/extraction, and HIFR via manned helicopters.
The Skelar UAVs and Exhail Inspector USVs are depicted in use below:
In addition to a 33-man crew, they can carry another 30 transients, including divers and security teams/marines.
Compare this to the 600-ton/169-foot Tripartites, which still rely mainly on on-board sonar and surveys to dispatch clearance divers. Their armament is a 20mm gun and four MGs.
The Belgians had 10 Tripartites and have since passed seven of them on to Pakistan, France, Ukraine, and Bulgaria, with the final three set to be donated to Bulgaria in the coming months.
The Dutch had 15 Tripartites but have passed on all but the final three to Latvia, Pakistan, Bulgaria, and Ukraine. They plan to move the last trio to Bulgaria by 2028.
France had 10 original Tripartites and has decommissioned and disposed of five, with six remaining.
The plan is to replace them all with City-class vessels, with all three countries ordering six ships each.
Wouldn’t it have been great if the 14 retired/retiring 40-year-old U.S. Navy Avenger-class mine countermeasures ships had been replaced with a dedicated design more akin to this and less, well, LCS?
Looking back over the huge photo dump from the recent UNITAS 2025 exercise– which has been trucking along annually since 1960– a somewhat composite view arises of the Marine’s new Maritime Reconnaissance Companies (MRC), and the drone supply boats it looks to use to supply its pair of expeditionary Marine Littoral Regiments in forward, likely isolated, islands in the Western Pacific.
I present to you the carbon-fiber hulled Whiskey Bravo boat in operation, utilizing a tire-clad, retired USCG 87-foot Marine Protector-class patrol boat as the target for a training VBSS team. In Marine use, the 40-foot Australian-built Whiskey Bravo is referred to as the more official Multi-Mission Reconnaissance Craft, or MMRC.
U.S. Marines with 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion, 4th Marine Division and marines with Batallón de Infantería de Marina, Armada de la República Dominicana, (marine Infantry Battalion within the Dominican navy) board a moving ship while on Multi Mission Reconnaissance Craft-A littoral craft, to conduct visit, board, search and seizure training during exercise UNITAS 2025 Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, Sept. 23, 2025.
U.S. Marines with 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion, 4th Marine Division, prepare to visit, board, search, and seize a vessel during exercise UNITAS 2025 at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, Sept. 24, 2025. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Michail Stankosky)
U.S. Marines with 4th Assault Amphibian Battalion, 4th Marine Division, prepare to visit, board, search, and seize a vessel during exercise UNITAS 2025 at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, North Carolina, Sept. 24, 2025. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Michail Stankosky)
The Whiskey Bravo accommodates up to six operators seated on shock-absorbing seats and two crew members at the forward control console.
It can carry twin 4-round Rafael (Lockheed) Spike NLOS canister launchers on the stern (17nm range and a Mini-Typhoon remote-controlled stabilized .50 cal up front.
Without the armament, it can carry as many as 17 combat-loaded troops for short stints. The boat can be rushed to a forward area via C-17 and is air-droppable. Further, the WB can be optionally manned, controlled instead via remote datalink.
A take on how it could be employed.
As described in a November 2024 Proceedings piece by Lt.Col Brian Lusczynski, three active and perhaps one reserve Maritime Reconnaissance Companies will be established, each with 18 Whiskey Bravo boats (MMRCs) and 12 unnamed USV types.
Within a Marine division, the MRC will fall under a parent O-5 command such as the future mobile reconnaissance battalions (which are replacing the light armored reconnaissance units). Each MRC will consist of a headquarters element and three maneuver platoons operating MMRCs and USVs. Each platoon will comprise a headquarters element and three maneuver sections, with each section consisting of two MMRCs and two USVs.
Next, we have the Autonomous Low-Profile Vessel, or ALPV, which takes the nearly awash “narco sub” concept long used to run all sorts of contraband and options it for remote use to carry supplies to calm little lagoons right under the eyes of the PLAN.
It has been tested out by the Logistics Battalions of the Marine Littoral Regiments, and is described as “a semi-submersible autonomous logistics delivery system that has the ability to deliver multiple variations of supplies and equipment through contested maritime terrain.”
An autonomous low-profile vessel assigned to 2nd Distribution Support Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, pulls out of Mile Hammock Bay during exercise UNITAS 2025 at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Sept. 15, 2025. 2nd MLG is working with the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab to experiment with the ALPV for a more lethal, agile, and resilient capability while conducting expeditionary advanced base operations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo Lance Cpl. Franco Lewis)
U.S. Marines with Maritime Distribution Platoon, 2nd Distribution Support Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 2 open an autonomous low-profile vessel for refueling operations during exercise UNITAS 2025 at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, Sept. 18, 2025. 2nd Marine Logistics Group is working with the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab to experiment with the ALPV for a more lethal, agile, and resilient capability while conducting expeditionary advanced base operations. (U.S. Marine Corps photo Sgt. Rafael Brambila-Pelayo)
ALPV has also been seen recently underway in Okinawa.
The Marine Corps tested the Autonomous Low-Profile Vessel (ALPV) during exercise Resolute Dragon 2025 (RD25), in Okinawa, Japan, and surrounding outlying islands. The ALPV is an autonomous logistics delivery system that can be configured to deliver multiple variations of supplies and equipment throughout the littorals. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Connor Taggart)
And a recent view of the cargo capability of the 65-foot ALPV, which seems to have several pallet-sized cargo holds.
The concept of getting some diesel, a few pallets of MREs and water, plus extra batteries and an assortment of lickies and chewies, shipped quietly into a forward atoll, could be a realistic way to keep isolated garrisons fed and semi-happy.
U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Conor Bassham, left, a metal worker and Sgt. Daymion Noisewater, a small craft mechanic with Combat Logistics Battalion 8, Combat Logistics Regiment 2, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, guides cargo onto an Autonomous Low-Profile Vessel during a concept of operations test at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, April 23, 2025. The ALPV is an autonomous logistics delivery system that the Marine Corps is testing to resupply a dispersed lethal fighting force discreetly and allow those operating in the littorals to be more sustainable, resilient, and survivable, both in competition and in conflict. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Christian Salazar)
250923-N-N3764-1097. ATLANTIC OCEAN (Sep. 23, 2025) A U.S. Navy Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft (GARC) maneuvers in the Atlantic Ocean during UNITAS 2025, the 66th iteration of the world’s longest-running multinational maritime exercise. Unmanned and remotely operated vehicles and vessels extend the capability of interconnected manned platform sensors to enhance capacity across the multinational force. (Official U.S. Navy photo)
250923-N-N3764-1077 ATLANTIC OCEAN (Sep. 23, 2025) A U.S. Navy Global Autonomous Reconnaissance Craft (GARC) maneuvers in the Atlantic Ocean during UNITAS 2025, the 66th iteration of the world’s longest-running multinational maritime exercise. Unmanned and remotely operated vehicles and vessels extend the capability of interconnected manned platform sensors to enhance capacity across the multinational force. (Official U.S. Navy photo)
With the explosive rise in the use of cheap battlefield unmanned systems in the past several years, ballistic options are now the chief countermeasure.
While this has seen a resurgence of love for such simple items as shotguns with specialized ammunition— Benelli is even marketing and reportedly selling a dedicated M4 A.I. Drone Guardian model as fast as they can crank them out– and a whole new breed of SPAAGs of every stripe, it seems that drone-on-drone aerial combat is, in many cases, the most effective answer.
Ukraine began to use “kamikaze” explosive-laden drones to combat Russian UAVs at the front in early 2024 and has even advanced to the point of having shotgun-carrying drones that swat Russian Mavics in mid-air and electronic warfare jammer FPVs that zap the connectivity of enemy drones.
Now, whole new generations of interceptor drones such as the 22-pound Sting and the gently larger Bullet have been developed by outfits such as the Ukrainian non-profit organization Wild Hornets.
Simple to make with off-the-shelf parts and 3D printing, they are being assembled at blistering rates for a cost estimated as low as $1,000 a pop and can reach speeds of over 195 mph, enabling them to chase down enemy drones at anything under 10,000 feet and give them the hard goodbye.
Ukraine claims that Sting alone has killed 900 drones just in the past couple of months. Sure, it is a 1:1 kill rate, if not worse, but as the Russians are spending a reported $30K a pop on Shahed (Gerad) attack drones, the Ukrainians have the clear advantage in that equation
The Ukrainian military PAO recently released this video of the counter-UAV det of the 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade “Magura” killing Russian Lancet loitering munitions, Private (STC Orlan-10) UAVs, along with Molniya and Shahed attack drones in the Sumy Region. It’s not subtitled, but no translation is needed.
It is estimated that as many as 250,000 drones are built, acquired, or imported per month in the conflict.
The USCGC Waesche (WMSL 751), one of four frigate-sized Legend-class national security cutters homeported in Alameda, returned home this week from a 105-day Arctic deployment spanning over 21,000 nautical miles.
Besides close surveillance on several interloping Chinese government-owned research ships in the greater Alaskan sea frontier, the 413-foot Waesche got in lots of multi-national and multi-service joint ops with USAF HH-60 Pave Hawks during NORTHCOM’s Exercise Arctic Edge 2025, where the cutter served as a Forward Afloat Staging Base, executing a complex, multi-agency assault of a mock target of interest. The operation showcased seamless integration between Waesche, Coast Guard Maritime Security Response Team West, U.S. Navy SEALs, and the Alaska Air National Guard to rapidly respond to domestic threats.”
Members of Coast Guard Maritime Security Response Team West, USCGC Waesche (751), and Special Operations Forces transit on an Over the Horizon cutter boat during Arctic Edge 2025 near Nome, Alaska, Aug. 10, 2025. AE25 is a North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and U.S. Northern Command-led homeland defense exercise designed to improve readiness, demonstrate capabilities, and enhance Joint and Allied Force interoperability in the Arctic. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Cameron Snell)
A member of the Navy Seals converges with Coast Guard Cutter Waesche (WMSL 751) and Air Force HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters during Arctic Edge 2025 near Nome, Alaska, Aug. 10, 2025. (U.S. Coast Guard photo 250810-G-CY518-1003 by Petty Officer 3rd Class Cameron Snell)
Coast Guard Cutter Waesche (WMSL 751) and Special Operations Force crews transit on Over the Horizon cutter boats in the Bering Sea, August 10, 2025. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Cameron Snell)
Of note, the mock seizure seems to be on the Alaska-based NOAAS Fairweather (S 220), a 231-foot survey ship, which surely isn’t a message to the Chinese research ships in the region.
An Air Force HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter crew simulates a hoist above the Fairweather during Arctic Edge 2025 in the Bering Sea, Aug. 10, 2025. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Cameron Snell)
The cutter also did steaming and gunnery drills (both 57mm and CIWS) with the Canadian frigate HMCS Regina (FFH 334) in the Bering Sea during Operation Latitude including “passenger exchange, a mock boarding, cross-deck hoist operations with Regina’s CH-148 Cyclone helicopter, air support from a U.S. Coast Guard C-130J Hercules fixed wing aircraft from Air Station Kodiak and a Royal Canadian Air Force CP-140 Aurora [P-3 Orion].”
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Waesche (WMSL-751) and Royal Canadian Navy His Majesty’s Canadian Ship Regina, sail alongside each other as a USCG Air Station Kodiak HC-130 and Royal Canadian Air Force CP-140 Aurora fly overhead during Operation Latitude in the Bering Sea, Alaska, Aug. 25, 2025. Canadian-led Operation Latitude, in conjunction with Alaskan Command and U.S. Northern Command, and U.S. Coast Guard Arctic District, focused on increasing domain awareness in the High North and enhancing interoperability between Canada and the United States. (Courtesy photo 250825-O-EZ530-2080 by Canadian Armed Forces Master Corporal William Gosse)
Besides working with Regina, Waesche also worked separately with the Canadian OPV HMCS Max Bernays and successfully conducted “the Coast Guard’s first-ever fueling at sea in the Alaskan theater with the Royal Canadian Navy replenishment oiler MV Asterix – accomplished in 6-8 foot seas with sustained 30-knot winds.”
United States Coast Guard Cutter Waesche receiving fuel during a Replenishment At Sea with Naval Replenishment Unit Asterix during Operation Latitude on 9 September 2025. Photo: S3 Owen Davis, Canadian Armed Forces.
How about this super unusual photoex captured recently of allies steaming during the Division Tactics (DIVTACS) serial for Exercise Sama Sama 2025 in the South China Sea.
“A U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon soars overhead, while naval power from the Philippines, Japan, Canada, and the U.S. sail in formation: USS Cincinnati (LCS 20), BRP Antonio Luna (FF 151), BRP Jose Andrada (PC 370), JS Onami (DD 111),BRP Ramon Alcaraz (PS-16), and HMCS Max Bernays (AOPV 432).”
A U.S. Navy P-8A Poseidon, attached to Commander, Task Force 72, flies overhead while the Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Cincinnati (LCS 20), Philippine Navy Jose Rizal-class guided missile frigate BRP Antonio Luna (FF 151), and Jose Andrada-class coastal patrol boat BRP Jose Andrada (PC 370), Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force Takanami-class destroyer JS Onami (DD 111), and Royal Canadian Navy Harry Dewolf-class offshore patrol vessel HMCS Max Bernays (AOPV 432). Photo by PAO DESRON Seven
The U.S. Navy Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Cincinnati (LCS 20), Philippine Navy Jose Rizal-class guided missile frigate BRP Antonio Luna (FF 151), Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force Takanami-class destroyer JS Onami (DD 111), and Royal Canadian Navy Harry Dewolf-class offshore patrol vessel HMCS Max Bernays (AOPV 432) sail in formation in the South China Sea during Exercise Sama Sama 2025, Oct. 13, 2025. Photo by PAO DESRON Seven
The U.S. Navy Independence-variant littoral combat ship USS Cincinnati (LCS 20), Philippine Navy Jose Rizal-class guided missile frigate BRP Antonio Luna (FF 151), Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force Takanami-class destroyer JS Onami (DD 111), and Royal Canadian Navy Harry Dewolf-class offshore patrol vessel HMCS Max Bernays (AOPV 432) sail in formation in the South China Sea during Exercise Sama Sama 2025, Oct. 13, 2025. Photo by PAO DESRON Seven
The photoex was also joined by a French Falcon-50 aircraft, and the 95-ton Philippine Acero-class patrol gunboat BRP Lolinato To-ong (PG-902), giving them seven ships at play under the tropical sun.
PN official photos:
While Alcaraz/Dallas (ex-USCGC Dallas) and Cincinnati are well known– I went to the latter’s commissioning back in 2019— Luna is more unusual to American eyes. The second ship of the Korean-built Jose Rizal class (modified ROKN Incheon class) of guided missile frigates in service with the Philippine Navy, Luna is one of the most powerful PN warships afloat, with the 2,600-ton/352-foot FF carrying ROK-designed antiship cruise missiles, a 76mm/62 OTO, Blue Shark ASW torpedoes, and a AW159 Wildcat helicopter along with a decent sensor suite to include EW/ECM and active/passive sonar.
Meanwhile, Andrada is a Trinity, New Orleans-built patrol boat of 78 feet, and has been in service since 1990.
The 6,300-ton Onami, a Takanami-class destroyer, was commissioned in 2003 and is the most powerful of the little surface action group, carrying 32 MK 41 VLS cells and an Otobreda 127/54 main gun.
As for Max Bernays, the 6,600-ton Harry DeWolf-class offshore patrol vessel is almost brand new, having joined the Canadian fleet last May. Designed to patrol the frozen far north, she recently achieved the farthest north position that any RCN ship has sailed, crossing the 81st parallel during the well-named Operation Latitude. Interesting that the RCN is using her for overseas work in the South China Sea. I guess that’s what they get for scrapping the Kingstons.
HMCS Max Bernays on Operation Latitude Photo credit: S1 Jordan Schilstra, Canadian Armed Forces.
No, it is not early morning on the Savannah, but “Danske Leoparder et Letland,” i.e., Royal Danish Army KMW Rheinmetall Leopard 2A7DKs of I Panserbataljon, Jydske Dragonregiment (I/JDR) in Latvia on a NATO deployment getting a live fire ex underway recently.
And that Rh-120 L/55 A1 120mm main gun does growl.
Also note the SAAB Barracuda anti-IR camo system installed.
A closer look:
Of note, the “Blue Dragoons” of I/JDR, Denmark’s sole tank unit and home to 44 Leopard 2s, has a long and storied history going back to 1657, but held on to their horses until 1932. They have been operating successive versions of the Kampfpanzer Leopard since the 1970s.
They are somewhat famous in modern times for the “Mouse Ate the Cat” engagement in Bosnia in 1994, where they just went ham on some particularly dreaded and troublesome Serb positions and bagged at least one T-55 in the process.
They have also completed deployments to Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq in modern times, and have a reputation for being eager to let their tracks (and guns) run free when needed.
Black beret clad in British Armored Corps fashion, their motto is Virtute Vincitur (“He is overcome by strength”).
HII is pushing hard to get eyes on its new Romulus unmanned/minimally manned surface vessel concept, and for good reason, as it looks like it has potential as a “sea truck” that can act alongside a more conventional battle group to add more missiles, UAVs, and UUVs to the fight. The “high-endurance, 25+ knot” Romulus is 190 feet long and uses a commercial-standard hull “for durability and rapid production.” It has an advertised range of 2,500nm and can rearm/refuel at sea.
A large payload deck behind its superstructure has enough space for six 40-foot ISO shipping containers, which logically allows for six Typhon SMRF (Mk 70 Mod 1 Payload Delivery System) erector launchers, each of which can hold four Tomahawks or SM-6 missiles.
There is also enough open deck over the stern for a vertical launch drone system– a Shield AI MQ-35A V-BAT is depicted lifting off– as well as twin deployment cradles for HII’s Remus series UUVs. As the Navy is currently running an undisclosed number of Remus 100 (Mk 18 Swordfish) and at least 90 larger Remus 600 (Mk 18 Mod 2 Knifefish) models for UXO/EOD/MCM, this is not a stretch.
While shown as part of a carrier battle group, I think it could be interesting to pair up 2-3 of these with a Flight IIA/III DDG and perhaps a couple of Independence-class LCSs for extra helicopters as a surface action group.
With just 500~ bluejackets, you would have as many as six embarked MH-60s, room for a few vertical-launched drones, some decent UUV capability, a 5-inch gun, two 57s, 144-168 strike length VLS cells, three Sea RAMs, and potentially eight NSMs (on the Indies), as well as smaller weapons. Add to that three VBSS teams if on an interdiction mission.
That’s a lot of sea control at the fingertips of an O-5/O-6.
