Updates from Ice Camp, 1 CRPG, and the Marines in Norway.
So much great content has been coming from Ice Camp 26 (Boarfish), which is running for three weeks in the Beufort Sea with the surfaced USS Delaware (SSN 791) and Santa Fe (SSN 763)— marking the 100th American ice surfacings, along with personeel from U.S. Marine Corps, Air National Guard, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Canadian Air Force, French Navy, Royal United Kingdom Navy, Norwegian Defence Research Institute, and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology.
Beaufort Sea, Arctic Circle – Operation ICE CAMP 2026 participants from Arctic Submarine Lab, Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center Detachment San Diego, Underwater Construction Team (UCT) TWO, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation Science, and various U.S. Navy commands pose for a photo at ICE CAMP Boarfish 2026, Mar. 17. (U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Jacob D. Bergh)
The Navy commissioned the 25th Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Massachusetts (SSN 798) in a traditional ceremony held Saturday, 28 March, in Boston Harbor. Delivered to the Navy last November, she is the 6th commissioned warship on the Navy List to carry the name of the Commonwealth.
As the Navy welcomed its seventh Flight VI Virginia to the fleet, the crew of its oldest warship, the frigate USS Constitution (“Old Ironsides”), honored the moment by rendering a historic salute to her joining the fleet, complete with flintlocks and carronades.
The USS Constitution sails past the Virginia-class nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine USS Massachusetts (SSN 798) during Massachusetts’ commissioning in Boston, on March 28th, 2026. Massachusetts is the newest fast-attack submarine and the fifth U.S. Navy vessel to bear the name. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Lucas J. Hastings)
BOSTON (March 28, 2026) Sailors assigned to the Virginia-class fast attack submarine USS Massachusetts (SSN 798) stand at attention aboard the boat as the USS Constitution prepares to render a salute during Massachusetts’ commissioning ceremony in Boston Harbor, March 28, 2026. Massachusetts is the newest fast-attack submarine and the fifth U.S. Navy vessel to bear the name. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kaitlin Young)
“From wooden hulls and sail power to nuclear propulsion and advanced undersea warfare capabilities, this moment reflects the enduring strength, innovation, and readiness of the United States Navy.”
The nation’s 911 force is now officially authorizing pistol quals with a red dot optic, provided it is one very specific system.
On March 13, Marine Administrative Message (MARADMINS) 104/26 updated that the service’s Marksmanship Program will include the paragraph, “Marines are authorized to use unit funded Using Unit Responsibility Item, M17 Romeo red dot optic, National Stock Number 1240-01-713-9795 for Combat Pistol Program (CPP) qualifications.”
In short, so long as the SIG M17 Romeo sight is used– which was designed specifically for the P320-based M17 and M18 9mm Modular Handgun System– and it is bought with unit funds, the country’s premier amphibious warfare force can run red dots in qualifications.
The Romeo M17 sight (NSN: 1240-01-713-9795), seen attached to an M17 MHS handgun, is a mil-spec, fully enclosed and gas-purged red dot reflex sight with a distortion-free glass aspheric lens. It is submersible to depths up to 35 meters. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
The optic incorporates a high-efficiency point source red LED emitter, with 2 MOA dot/32 MOA circle reticle, independent brightness adjustment buttons, 15 brightness settings including night vision settings, and a side-mounted CR2032 battery compartment with a threaded battery cap so the optic does not need to be removed from the pistol for battery changes. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Completely U.S. made and constructed of forged 7075 aluminum with a beryllium copper flexure arm (more on that in a minute) the Romeo M17 has an extremely low deck height so that armorers can reuse standard iron sights, has 15 illumination settings (including three for use with Gen 3+ night vision), beats drop and submersion tests, and, importantly, has an integral loaded chamber gas deflector shield that keeps the MHS from gassing up the lens after 10-15 rounds.
The Romeo M17 is a hoss. This installed example we saw dropped from 10 feet onto concrete at SIG’s plant in Oregon earlier this year with nothing but cosmetic damage to the housing. SIG explained to Guns.com that the Romeo M17 has surpassed 100,000 rounds in testing without loss of zero or parts breakage. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)That magical Romeo M17 flexure arm. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)Installed near the base of the Romeo M17, the arm provides a backbone – so to speak – for the sight, cutting down on the number of parts that can fail. That, combined with the unique mounting process used on the sight that gives it six points of contact with the pistol host, makes it so tough. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
Marines deployed with the Fleet have already been seen with red dot-equipped M17 Romeo-equipped M18s and Surefire X300 white lights.
A U.S. Marine with Maritime Special Purpose Force, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), fires an M18 pistol during a qualification range aboard San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28), while underway in the Caribbean Sea, Feb. 22, 2026. (U.S. Marine Corps photo)
An inset of the above image, clearly showing the M17 Romeo on an M18 MHS pistol. (U.S. Marine Corps photo)
The Marines adopted the M18 in 2019, ordering 35,000 of the SIGs to not only replace legacy Beretta M9s but also the Colt M45A1 CQB .45ACP railgun and the M007 Glock.
As any navy expert will concede, having just a single aircraft carrier in your fleet is essentially having a carrier in name only, as the prospect of keeping it continuously ready to deploy is a farce. A carrier strike force “in-being.” An exercise in carrier theory. A headquarters float for a naval parade.
Sure, there have been many countries that tried the single-carrier concept during the Cold War —Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Thailand, the Netherlands —but they all decided that the money would be better spent on more escorts, submarines, and perhaps an LPH/LPD or two.
The juice just wasn’t worth the squeeze. At best, a sole carrier allowed them to go to sea for a few week-long workups one year and a short 4-6 month deployment the next, then have to go totally offline for most of a year every six or seven years for refit and refurbishment in a pretty big dry dock that they may not have. Then there is the problem of keeping a carrier air wing operational, sans carrier.
A few other navies briefly operated two (even conceptually three) carriers then downshifted to a single flattop due to budgetary reasons (Canada and Australia), but, as witnessed by the Royal Navy’s ups and downs when it comes to keeping two-three CV/CVLs since the 1970s (albeit with a zero carrier gap from 2014 to 2017), the Soviet’s four 40,000-ton Kiev class (Project 1143 Krechyet) Yak-38 carriers in the 1980s, Italy’s own two-top policy since 2009, and India’s decision to operate at least two since 2013, that figure is the bare minimum to ensure that, maybe, there would be one ready when needed.
France was an early adherent to this rule, having operated 2-4 carriers almost continuously from 1932 to 1997, 65 years (with a gap from November 1942 to April 45).
Pre-WWII, they had the 12,000-ton cruiser-armed seaplane carrier Commandant Teste (which could carry 26 aircraft and had four catapults) and the small (598-foot, 22,000 t) carrier Bearn, the latter of which was really just a Treaty-era use of an incomplete Normandie-class battleship hull. Two planned 35,000-ton Joffre-class carriers never made it off the drawing board before 1940.
French Aircraft Carrier Béarn, in exile in Martinique, Feb 1941, LIFE David E. Scherman
During WWII, the Free French picked up the U.S.-built escort carrier Dixmude (A609) (ex-HMS Biter, ex-Rio Parana) in April 1945, then soon added the 18,000-ton British Colossus-class carrier Arromanches (R95).
French Douglas SBD Dauntless au-dessus du porte-avions Arromanches.
The French carrier force grew to four with the loan of two 15,000-ton Independence-class light carriers in the early 1950s: Bois Belleau (R97) (ex-USS Belleau Wood) and La Fayette (R96) (ex-USS Langley), and would operate through 1960.
By 1961, the first of two 32,000-ton French-built Clemenceau-class CATOBAR carriers, Clemenceau (R98) and Foch (R99), entered service, while a larger 45,000-ton CV, Verdun, was only canceled later.
French carrier Arromanches in her 1960s Commando Carrier role. The ex-HMS Colossus (15), Arromanches served in the French fleet from 1946 to 1974, transitioning from fixed-wing fleet carrier off Indochina and Algeria, then in a commando LPH role, and finally as a training carrier (AVT)
From 1963, when Foch entered the fleet through 1974 when Arromanches was decommissioned and returned to the British, the French had two brand-new fleet carriers and a third legacy training/commando carrier on hand.
French aircraft carriers Foch (R99) and Clemenceau (R98) in 1977
It was only in October 1997 that the French reduced to a single carrier (something they hadn’t done since Commandant Teste joined Bearn back in 1932) when Clemenceau struck. The worn-out Foch herself was retired in November 2000, leaving France with zero carriers for six months until the 42,000-ton CVN Charles de Gaulle commissioned in May 2001.
Charles de Gaulle at Goa, December 2025
Since then, France has been the only country in history to run a CVN other than the U.S. (even the Chinese and Russians have only operated conventionally powered flattops), which is an accomplishment. She has had several gaps in her career, leaving France sans carrier aviation, including a 15-month refit in 2007-08 (just six years after entering service) and an 18-month midlife upgrade and refit in 2017-18.
Still, she has conducted at least 11 extensive overseas deployments to the Indian Ocean/Pacific, the latest being Clemenceau 25.
Curiously, Charles de Gaulle was at sea when the latest combat in the Middle East broke out earlier this month, off Sweden, and has now been redeployed to the extended region (Cyprus), even while both British flattops (which are much newer) are sidelined for months.
So, surprisingly, Paris is moving forward with a sort of super-Charles de Gaulle as a replacement for the now 25-year-old CVN, rather than two smaller ships (ala HMS Queen Elizabeth), which arguably would be more capable of providing continuous coverage.
At least the new French carrier will be a big one. A super carrier by any post-1945 definition.
At 78,000 tons with two K22 nuclear reactors, the planned France Libre (Free France), pennant R92, is set to replace CDG in 2038ish, with the first steel plate being cut in 2031. Like CDG and the Clemenceaus, she will be CATOBAR and will be able to carry a 70-80 aircraft CVW.
The Colt CZ Group announced last Friday that it has been tapped to provide the Canadian military with as many as 65,000 new rifles under a multi-year contract.
Colt is the winner of the Canadian Modular Rifle, or CMAR, program, to replace the current C7/C8 service rifle fleet, which has been in service for more than 35 years in the land of the Blue Jays and Silver Medal Olympic hockey teams. The contract is valued at CAD $273 million ($198 million USD).
As part of the contract, which requires at least 80 percent domestic production, Colt will deliver up to 30,000 General Service (GS) rifles between 2026 and 2029 from its Kitchener, Ontario, factory. The contract includes provisions for a possible increase in the volume of deliveries with a Phase 2 option including 19,207 GS rifles and 16,195 “Full Spectrum” rifles, the latter outfitted with optics and other accessories. The full award covers a maximum of 65,402 rifles.
The Canadian Armed Forces contains approximately 68,000 active and 32,000 reserve personnel, with about one third of those– 44,000– being in the Army.
The 5.56 NATO caliber Colt CMAR, type classified as the C25 in the above image, uses a monolithic upper receiver, chrome-lined free-floating barrel, ambidextrous controls, and a full-length STANAG 4694 top rail with M-LOK slots on the forearm. Accessories include a Magpul MOE grip and CTR adjustable stock. Photos: Department of National Defence/Ministère de la défense nationale
An interesting factor on the CMAR is its use of an all-in-one combination flash hider/muzzle brake/flow-through suppressor, the Multi-Function Muzzle Device, or MFMD. Designed by Utah-based Strategic Sciences, the modular MFMD is billed as delivering in terms of sound (sub 140dB for all systems), flash (99 percent reduction), and recoil (60 percent faster follow-up shots) with a durability comparable to the barrel’s life cycle.
Initial production will be for 30,000 rifles between now and 2029, with as many as 35,000 additional rifles to follow.
What optics the new CMAR will carry is probably TBD at the moment, with the Canadian Army trialing several dots and LPVOs by Steiner and SIG on the interim C8A4 in the past year. The current standard day optic in Canadian service is the 3.4x fixed power Elcan C79 (M145 in U.S. service), which was adopted in 1989.
As for what will happen to the country’s soon-to-be surplus C7 rifles and C8 carbines, which are based on the Colt M16A3 and M4, respectively, it is likely they will be retained in arsenal storage as the Canadian Armed Forces is seeking to expand its Primary reserve forces from the current 23,561 part-time members to 100,000 and beef up the current force of 4,384 inactive or retired Supplementary Reserve members to 300,000, figures not seen under the Maple Leaf flag since World War II!
Canada adopted the license-built C7 series in 1984, replacing semi-auto inch-pattern FN FAL pattern C1A1 rifles in 7.62 NATO, which entered service in the 1950s.
Soldiers of the Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada training at CFB Gagetown with C1A1s, circa 1974 (Library and Archives Canada MIKAN 4235794)
Official caption: “A sailor assigned to the USS Thomas Hudner attaches chains to an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter during flight deck operations as part of Operation Epic Fury in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, 16 March 2026.”
Note the four-pack of AGM-114 Hellfires, which entered Navy service in 1998.
VIRIN: 260316-N-NO146-1066M (Released).
CENTCOM officials claim to have destroyed, sunk, or seriously damaged over 100 and possibly as many as 130 Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (IRIN) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGC-N) naval vessels since the beginning of Epic Fury. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the smaller vessels were bagged via Hellfire.
An Atlantic Fleet Flight IIA Burke, USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116), has been seen with MH-60s from the Jacksonville-based Valkyries of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 50 aboard, with a big .50 cal on the starboard side and a four-pack of Hellfires to port.
AN MH-60R Seahawk helicopter, assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 50, departs Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116) during flight operations while underway in the Caribbean Sea, Dec. 27, 2025. U.S. military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the U.S. Southern Command mission, Department of War-directed operations, and the president’s priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland. (U.S. Navy photo)
A U.S. Sailor, assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 50, performs clear and safe checks on a .50 caliber machine gun on an MH-60R Seahawk helicopter aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), while underway in the Caribbean Sea, Dec. 27, 2025. U.S. military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the U.S. Southern Command mission, Department of War-directed operations, and the president’s priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect
A U.S. Sailor, assigned to Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron 50, refuels an MH-60R Seahawk during flight deck operations aboard the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), while underway in the Caribbean Sea, Dec. 26, 2025. U.S. military forces are deployed to the Caribbean in support of the U.S. Southern Command mission, Department of War-directed operations, and the president’s priorities to disrupt illicit drug trafficking and protect the homeland. (U.S. Navy photo)
On my most recent trip back to the old childhood stomping grounds in Pascagoula, I made my regular pilgrimage to The Point (the rough site of the old USCG station and Pascagoula River Lighthouse) and gazed out upon HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding to see who is in the water.
Looking out to the Ingalls West Bank, which was created in the 1970s for the Spruance class DDs, Tico class CGs, and Tarawa class LHAs. Photo: Chris Eger
In the water at the mouth of the Pascagoula River under the big bird crane is PCU USS Jeremiah Denton (DDG 129), a Flight III Burke, which launched on 25 March 2025 and is fitting out. Note another Burke behind her, perhaps the future USS George M. Neal (DDG-131), which is nearing launch later this year. Photo: Chris Eger
Next, afloat in the Pascagoula River proper, is the future USS Bougainville (LHA-8), the first Flight I America-class Lightning carrier. There has been a building LHA or LHD in this stretch of the river my entire life, and I am in my 50s! Photo: Chris Eger
The big 45,000-ton ‘phib began construction in 2018, has been in the water since 2019, and is expected to be delivered to the Navy in August 2026. Needs lots more topside work on that island before then. Photo: Chris Eger
Then there is the future USS Harrisburg (LPD 30), the first Flight II San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock. Laid down in 2022, she took to the water last January and is fitting out. Photo: Chris Eger
Further upstream is the scratch-and-dent old spaceship, USS Zumwalt (DDG-1000), looking very rough just months before her 10th birthday as a “commissioned” warship. Note, her forward Advanced Gun Systems house has been removed to clear space for four launchers intended for the Dark Eagle Intermediate-Range Conventional Prompt Strike (IRCPS) missile, with each canister capable of holding three missiles. Photo: Chris Eger
And in the old WWII-era East Bank, in one of the circa 1960s submarine berths, is the future USS Ted Stevens (DDG 128), a Flight III Burke scheduled to be commissioned this Fall in Whittier, Alaska. Photo: Chris Eger
Also, Kevin’s Corner is still making great burgers.
Images captured on a shooting range somewhere in Lithuania have captured a familiar bullpup 5.56 at play in the snow.
Panzerbrigade 45 “Litauen” recently released a photo essay on social media with troops qualifying in the Baltics, a region of NATO allies that share a tense border with Russia in Northeast Europe.
Seen prominently is the HS Produkt VHS-2 rifle in its full-flavor select fire variant. Over on this side of the pond, the Croatian-made VHS is better known as its NFA-compliant sporting variant, the Springfield Armory Hellion.
Patches seen in the photos point to the troops as belonging to the 565-member 6th Croatian Contingent (6. HRVCON), a battalion of Cold War classic towed 122mm D30 RH M94 (2A18) howitzers, which is part of the NATO Multinational Battlegroup Lithuania (MN BG LTU), an outfit composed of troops from not only Croatia but also Belgium, Czechia, Germany, Norway, and the Netherlands.
The VHS, introduced in 2008, was adopted by the Croatian Army in 2016. In addition to Croatia, the VHS is standard issue to military and police units in a half-dozen countries.
More than 20,000 VHS series rifles are in service in Croatia. (Photos: Croatian Army)
Over here, the Hellion debuted on the commercial market in 2022 and is now available in several variants across numerous barrel lengths and colorways. We reviewed the 16-inch carbine model and found it to be exceptional in testing.
Despite its short length, the Hellion has a 16-inch CMV barrel with a 1:7 twist and a Melonite coating. Its overall length makes it ideal for CQB-style shooting, and the adjustable stock —you just don’t see that on bullpups —makes the gun modular for a wide range of shooters. (Photo: Chris Eger)
Talk about historical twists. Just a couple of weeks away from the 86th anniversary of Unternehmen Weserübung, which saw the RN and Kriegsmarine face off in the Norwegian littoral dozens of times– with each taking a bruising over the nine-week campaign– we have this amazing photo essay released by NATO.
I give you the German Type 212A (U-31 class) SSK– 1. Ubootgeschwader’sU-35 (S 185)— dropping off Royal Marine Commandos in Norway to take part in the appropriately named Exercise Cold Response ’26 via inflatable. The RMs are from Shore Reconnaissance Troop and Special Observers from 148 Battery, both of which are from Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron (SRS), 30 Commando (IX Group).
3rd March – UK Commando Force works with the German Submarine Service during Exercise Cold Response 2026.
3rd March – UK Commando Force works with German U-Boat S185 in Northern Norway.
3rd March – UK Commando Force works with German U-Boat S185 on Winter Deployment 26.
3rd March – UK Commando Force swim from a German U-Boat as it dives below depths during Exercise Cold Response 2026.
3rd March – Shore Reconnaissance Troop approaches a rising Submarine with meticulous timing and positioning. Shore Reconnaissance Troop and Special Observers from 148 Battery, both of which are from Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron (SRS), 30 Commando, worked with German U-Boat 35 S185, a type 212A Submarine, as part of Exercise Cold Response 26.
3rd March – UK Commando Force works with German U-Boat S185. Shore Reconnaissance Troop and Special Observers from 148 Battery, both of which are from Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron (SRS), 30 Commando, worked with German U-Boat 35 S185, a type 212A Submarine, as part of Exercise Cold Response 26.
3rd March – Shore Reconnaissance Team approaches a rising Submarine with meticulous timing and positioning to land on. Shore Reconnaissance Troop and Special Observers from 148 Battery, both of which are from Surveillance and Reconnaissance Squadron (SRS), 30 Commando, worked with German U-Boat 35 S185, a type 212A Submarine, as part of Exercise Cold Response 26.
Though small 1,500-ton, 183-foot boats, the Type 212As can carry a baker’s dozen advanced 21-inch torpedoes and have room for as many as eight Kampfschwimmers, but as seen above, RMs can work in a pinch.
It seems a good time to point out that the Flight I Burke USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) has long flown a beautiful green battle flag with the destroyer’s crest in the center. The crest includes four shamrocks that represent the Irish family and heritage of her namesake, LT William Charles Fitzgerald (USNA 1963), who earned a Navy Cross while serving as senior advisor to Vietnamese Navy Coastal Group Sixteen in 1967. The medal was posthumous.
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) returns to its homeport of Naval Base San Diego following operations in the U.S. 3rd, 5th, and 7th Fleets, Jan. 6, 2026. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Lordin Kelly VIRIN: 260106-N-WN039-1006)
Fitzgerald’s motto is “Protect your people,” that “also links the Fitzgerald’s ancient family history (when their Gallic war cry, ‘Croom a boo‘ meant “Defend the castle forever”) with the gallantry, fearless dedication to duty and extraordinary heroism exhibited by Lieutenant Fitzgerald and the time honored traditions of the United States Naval Service.”
