Alas, Simpson, you deserved better

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From Sept. 15 to Oct. 6, UNITAS 2025 saw 26 Allies, 22 surface ships (including ships from as far away as Spain, Japan, and Germany, as well as the first time the Navy of Guatemala has sent a ship), two submarines (including a 209 from Peru), and more than 8,000 personnel.

Iteration LXVI, dubbed “the world’s longest-running annual multinational maritime exercise,” included the Spanish Navy’s Expeditionary Combat Group Dédalo 25-3, centered around the LPD Galacia, conducting a combined amphibious landing near Camp Lejeune with elements of the Mexican, Peruvian, Dominican Republic, and Brazilian navies

As well as a beautiful PhotoEx combined sailing centered around Carrier Strike Group Two (USS Harry S Truman), escorted by a diverse collection of frigates and corvettes from across Latin America.

ATLANTIC OCEAN (Sept. 21, 2025) Multinational ships and aircraft participating in UNITAS 2025 steam in formation off the East Coast of the United States in support of UNITAS 2025, the 66th iteration of the world’s longest-running multinational maritime exercise. UNITAS, Latin for Unity, focuses on enhanced interoperability, building regional partnerships, and brings together approximately 8,000 personnel from 26 allied and partner nations, with multiple ships, submarines, and fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft

ATLANTIC OCEAN (Sept. 21, 2025) Multinational ships and aircraft participating in UNITAS 2025 steam in formation off the East Coast of the United States in support of UNITAS 2025, the 66th iteration of the world’s longest-running multinational maritime exercise. UNITAS, Latin for Unity, focuses on enhanced interoperability, building regional partnerships, and brings together approximately 8,000 personnel from 26 allied and partner nations, with multiple ships, submarines, and fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft

ATLANTIC OCEAN (Sept. 21, 2025) Multinational ships and aircraft participating in UNITAS 2025 steam in formation off the East Coast of the United States in support of UNITAS 2025, the 66th iteration of the world’s longest-running multinational maritime exercise. UNITAS, Latin for Unity, focuses on enhanced interoperability, building regional partnerships, and brings together approximately 8,000 personnel from 26 allied and partner nations, with multiple ships, submarines, and fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft

UNITAS, much like RIMPAC, always includes a few live fire exercises, starting with killer tomatoes and working up to a full-scale SinkEx of a retired naval vessel.

This year saw ex-USS Simpson (FFG-56) sacrificed to the UNITAS SinkEx gods, although five of her older sisters are rusting away on red lead row in Philly.

Other than USS Samuel B. Roberts and Stark, which have already been disposed of, Simpson was perhaps the most famous of her class still afloat.

Commissioned 21 September 1985, Simpson’s first overseas deployment was in the Persian Gulf, where she was on hand for Operation Praying Mantis in 1988, where she fired four SM-1 missiles, which sank the Iranian Kaman-class (La Combattante II type) missile patrol boat Joshan.

In this file photo from Sept. 13, 2014, a rainbow is seen above the guided-missile frigate USS Simpson after an underway replenishment in the Atlantic Ocean. Jorge Delgado/U.S. Navy

Simpson also helped search for the Challenger after the shuttle’s explosion, rescued 22 souls from a sunk oil tanker, was on the “Haitian Vacation” in 1994, and made several repeat trips back to the Middle East. One of her skippers was killed on 9/11 at the Pentagon.

With all that history, it would seem natural that Simpson, the last of her class decommissioned in 2015, would have been ideal for preservation as a museum ship. After all, she was the last Navy warship still in active service to have sunk an enemy vessel besides the USS Constitution.

Instead, she joined at least nine of her classmates at the bottom of the ocean, expended in exercises.

Springfield Armory Hellcat, now in 380

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The Hellcat was already well-liked on the micro-compact market and has been a solid choice for those looking for an EDC gun that splits the Venn Diagram of being both concealable and practical. The 380 version of the gun doubles down on that while providing a more subtle felt recoil impulse without sacrificing reliability or accuracy.

When it comes to rocks, the only thing we can find to throw at the gun is the fact that the short slide, coupled with its stout recoil spring, is a bit tough to rack, especially for those with compromised hand strength. On the upside of that, when mounting an optic, it allows more real estate to perform the task. We racked the pistol probably 100 times in testing from the optic and never felt it loosen or observed it shifting point of aim/impact.

The new Springfield Armory Hellcat in .380 ACP
The standout feature of the Hellcat in 380 is the size. It is a very slim gun, with the slide running 0.85 inches and the widest part of the grip just breaking an inch. Note the loaded chamber indicator. 
The new Springfield Armory Hellcat in .380 ACP
Sans optic and with its flush-fit mag installed, you are looking at a pistol that is right at 4 inches tall, which puts it just under the cutoff for a pocket carry piece. 
The new Springfield Armory Hellcat in .380 ACP
Speaking of magazines, the Hellcat uses stainless steel-bodied mags with rear witness holes and black base pads and followers. 
The new Springfield Armory Hellcat in .380 ACP
You see the 11+1, left, with its pinky extension installed, and the 13+1, right. Note the grip texture extends to the base pads. 
The new Springfield Armory Hellcat in .380 ACP
That allows 12 rounds on tap in one of the most compact .380s on the market. Federal Hydra Shok Deep 99-grain JHP shown. 
The new Springfield Armory Hellcat in .380 ACP
And the ability to EDC with the shorter mag inserted to aid in concealment, with the longer mag easily carried as a backup. 
The new Springfield Armory Hellcat in .380 ACP
The Hellcat .380 has a super short one-slot accessory rail. While it runs just inches long, Streamlight’s flush-fit TLR-6 and TLR-7 Sub are made specifically for the 3-inch Hellcat models, as well is the TLR-8 light/laser combo, so there are options out there. 
The new Springfield Armory Hellcat in .380 ACP
The surface controls are on the left side of the gun for right-handed shooters, including a slide catch, push-button magazine release (which is reversible), and take-down lever that rotates skyward. 
The new Springfield Armory Hellcat in .380 ACP
Disassembly on an unloaded Hellcat is simple via said take-down lever. Note the dual spring guiderod assembly. 
The new Springfield Armory Hellcat in .380 ACP
When it comes to ergos, you have textured memory pads forward of the trigger that are instinctual, as well as short but usable forward slide serrations. 
The new Springfield Armory Hellcat in .380 ACP
The high beavertail and undercut rear trigger guard allow for a corresponding high grip on the Hellcat, just under the slide. This helps mitigate recoil impulse. 
The new Springfield Armory Hellcat in .380 ACP
Only one model of the Hellcat .380 is available at launch, but it has excellent dovetail-mounted steel sights with a tritium/luminescent front and a Tactical Rack U-notch rear. It uses the common Shield RMSc optics pattern, and our test gun shipped with a Shield OMSsc sight installed. A compact and sleek design, the OMSc features a translucent panoramic roof over a T6 6082 aluminum body. It runs a 4 MOA dot with automatic adjustments and boasts a 9,000-hour battery life. 
The new Springfield Armory Hellcat in .380 ACP
The pistol ships in a cardboard box that includes a branded double-zipper case with room for the Hellcat and both of its mags. 

Of course, I have carried a Hellcat Pro for the past few years every day, so I may be a bit biased. But at least I am biased for a good reason.

Leopards in the Mist

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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”).

Columbus Meta

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Happy Columbus Day, folks.

These images seemed to fit, as they are of the third Navy warship to carry the name, the brand new Baltimore-class heavy cruiser USS Columbus (CA-74), at rest on the Hudson some 80 years ago this month, where she was on hand for New York City’s epic Navy Day festivities.

And as we know, NYC is the heart and soul of Columbus Day.

USS Columbus (CA-74) anchored in the Hudson River, off New York City, at the time of the Navy Day Fleet Review, circa late October 1945. A Ford Motor Company facility is in the background. Collection of Warren Beltramini, donated by Beryl Beltramini, 2007. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph. NH 105562

USS Columbus (CA-74) hosing down her starboard anchor cable, while in New York Harbor during the post-World War II Navy Day Fleet Review, circa October 1945. Note the harbor oiler at right. Courtesy of Lieutenant Gustave J. Freret, USN (Retired), 1972. NH 81121

Commissioned at Boston on 8 June 1945, Columbus was too late to get any WWII battle stars then served in the Atlantic and Mediterranean during Korea. She was later converted to a Galveston-class guided missile cruiser, CG-12, and served until 1975, getting 30 solid years in, somehow, without seeing major combat operations.

Her place on the Navy List was taken by the 688i-class hunter-killer USS Columbus (SSN-762), which has been in service since 1993, having bested the old cruiser’s service by two years.

Romulus and Remus: Coming to a SAG near you?

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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.

Happy 250th, Navy

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Circa 1957 “Join modern mobile mighty Navy ” recruiting poster by Joseph Binder. LC-USZC4-3355

Today marks 25 years from 13 October 1775, the day the Continental Congress authorized the outfitting of two armed vessels to intercept British supply ships, marking the official birth of the Continental Navy (although Washington’s Cruisers predated this by seven weeks) and the precursor to the United States Navy.

For those interested, the official graphics are here, while there are printable coloring pages for the kiddies, here.

A Great Idea, Perhaps Horribly Implemented

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As you may have heard, President Trump and Finnish Prime Minister Keir Starmer had a 45-minute public post-NATO joining hug fest at the White House on Thursday. A big result, of importance to us, is an announcement that a wild consortium of folks who should know how to make icebreakers has been selected for the $9 billion design and construction of six Arctic Security Cutters (ASC) for the USCG to a basically existing design.

Eighty percent of the world’s icebreakers are designed in Finland, and 60 percent of them are built there.

The group is made up of Bollinger Shipyards, in partnership with Finland’s Rauma Marine Constructions (Rauma) and Aker Arctic Technology Inc. (Aker Arctic), along with Canada’s Seaspan Shipyards (Seaspan).

At first glance, this should be a good thing as Bollinger has been aces when it comes to making Dutch Damen-designed patrol boats in their Louisiana yards for the USCG going back to the 1980s, including the 110-foot Islands, the 87-foot Marine Protector, and the 158-foot Sentinel classes. In fact, Bollinger has delivered 186 vessels to the Coast Guard– that work– in the past 40 years. However, their three planned 23,000-ton USCG Polar Security Cutter heavy polar icebreakers, inherited when they bought Halter in Mississippi, have been plagued with issues.

Rauma delivered three well-made and successful 10,000-ton multi-purpose icebreakers in the 1990s to Arctia Oy, the state-owned company responsible for operating the Finnish icebreaker fleet. This was followed by the 24,000 icebreaking passenger ferry Aurora Botnia in 2021. Further, they have four Pohjanmaa-class multi-purpose frigates currently under construction for the Finnish Navy that are to be capable of operating in ice.

Aker is a Finnish firm that has spent the past 20 years designing icebreakers to the most modern standards.

Vancouver-based Seaspan has been around since 1970 and has produced dozens of commercial tugs and ferries, and as of late has pulled down several RCN/CCG contracts, including for the 20,000-ton Protecteur class AOEs (based on a successful design used by the German Navy) and the 26,000-ton icebreaker CCGS Arpatuuq. Both of the latter contracts have suffered from considerable delays. Speaking of delays, Seaspan just started sea trials on the ice-capable oceanographic ship CCGS Naalak Nappaaluk whose budget jumped more than tenfold from CAD$109 million to CAD$1.47 billion (not a misprint), has dragged out way past the expected delivery date, and has been under construction for the past 10 years.

The Seaspan-built CCGS Naalak Nappaaluk was ordered in 2015 and only recently began sea trials, at 10X the original budget.

Seaspan has also pulled down the Canadian Coast Guard contract for up to 16 Aker-designed 8,987-ton, 327-foot multi-purpose icebreakers (MPI), which are intended to revitalize the CCG’s fleet. Capable of icebreaking (polar class 4), SAR, sovereignty patrols, fishery patrol, and ATON, the project is estimated to cost $14.2 billion, but the first vessel isn’t to be delivered until 2030.

The Seaspan MPIs for the CCG have a large forward crane and cargo hold with excess deck capacity, a helicopter hangar, two utility craft, and the capability to operate RHIBs. Capable of 16 knots with a diesel-electric suite that allows for a 12,000nm/60-day endurance, they only need a 50-person crew.

The CCG MPIs:

What the USCG is supposed to be getting…

So, the agreement this week is for six Arctic Security Cutters, based on the Seaspan-Aker MPI design for the CCG. The first three vessels will be built simultaneously by Rauma in Finland and Bollinger in the U.S. (likely at the old Halter yard in Mississippi), with production of the remaining three vessels to be built in the U.S., while Seaspan and Aker will assist.

Delivery of the first three vessels is expected within 36 months of the contract award. That means they are expected before the first Canadian-built MPI, which they are based on, will be delivered. Now that is putting a lot of faith in Rauma and Bollinger.

The difference between the CCG MPI and the images of the planned Bollinger-Rauma ASC seems few, with the large crane deleted, an MK 38 Mod 2/3 gun forward, four M2 .50 cals on the bridge wings, and an MH-60T on the helicopter deck.

Keep in mind the forward cargo deck is to be left open to allow for eight 40-foot ISO cargo containers, which could host the Mk 70 Mod 1 Payload Delivery System– the Typhon SMRF— which holds four strike-length VLS launchers on an internal erector. While the ASC doesn’t have the radars and fire control to push a SM-6 (unlessed linked to a DDG/CG), she could theoretically carry a mix of up to 32 vertical launch ASROC (cued by MH60 LAMPS), TLAMs, or anti-ship Tomahawks in such launchers.

That’s interesting.

Of course, I would like a 57mm Mk 110 (or even a 5-incher) forward, and at least a CIWS or Sea-Ram aft, in addition to the Mk 70 possibilities, but that’s just me.

I hope it all works out.

New: Staccato Compact HD C3.6 Pistol (And it’s G19 Mag Compatible)

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Staccato this week took the features from its well-liked HD line and packed them into a more nimble and concealable package– the new HD C3.6.

The “C” in the Staccato HD C3.6 stands for compact, and they ship with 15-round Mec-Gar G19-pattern mags, much like the P4 HD ships with 18-round G17-pattern mags. The new gun also saves a bit of weight, running an alloy (7075-T6 aluminum) rather than a steel frame.

Other than that, you have the same HD features, such as ambi controls, Staccato’s HD HOST optic mounting system with decent backup sights, a crisp 4.5-pound single-action-only trigger, and a drop-safe active firing-pin block.

the Staccato HD C3.6
With an overall length of just over 7 inches due to its 3.6-inch bull barrel, coupled with its shorter grip, which gives it a 4.8-inch height, the new HD C3.6 is billed as easier to carry and bring into more spaces for more users. (Photos: Staccato)
the Staccato HD C3.6
Weight of the standard base model Staccato HD C3.6 with its alloy frame is 24 ounces unloaded. Compare this to the 32-ounce base weight of the only slightly larger P4 HD, and you realize a half-pound weight savings while offering much the same performance.
the Staccato HD C3.6
Note the 3.6-inch bull barrel and forward-set rear sight, which practically guarantees a lower-third co-witness with optics. Staccato will be offering these in both a more basic Ameriglo blacked-out front sight variant or one with a Trijicon tritium front.

“We built the HD line to deliver the most technologically advanced and thoroughly tested version of the 2011 platform to date,” said Paul Smith, VP of Product for Staccato. “After introducing full-sized models earlier this year, we set out to create a compact option that preserves duty-grade performance while expanding carrying options and user confidence. The HD C3.6 is the result.”

Staccato plans to offer the HD C3.6 series in three different grades, starting at $2,299. Because Staccato.

So long, Mighty U

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Some 80 years ago today, one of the longest-serving yet oft-forgotten vessels in American maritime service was finally retired.

On 10 October 1945, the 190-foot Miami-class cruising cutter Unalga (WPG-53) was decommissioned, capping 33 years of unbroken service that began in 1912 with the old Revenue Cutter Service.

Serving with the Navy directly during the Great War, she went back to walking the beat and rejoined the Navy for WWII, first in conducting antisubmarine patrols under the auspices of the Commandant, 10th Naval District, then as a floating target ship for the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Training Center in Melville, Rhode Island.

Former crewman Merle L. Harbourt, in a 15 May 1992 letter to the USCG Historian’s Office, wrote about Unalga during the cutter’s second world war:

She never sank a submarine nor shot down a plane, but there is one old ship that I served in that should get some mention simply because she survived. The former Revenue Cutter Unalga, or ‘Mighty U’ as she was not too affectionately referred to by her crew, is a case study in unpreparedness.

As memory serves, the Unalga was commissioned in 1912 as a vessel of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service. I joined her in June of 1941 when she was home ported in San Juan, P.R. She was powered by a four-cylinder triple expansion reciprocating steam engine, which Lt. L. M. Thayer (later to be RADM Thayer), our engineering officer, was intent upon her maintenance since she was forever snapping piston rings.

Shortly before the outbreak of WWII, we painted her gray and limbered up our armament, one three-inch twenty-three caliber mount on the fore deck. We were tied up in San Juan, at the still-existing buoy depot, when December 7th became a day of infamy.

We served as Harbor Entrance Control Vessel for San Juan for a period and then were pressed into service to haul aviation gasoline from Puerto Rico (Ponce) to Charlotte Amalie, Virgin Islands, in 55-gallon drums stacked all over the main deck, to provide fuel for the Marine air station. The small tanker that had formerly provided that service was shelled and sunk by a sub earlier. Later, without the benefit of radar or sonar, we assisted in the escort of ships between Trinidad and Cuba, convoys that sometimes got away from us during darkness or heavy rains.

My humorous tales of life on that old ship are endless. Like the time when we thought we might be facing a German Q boat, or raider, and .30 caliber rifles were issued to a few crewmembers. And us with one snub-nose three-inch cannon! Or the time when, after sonar installation, we thought we had a sub contact, dropped a pattern of depth charges, and the main engine stopped. The vacuum had been lost. If we were in the vicinity of a sub, he probably thought we wouldn’t make it back to port anyway and didn’t waste a fish.”

She wasn’t quite finished, though.

Sold on 19 July 1946 for her value as floating scrap, she was renamed Ulua and then participated in the immigration of Jewish refugees to Palestine, past the British naval blockade.

Blockade-runner Ulua (former Unalga) tied up pier side at Marseille, France, December 1946

Indian Balalaikas

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First acquired in March 1963, the MiG-21 (NATO: Fishbed), a legendary fighter and the first supersonic aircraft in the IAF inventory, has flown its last flight under the green, white, and red Indian roundel.

The final flight came from the Panthers of the 23rd Squadron at Chandigarh Air Force Station on 26 September 2025. Keep in mind, these were not training aircraft and were on airstrip alert up until the past few weeks.

A 62-year run for any combat aircraft isn’t bad.

A hero of the 1971 War, where they engaged Pakistani F-104 Starfighters in supersonic dogfights, securing India’s first jet-on-jet kills (earning a claimed 13:1 kill ratio), the MiG-21 was upgraded over the years to undertake multiple combat roles, including ground attack.

India was the largest non-Soviet operator of MiG-21s and the largest maker outside of the Motherland. Of the 11,496 MiG-21s produced, at least 840 of those (MiG-21FL, MiG-21M, and MiG-21bis variants) were built domestically in India by HAL, while another 400 were purchased directly from the Russians.

With the retirement of the “Balalaika” from IAF service, which ended production in 1986, only about 150 of the type remain in token use by Angola, Cuba, Mali, Mozambique, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, and you can bet few of those are airworthy.

About 400 Chinese Chengdu J-7 (NATO: Fishpot) knock-offs, which remained in production until 2013, are in service as well, primarily with the Norks.

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