U.S. Naval Institute

The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps recently deployed the sea service’s long-range Containerized Launching System and Strike Master Coastal Defense System to Norway as part of Operation Atlantic City 26 and NATO’s Arctic Sentry enhanced Vigilance Activity. The expeditionary long-range fire systems were deployed to Norwegian city Trondheim and remote island Jan Mayen in the High North, for drills that ran from Aug. 26-Sept. 4. Imagery released by the Pentagon shows a Containerized Launching System being loaded onto a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft on Aug. 25 and offloaded Aug. 27 at Trondheim, Norway, to participate in

U.S. forces with Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere struck a go-fast vessel in the Caribbean, killing three people, U.S. Southern Command announced late Wednesday. The Wednesday strike, the first in September, comes as Marines and sailors have been interdicting floating refueling stations in the Eastern Pacific that are allegedly linked to Los Choneros organized crime syndicate as part of the task force. SOUTHCOM has not said why it interdicts the refueling stations but strikes boats allegedly ferrying illicit narcotics. At least 230 people have been killed in strikes on the alleged drug boats. It has been one year since the

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – China’s posture at Scarborough Shoal is shifting to better counter Philippine forces at the disputed South China Sea hotspot, according to recent drills. Known to the Philippines as Bajo de Masinloc and to China as Huangyan Dao, Scarborough has become the site of a near daily military standoff between Manila and Beijing in recent years. Designated “Combat Patrol – Huangyan Dao,” the People’s Liberation Army Southern Theater Command’s has forward-deployed new light combat aircraft and advanced air defense frigates to the South China Sea hot spot. This move comes as Philippine forces work to counter the de

The following is a summary of major ship movements and exercises in the Western Pacific over the last week. In the South China Sea Aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), cruiser USS Robert Smalls (CG-62), destroyer USS Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG-121) are operating in the South China Sea following their departure from Thailand on Sunday after completing a port visit. At Lumut Naval Base, Malaysia Indian Navy destroyer INS Mysore (D60) arrived Wednesday at Royal Malaysian Navy Lumut Naval Base to join RMN corvette KD Lekir (FSG26) and training ship KD Gagah Samudera (271) for exercise Samudra Laksamana 4/26.

The Houthis in Yemen have seized Perim Island, a parcel of land that lies in the Red Sea in an amphibious assault, giving the Iranian-backed group a strategic foothold over the Bab el-Mandeb. The Houthis’ push this week – first taking Mocha on the Red Sea’s North Coast, then Perim Island – coincides with escalating tensions between Iran and the U.S., with Washington establishing that for any warship to come under attack, it will strike an Iranian tanker. It is not immediately clear what the Houthis’ movement will mean for the ongoing U.S.-Iran war. The Yemini group shut down shipping

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Washington is funding a project that will expand the maintenance and repair capability of a shipyard in the Philippines frequently used by U.S. Navy warships. The Subic Drydock Corporation, an American-owned firm operating out of the former U.S. naval station, revealed a partnership with the U.S. Trade and Development Agency last week in Manila during the Luzon Economic Corridor Investment Forum. According to a statement from the shipyard, the project involves a $1.4 million feasibility study for the expansion of the firm’s existing facilities at Subic Bay. The plan will involve expanding the yard’s approach pier by

North Korea fired short-range ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and attack drones at an island in the Sea of Japan on Sunday as part of a “firepower attack drill,” state media reported. Subunits from five artillery and missile joint units participated in the drill, which involved new combat systems such as attack drones of various kinds, a tactical cruise missile, a large-caliber thermal-pressure multiple rocket launcher and a tactical ballistic missile, Korean Central News Agency reported on Monday. The drill occurred one day after the U.S., South Korea and Japan concluded multi-domain trilateral exercise Freedom Edge in the Western Pacific near

These are the approximate positions of the U.S. Navy’s deployed carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups throughout the world as of Sept. 14, 2026, based on Navy and public data. In cases in which a CSG or ARG is conducting disaggregated operations, the chart reflects the location of the capital ship. Total Battle Force Deployed Underway 290 (USS 232, USNS 58) 103 (USS 73, USNS 30) (39 FDNF, 64 Rotational) 79 (60 Deployed, 19 Local) In Japan USS Tripoli (LHA-7) is in port in Sasebo, Japan. In the South China Sea The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is in the South

Fighting between the Houthis and Yemen’s National Government continued over the weekend after the Iranian-backed rebel group captured strategic points on the Red Sea. The Houthis captured Mocha, Yemen, and Perim Island late last week, giving them a new stronghold on the Red Sea, particularly the Bab el-Mandeb, one of the three Middle East chokepoints for shipping. While the Houthis have been able to hit ships since 2023, when the group launched a campaign against U.S. and Israeli-associated shipping in support of Palestine, the islands now provide the Houthis with the ability to see ships, Campbell University professor Sal Mercogliano

The following is the Sept. 8, 2026, Congressional Research Service report, “The Army’s XM-30 Mechanized Infantry Combat Vehicle.” From the Report The Army’s XM-30, previously known as the Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV), is being designed to replace the M-2 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV). Optionally manned means the OMFV is to have the capability to conduct remotely controlled operations while a crew is not in the vehicle. The M-2 Bradley, which has been in service since 1981, transports infantry on the battlefield, provides fire support to dismounted troops, and can destroy enemy fighting vehicles. Updated numerous times since its