NAC News – Edition 626 Westmount Wireless Station
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of July 18, 2025
Edition: 626 Westmount Wireless Station Quote: “The critical point for the new Canadian government to take to heart is that the bureaucracy’s privileging of process, finances, reputation and other factors has led to an increased risk of broader mission failure, and to operational risks for the Canadian Forces. Put bluntly, the risk-averse bureaucratization and politicization of defence policy has left Canada undefended, and our under-resourced forces in danger.” Reviving the military is risky political business, but the threats facing Canada are far worse: Martin Green and Christopher Coates in the Globe”, 10 July 2025 (Editor – full article in the Canada section)
Rod Hughes: Editor NAC News rhughes@shaw.ca (Comments welcome to help improve this service.) The content of this bulletin includes articles from entities not subject to the Official Languages Act (OLA). Consequently, these articles may be provided by the institution in only one official language, including the links, as we do not have the copyright to modify or translate them. Links to keep in touch with the NAC and RCN can be found at the bottom of this email. Contact executivedirector@navalassoc.ca if you wish someone to be added to the NAC News email distribution. (Influencer, or good candidates to become a NAC member – note, the first year’s NAC/Branch membership dues are waived)
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NOTICES
26–27 September 2025 The Canadian Maritime Security Network (CMSN) will host a conference on the future Canadian Seapower 2025. Venue – University of Calgary. Today, Canada faces a more complex and dangerous security landscape than at any time since the Second World War. The country is at an inflection point, facing two great power competitors, a complicated ecosystem of malign non-state actors, persistent pressures eroding the rules based international order, and an uncertain partnership with the U.S. To register.
21–22 October 2025 ABCMI’s Business Opportunities Conference & Trade Show at the Vancouver Convention Centre, this flagship event brings together leading companies from across Canada in the marine and defence sectors. See the website for our draft Programme and list of Exhibitors. Tickets are selling quickly; exhibit spaces are sold out.
4 November 2025 7.30 – 18.30 Ottawa time Deep Blue Forum 6th Annual Conference. Theme: The Future of the Submarine Enterprise – People Harnessing Technology, in a System of Systems. The National Arts Centre, 1 Elgin Street, Ottawa Super Early Bird Registration is Open!
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THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLES
Europe’s freedom faces greatest threat since WW2, Macron says and Germany’s Merz tells BBC Europe was free-riding on US
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CANADA
Départ du NCSM St. John’s pour l’opération REASSURANCE & HMCS St. John’s departs for Operation REASSURANCE
CDAI: How the RCN is Preparing for 21st Century Threats: A Conversation with VAdm Angus Topshee (Editor – info filled 28:53 min video interview)
Cenotaph centennial a chance to reflect on shifting narrative of military service (Editor – thoughtful article by long-time NAC member Gerry Pash)
Halifax incident where navy sailor died happened after boat hit unlit buoy: documents
Marine industry association weighs in on shipbuilding growth in B.C. (Editor – first-rate interview with Alex Rueben (NAC member) in a 7:04 min video)
DND to start construction on new F-35 hangars despite review
Canadian Navy: Hammerhead USV hits target in first live explosive test and BOOM ! Une première pour notre marine ! & BOOM! A first for our NAVY! (Editor – a subject mentioned in VAdm Topshee’s video interview above – 1:00 min video)
Shaping the Future of Naval Occupations: RCN Advances Occupation Analysis
Le PEM offre des défis et des possibilités au Mat 3 Gabriel Tremblay & NEP Offers Challenge and Opportunity for S3 Gabriel Tremblay
Canadian Shipbuilder Seaspan Signs Steel MoU for Polar Icebreaker Project
Terma, Sperry Marine Deliver SCANTER Radar for Canadian Naval Vessels
U.S. helicopter maker settles with families of 6 Canadian military members killed in crash
Military asked to consider dismissing members after 1st offence of unwanted sexual touching
Upgrades at Port of Churchill spark ambitions for Arctic exports
LNG Canada Ramps Up Exports as PetroChina Takes First Cargo
St. Lawrence Seaway traffic growth tops 4%
Celebrating the opening of Halifax’s new Marine Container Examination Facility & Célébration de l’ouverture du nouveau Centre d’examen des conteneurs maritimes d’Halifax
Lookout: 14 July 2025 Volume 70 Number 14 (English) (Française)
Trident: Monday 14 July 2025 Volume 59 Issue 14 (Bilingue)
NAC Naval Affairs Canadian Naval Task Groups (Editor – NAC Naval Affairs Papers, Briefing Notes, Niobe Papers, and much more. Please share with anyone you think may benefit from the knowledge, after all, that’s what our naval affairs programme is all about – enlightening Canadians)
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USA & AMERICA
USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: July 14, 2025
Delays in Navy’s next-gen submarine threaten US seapower, report says with Navy Next-Generation Attack Submarine (SSN[X]) Program: Background and Issues for Congress
U.S. Navy Rushes to Fuel USS Abraham Lincoln for Urgent Pacific Deployment
US Navy welcomes first upgraded P-8A Poseidon aircraft from L3Harris (Editor – an easy way to increase CAF defence spending, buy US systems and try to keep up with their upgrades!)
SECDEF to Replace Naval Academy Superintendent with Marine General
US Aims to Ban Chinese Technology in Undersea Telecommunications Cables
Final Independence-variant littoral combat ship delivered
Exclusive Report: U.S. Navy to convert Zumwalt destroyer to hypersonic missile strike vessel with 2027 test planned and U.S. Navy to Convert Zumwalt Destroyer into Hypersonic Missile Strike Vessel (Editor – 6:14 min video)
US Submarine USS Connecticut to Rejoin Pacific Fleet in 2026 to Counter China Threat
The Army and Navy want the ‘right to repair’ their own equipment
Next-gen mUSVs on the horizon as HavocAI and Lockheed Martin forge strategic partnership
Russia’s oceanographic vessel Admiral Vladimirsky calls at Venezuelan port
Report: China Threatens to Block Panama Ports Deal Unless COSCO Gets a Stake
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INDO-PACIFIC
PCG 9701 vessel makes dangerous maneuvers, ‘will trigger China’s strengthened rights protection efforts’: analyst (Editor – note the source)
Taiwan’s New Anti-Ship Supersonic Missiles Are a Game Changer
China’s Arctic involvement ‘highly exaggerated,’ Harvard researchers say
Indian Navy set to bolster Indian Ocean Power with six advanced stealth frigates
U.S., Australia Kick Off Talisman Sabre 2025 with Australia’s largest-ever military exercise under way, Chinese spy ships expected
China deploys Type 815G spy ship Tianwangxing near Philippine coast during arrival of US F-35A jets with Philippine Coast Guard Intercepts Chinese Spy Ship
US, Australia and Japan sign trilateral naval logistics agreement
INS Tamal Commissions in Russia
U.S. to Construct Philippine Fast Boat Base Near South China Sea Flashpoints
US and Japan Strengthen Submarine Coordination in Response to Indo Pacific Tensions
Japan Officially Announces Integration of V-Bat Drones to Counter Regional Maritime Threats
Japan’s ‘largest-ever’ cruise ship, LNG-fueled Asuka III, christened in Yokohama
Pentagon Awards $295M Contract for Guam Defense System Command Center
Indian Navy to commission first indigenous diving support vessel
Ship piracy, robberies rise 83% in Southeast Asia in Jan-June, anti-piracy group says
China’s Shipbuilding Market Share Plummets as U.S. Port Fees Loom (Editor – ouch, “from 72% to 52% in the first half of 2025”)
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EUROPE
Ukraine:
Trump weapons pledge marks major step forward for Ukraine
Ukraine fielding new crop of unmanned boats optimized for river combat
European Commission to Propose Floating Russian Oil Price Cap
North Korea reaffirms support for Russia’s war in Ukraine (Editor – I guess you get the friends you deserve)
How This Canadian Armored Truck Survived a Huge Blast! (Editor – Canada’s Roshel Senator vehicle in a 14:51 min video)
Baltic:
General:
Vice Admiral of the UK: History of honorary title as Queen Camilla is first woman to hold role
NATO’s Missing Merchant Ships (Editor – quote “Thus, sea power will be a fundamental element of any conflict against Russia. It behooves NATO, then, to address the shortcomings now, while there is still time.”)
Rules-based order not working, says British field marshal (Editor – not a maritime article but food for thought)
Repairs on Russia’s Admiral Kuznetsov halted, decommissioning possible
P-8A Poseidon partnerships in the North Atlantic gaining momentum
Russia’s Demographic Collapse: Empty Villages, Vanishing Men, and a Nation in Freefall (Editor – not a naval article, but points to mark throughout the 10:03 min video)
The Mysterious Warship That Everyone Ignored #shorts (Editor – 45 Sec video)
New Storm Shadow and missile cooperation to boost jobs as UK and France reboot defence relationship
Belgian Navy M940 Oostende to enhance mine countermeasure capabilities with delivery in October 2025
Shield AI to Supply V-BAT to the Royal Netherlands Navy
Lithuanian Firm Demos Laser Comms between Naval Vessels
Port of Barcelona Reduces Cruise Terminals to Limit Overtourism
European Ports Slow to Install Shore Power
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MIDDLE EAST
Red Sea:
Report: Israel Asks U.S. to Resume Attacks on Houthis After Ship Losses
‘All Crew Muslim’: Ships Look to Dodge Red Sea Attacks With Messages
Yemeni Forces Seize Record Iranian Arms Shipment Bound for Houthis and Massive Cache of Iranian Weapons Intercepted on Way to Houthis
LNG-fueled BYD Xi’an, one of the world’s biggest car carriers, threads through Suez Canal
General:
Carrier USS Carl Vinson Leaves Middle East, U.S. Reduces Destroyers in Mediterranean
Iranian Naval Forces Still Dispersed at Sea
Syria Signs $800 Million Agreement With DP World To Bolster Ports Infrastructure
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GLOBAL INTERESTS
Seafarer Abandonment Crisis Worsens: Over 2,280 Mariners Stranded in 2025 as ITF Demands Action
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SCUTTLEBUTT
Nothing fun this week.
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THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
19 July 1943 HMCS Huron (Destroyer) is commissioned at Newcastle on the Tyne, England.
20 July 1944 HMCS Matane (frigate) is hit by a German glider bomb off Brest and badly damaged.
23 July 1951 The RCN (Reserve) begins recruiting women for service with the Women’s Royal Canadian Naval Service (the Wrens) for the first time since the Second World War.
24 July 1917 The Military Service Act is passed allowing for conscription of single men.
24 July 1942 HMCS St. Croix, one of the former American destroyers, commanded by LCdr A. Hedley Dobson, DSC, RCNR sank the German submarine U-90 while on patrol in the North Atlantic Ocean. The submarine was sighted on the surface several miles away and was successfully engaged with repeated depth-charging.
SIGNIFICANT RCN DATES – If you see any omissions or errors please inform me, and any more modern significant dates are also welcomed. The list draws primarily from the Directory of History and Heritage’s comprehensive “Significant Dates in Canadian Military History”, the now defunct “Canada Channel”, “Legion Magazine”, The Naval Service of Canada, Its Official History Vol 1-3, NAC member Roger Litwiller’s excellent web site, encyclopedic guidance from NAC member Fraser McKee, the Uboat.net site, and anywhere else I can find credible information. For the merchant ship history, a special thanks to NAC member Bill Dziadyk for his able assistance and detailed work. The RCN lost 1,965 men and 24 ships during the War, most of them in the Atlantic. A comprehensive list of the staggering merchant losses – sunk, damaged, or lost – Canadian Merchant Ship Losses of the Second World War, 1939-1945 by Rob Fisher {Revised June 2001}, and for the loss of individual personnel RCN Ship Histories, Convoy Escort Movements, Casualty Lists 1939-1947)
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