NAC News – Edition K678 HMCS Runnymede
Your weekly national and international naval news for the week of July 31, 2026
Edition K678 HMCS Runnymede (River Class Frigate) Quote: “The Russian Navy is forming unmanned systems regiments, likely in part to protect Russian vessels from intensified Ukrainian strikes against Russian naval assets in the Black and Azov seas. Russian Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Alexander Moiseyev stated on July 26 that the Russian Navy formed its first unmanned systems regiment within the Northern Fleet on July 1, 2026, and plans to form additional unmanned systems regiments within the Northern Fleet in 2026 and incorporate a similar structure within the Russian Pacific Fleet in 2027. Moiseyev claimed that the Russian Navy has commissioned 20 ships, vessels, and boats and plans to commission an additional 21 ships into the Russian Navy by the end of 2026, including the first nuclear-powered submarine armed with the Zirkon hypersonic missile system. Russia began forming a dedicated Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) in 2024, whose elements are currently operating on the frontlines in Ukraine, in an effort to centralize drone operations.” ISW, Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, Researchers Tetiana Trach, Anna Thacker, Arielle Sher, Jennie Olmsted, and Karolina Hird, 26 July 2026
Editor NAC News: Rod Hughes (Comments welcome to help improve this service.)
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NOTICES
19 October 2026 ABCDMI Seaspan Industry Engagement Day Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver, BC
20 – 21 October 2026 ABCDMI Business Opportunities Conference & Trade Show, Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver, BC
NEW 27 October 2026 07:30-18:00 (Ottawa time) at the National Arts Centre, Ottawa. Vanguard’s Deep Blue 2026: Registration is open. With the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project advancing, attention is turning to procurement, sustainment, infrastructure, training and Canadian industrial participation.
THIS WEEK’S SIGNIFICANT ARTICLE
Ukrainian Strikes Prompt Cancelation of Russian Navy’s Fleet Review with Russia’s Northern Fleet celebrates Navy Day against backdrop of drone threats
CANADA
Editor – NAC and the RCN has lost one of its finest supporters, and an NAC Life-time member with the passing of Captain (RCN) (Retired) William H. “Captain Bill” Wilson in Calgary on 27 July 2026 at the age of 101. Bill was a Bronze (1971) and Gold (1981) NAC Medallion recipient, and a Admiral’s Medal recipient in in 2008. His obit has not yet been published but the Naval Museum of Alberta highlighted these wonderful tributes: Alberta Award of Excellence, Bill Wilson, D-Day veteran and Calgary war museum-procurement mastermind, turns 100, and the Naval Museum of Alberta’s DDay Bill Wilson (6:19 min video). Bill will be remembered fondly and missed deeply.
Newly published NAC Starshell Special Edition: Canada in Alliance – Maritime Security in a Changing World
Les ministres des Anciens Combattants et de la Défense nationale rendent hommage aux vétérans de la guerre de Corée à l’occasion de la Journée des anciens combattants de la guerre de Corée (Editor – D’ailleurs, trois contre-torpilleurs de la Marine royale canadienne furent déployés au mois de juillet 1950; il s’agit des premiers des huit navires de guerre canadiens qui participeraient aux combats dans les eaux coréennes durant le conflit) & Ministers of Veterans Affairs and National Defence honour Korean War Veterans on Korean War Veterans Day (Editor – Three Royal Canadian Navy destroyers were deployed to in July 1950, the first of what would be a total of eight Canadian warships to serve in the waters off Korea during the course of the conflict.)
Freedom of the seas: Today’s conflicts jeopardize the Battle of the Atlantic’s legacy
CDAI: Why Canada Needs More Ships | RIMPAC 2026 (Editor – 31:35 min podcast)
Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy Hits Its First Financing Milestones
Canadian submarine torpedoes retired U.S. warship in multinational exercise (Editor – thanks NAC member Phil Dana for pointing this RIMPAC one out)
Why Canada & Poland Bet Billions on the A26 & 212CD Stealth Subs (Editor – 13:25 min video)
Defence Drone Initiative & Initiative liée aux drones de la Défense
Canada remains anti-nuke, but its potential path to the bomb is getting shorter
Canada’s Icebreaking Fleet is Getting Larger (Editor – 15:14 min video)
Transformation sacrée : l’évolution du Service de l’aumônerie du Canada & Sacred shifts: The evolution of Canada’s Chaplain Service
A tour of the historic HMCS Sackville (Editor – great CTV News 4:11 min video)
CAF Opens 2026–2027 Voluntary Occupation Transfer Campaign for Untrained Members
Prospects for Joint Upgrades of the St. Lawrence Seaway
Cooking a BARRACUDA for a naval reception!? (Editor – amusing RCN 3:15 min video)
Roberts Bank bulk liquid ban raises questions for pipeline proposal
Le Canada favorise l’exportation d’énergie à l’échelle mondiale grâce à la signature d’un deuxième accord européen sur le gaz naturel liquéfié & Canada advances global energy exports by signing second European LNG deal
Canada: Allseas to install critical subsea section of remote natural gas pipeline
Lookout: 13 July 2026 Volume 71, Issue 14 & 13 juillet volume 71, numéro 14
Trident: Monday 27 July 2026 Volume 60, Issue 15 & La version française n’est pas disponible pour des raisons techniques.
NAC Naval Affairs: Niobe Papers, No. 1 An Array of Blunders – The Northern Watch Technology Demonstration Project Editor – NAC Naval Affairs Papers, Briefing Notes, Niobe Papers, and much more. Please share with people you think may benefit from the knowledge, after all, that’s what your naval affairs programme is all about; enlightening Canadians about maritime affairs and the need for the RCN.
ARCTIC, 7 marginal seas and Canada’s archipelago
Russia unfolds large-scale naval exercise near Norwegian border
Russian shipbuilders float out latest Project Yasen-M nuclear-powered submarine
Russia building icebreaker to navigate ice over 3 meters thick, Putin says
EU blacklists more Russian Arctic vessels
U.K., Spanish Navy Forces Wrap NATO’s Latest Neptune Strike Exercise
Why A Nation With No Ice is Building Icebreakers (Editor – China in a 8:07 min video)
Fishing for trouble: The fishery and Russia’s quest for Arctic maritime power
PanStar Prepares for South Korea’s First Arctic Container Voyage to Europe
Russia Sends First Conventional LNG Carrier to Arctic LNG 2 as Oil Tankers Gather for NSR Push
USA & AMERICAS and the Caribbean Sea
USNI News Fleet and Marine Tracker: July 27, 2026
Did Trump fire too many missiles at Iran? | About That (Editor – CBC 2:55 min video)
Navy Awards $76.6B for 9 Virginia, 5 Columbia Subs to General Dynamics, HII
U.S. Navy Orders Low-cost Missiles to Expand Fleet, Allied Long-Range Maritime Strike Capabilities
C-2A Greyhound’s Six Decades Of Service Ends With Landing At NAS Pensacola
US Navy’s nuclear battleship plan raises questions for carriers, submarines and AUKUS
HII Expands Distributed Shipbuilding to Amphibious Ships
Korea–U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center Launches to Advance $150 Billion MASGA Initiative
Final Bill for Inactivating, Scrapping Carrier Enterprise Now at $1.3B
Littoral combat ship USS Fort Worth decommissioned in San Diego
INDO-PACIFIC
Pacific Ocean and 22+ marginal seas:
USNI News Western Pacific Pulse: July 24, 2026
China Integrates YJ-20 Hypersonic Missile Across Its Most Numerous Modern Type 052D Destroyer Fleet
Chinese test alters maritime geometry
George Washington CSG in the South China Sea After Philippine-Chinese Clashes then USS George Washington Arrives in Da Nang, First Carrier Visit to Vietnam since 2023
Japan Conducts First Tomahawk Live-Fire Aboard JS Chokai
US posts photo of coastguard working with Taiwan after Beijing starts patrols
Joint Russian, Chinese Navy Patrol Sails Near Japan then China, Russia wrap up joint maritime patrol as experts highlight growing capability to operate through strategic waterways and individually Russia’s Rezky Corvette returns to Primorye Region after nearly six-month deployment
First forward-deployed Virginia-class sub completes Pacific mission
Exclusive: Chinese PLA Navy corrects Japan’s false ‘Navy’ rhetoric
China conducts first satellite sea-launch
US Navy deploys GARC uncrewed surface vessel in first live-fire training exercise
China’s Type 076 amphibious assault ship Sichuan in final tests with drone catapult
China’s Coast Guard Receives First Z-20F Helicopters to Hunt U.S. Navy Attack Submarines with China’s state broadcaster showcases Z-20 family, displaying expanding tri-service versatility; platform suits military and law-enforcement roles (Editor – not surprising given its virtual cloning from the US S-70 Black Hawk)
AUKUS Pillar One will be won or lost on workforce
U.S. Marine Corps Receives Final MV-22B Osprey, Completing Program Of Record
More than 35 Experiments Test Unmanned Systems, Emerging Technologies During RIMPAC
Taiwan Navy Commissions First Batch 2 Tuo Chiang-Class Corvette
Royal Navy tests seabed defence tech with AUKUS allies
Singapore Navy launches second multi-role combat vessel (Editor – 3:37 min video)
Uncrewed and untested: The wrong lessons for a hybrid navy
17 Missing After Vietnamese Vessel Sinks In South China Sea
More than 700,000 evacuated as Typhoon Noul makes landfall in southern China
Australia to invest further $3.2bn in Osborne AUKUS submarine shipyard
Indian Ocean and 4 major marginal seas:
India aims for a 200-ship navy to counter China and Pakistan
German Ambassador: submarine deal with India could be signed next month
EU naval mission will now intercept Russian shadow tankers in the Indian Ocean
Australia Selects Leidos Gibbs & Cox for AUKUS Dry Dock Design that will Leidos to Build Emergency Repair Bay for Australia’s Virginia Submarines
EUROPE
Black, Azov, and Caspian Seas:
Riverine Navy in Ukrainian Realities and older article Ukrainian Navy Secures Dnipro with US-Made RAB Riverine Boats
Vessel Sinks A Week After Being Struck By Russian Fire
Ukrainian Drones Spark Fires At Russian Oil Refinery And Platform with Ukraine reports successful retaliatory drone strike on Russian warship in Caspian Sea
Russia Proposes Arming Grain Ships in Azov Sea
Russia Strikes Additional Vessels Transporting Weapons to Ukraine
Two Missing in Russian Attack on Freighter on the Danube
Baltic Sea:
Poland’s A26 Submarine Deal: Details on Weapons Package, Interim Boat, and Delivery Schedule
Mediterranean Sea and its 15 marginal seas:
‘Absolute chaos’ as thousands of Moroccan migrants breach Spain’s Ceuta border with About 60,000 migrants arrive in Ceuta in 24 hours, Spanish territory’s leader says and At least 57 migrants dead after thousands breach border into Spain’s Ceuta enclave
Israeli commission sets hearings over naval vessel purchases with alleged “systemic failings”
Rafael completes 1,000th TYPHOON system delivery for global navies
General:
NATO chief is doing damage control with Trump | About That (Editor- CBC 2:52 min video)
New Dreadnought funding tranche underlines Burnham’s commitment to Trident
Minehunting teams embark warships ahead of global tasks
Germany Evaluates Joint Strike Missile for P-8A Poseidon to Restore Long-Range Anti-Ship Capability
Türkiye launches sixth Istanbul-class frigate TCG Karadeniz at Sedef Shipyard
EU Targets Russian Shadow Fleet, Banks and Crypto in Sweeping 21st Sanctions Package
Securing the undersea frontier
TKMS and Navantia join hands on submarine projects (Editor – this could be huge)
MIDDLE EAST
Iran’s War With Israel and the United States (Editor – useful summary)
Saudi Arabia joins US in strikes on Iran-backed militias in Iraq
Saudi Arabia Unveils Plans for Multinational Red Sea Maritime Security Coalition
Middle East War Expands With Reported Drone Attack on U.S.-Owned FSRU in Egypt details Two LNG Carriers Hit in Apparent Drone Attack on Egypt’s Port of Damietta
‘Goodbye, Engine Room’: Trump Floods Truth Social With AI Images of Captured and Exploding Iranian Tankers (Editor – this is bizarre) with No matter what happens tonight, Trump is bluffing | About That (Editor – CBC observation in a 2:32 min video)
U.S., Iran pause attacks for 2nd straight day with US Holds Fire Against Iran as Reports Emerge of Stockpile Concerns and Defense strategy expert reviews how the Iran War drains vital U.S. missile inventories
Iran Says It Still Controls Hormuz After Trump Halts Bombing (Editor – getting hard to keep the on-again off-again aspects straight)
Houthis Claim Fourth Attack on Saudi Tanker as Red Sea Blockade Intensifies with Houthis Pushing to Model Iran’s Hormuz Control in Red Sea that would have Yemen’s Houthis Considering Fees for Ships Sailing Through Red Sea, Sources Say
London Insurers Widen Red Sea High-Risk Zone After Houthi Attacks
With no Iran war end in sight, Germany pulls back two navy ships eyed for Hormuz mission
Oil tanker explodes after hitting naval mine in Hormuz, Iranian media reports (Editor – keeping the perceived threat of mines real or otherwise greatly benefits Iran)
India Flags Attack on LPG Tanker in Iran Waters, Says Crew Safe
Yemen’s Houthis fire missiles, drones at Saudi Arabia
Hormuz Tanker Crossings Slip to Lowest in More Than Two Months, Data Shows
Iraq To Sign Agreement With Syria On Building Of Oil Pipelines
GLOBAL INTERESTS
Freedom of the Sea is Not Free: How War in Strait of Hormuz, Bab el-Mandeb, and Black Sea Overlap (Editor – 18:34 min video)
Shipping Industry Urges Protection for Civilian Seafarers as Global Maritime Threats Escalate
Something is jamming GPS over Europe. Here’s what we found (Editor – fascinating with significant implications in a 34:16 min video)
Morocco Buys Dutch Drone Boats for Submarine Defense and Minehunting
Grains Markets Hit New Highs on Black Sea Attacks, Crude Oil Rally
Tanker Exits Red Sea Dark as China Ship Heads Toward Strait
SCUTTLEBUTT
Torpedoes in WW2 – Why did submarines fire from close range? (Editor – 26:35 min video)
Why a U-Boat is 5 Stories Underground in Chicago (Editor – 12:50 min video)
Why Dönitz Couldn’t Explain Who Kept Inventing The Tactics That Killed His U-Boats (Editor – Note first destroyer image is H60 HMCS Ottawa 25:52 min video)
The ‘Obsolete’ British Missile That Could Shoot Down An Artillery Shell (Editor – 15:55 min video)
How the Navy Hears Subs 3,000 Miles Away. (It’s Genius) (Editor – 18:09 min video)
How Submarines Became Impossible to Find (Editor – 10:01 min video)
THIS WEEK IN RCN/MARITIME HISTORY
1 August 1959 The RCN was presented with Queens Colours by Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth II in Halifax.
1 August 2000 A Sea King deploys from HMCS Athabaskan to seize control of GTS Katie, a transport ship loaded with Canadian military equipment returning from Kosovo. The ship had refused to enter Canadian waters because of a dispute with a contractor.
2 August 1943 A Hampden twin-engine medium bomber from RCAF Squadron 415 while on patrol sank U-706 in the North Atlantic. The sinking is shared with a USAF B-24 Liberator heavy bomber.
2 August 1951 HMCS Athabaskan sailed for its second tour in Korean waters.
2 August 1990 Gulf War begins in the Middle East; Canadians later take part in the conflict.
4 August 1910 The Rainbow was commissioned as an H.M.C. ship at Portsmouth as the first warship in the RCN. She was manned by a nucleus crew supplied by the Royal Navy and the Royal Fleet Reserve. The Rainbow was a light cruiser of the Apollo class, and the Canadian Government paid £50,000 for her and assigned her to the west coast. She sailed from Portsmouth, England and after a 15,000-mile voyage arrived in Esquimalt 2 November 1910.
4 August 1914 War is declared between Great Britain and Germany. Canada is automatically at war with Germany as well. HMC ships placed under Admiralty operational control.
4 August 1943 A Sunderland flying boat from RCAF Squadron 423 commanded by Flying Officer A.A. Bishop sank U-489 west of the Faroes. Sunderland was shot down by return fire from U489, five of the eleven crew were killed. The other six, all wounded were rescued by a destroyer along with 23 survivors from U489.
5 August 1914 Two submarines, later designated CC-1 and CC-2 were purchased for the RCN by the Premier of British Columbia. Built in Seattle and originally intended for the Chilean navy they were clandestinely transferred to Canada and commissioned into the RCN 7 August.
5 August 1944 HMCS Iroquois commanded by Cdr James C. Hibbard, DSC, RCN, with HMCS Haida commanded by Cdr Harry G. DeWolf, DSO, RCN, and other allied forces, sank German minesweepers M-263 and M-486 south-southwest of Saint-Nazaire, France.
6 August 1942 RCN destroyer HMCS Assiniboine commanded by A/LCDR John H. Stubbs, DSO, RCN, pursues and rams German submarine U-210 in the fog, finally sinking her with a 4.7 inch shell. While Assiniboine was maneuvering to ram the U-Boat A/CPO RCNVR Max Bernays, Assiniboine’s Coxswain ordered his telegraph operators who were giving orders to the engine room to leave, as the fire began to surround the wheelhouse. Bernays manned the helm and did the work of the two telegraph operators while the CO gave orders to ram U-210. As the gun battle grew in intensity Assiniboine rammed U-210 abaft of her conning tower, crippling the submarine. 38 of the 48 German crew were rescued. Assiniboine’s losses were minimal, with one killed and 13 wounded. Bernays, although nominated for the Victoria Cross, was awarded the Conspicuous Gallantry Medal for his heroic actions. HMCS Max Bernays is named in his honour.
6 August 1944 On 5 August 1944, a force comprising the cruiser Bellona and the destroyers Tartar, Ashanti, Haida and Iroquois engaged and sank the German minesweepers M 263 and M 486, and the patrol boat V 414, coastal launch Otto from a German convoy north of Île d’Yeu. Iroquois was responsible for the sinking of two of the vessels. On 14 August, Iroquois joined the destroyer Ursa and cruiser Mauritius to attack a German force off Les Sables d’Olonne and sank Sperrbrecher 157; they also badly damaged M 275 and ran M 385aground. On 22–23 August, Mauritius, Ursa, and Iroquois sank V 702, V 717, V 720, V 729, and V 730 off Audierne.
7 August 1970 HMCS Preserver (II) commissioned into the RCN. She served successfully for decades before being paid off on 21 October 2016 at Halifax.
7 August 1975 Pierre Trudeau announces that Canada will seek agreement to set up 370 km (200-mile) economic coastal zone.
Significant RCN Dates – If you notice any omissions or errors please inform me. Pointing out any more modern significant dates is encouraged. 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. Recently “Guardians of the North” written by NAC members Rich Gimblett & Karl Gagnon. 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) Last and far from least Garry Weir’s For Prosperity’s Sake RCN historical project site.
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