Free Republic

A stunning military disclosure has confirmed that American naval forces have been executing highly classified, pitch black raids to seize millions of barrels of oil while simultaneously vaporizing an entire fleet of blockade runners under the cover of total darkness. The United States has been secretly conducting massive, highly coordinated maritime operations under the cover of darkness, systematically draining millions of barrels of oil from blockaded shipping lanes. This stunning development was officially disclosed during a high-profile address from the Oval Office, exposing a massive, previously unacknowledged campaign designed to economically cripple the regime. The operation has been running continuously...

A US drone boat conducted a first-of-its-kind rescue mission to save the crew of an American Apache helicopter that crashed near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, the military said. The 24-foot Saronic Corsair autonomous surface vessel, powered by artificial intelligence, located the crew who had been stuck for two hours in the waters off the coast of Oman, the Wall Street Journal reported. The unmanned autonomous vessel, capable of carrying 1,000 pounds and reaching speeds of about 40 mph, quickly transported the pilots to a safe location in the waters, where they were hoisted up by a rescue chopper,...

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the pilots of a United States Army Apache helicopter gunship that went down near the Strait of Hormuz "are fine." Speaking on the runway at John F. Kennedy International Airport before returning to Washington, D.C., Trump said there was "nobody injured," adding that the US will release an incident report later on Tuesday. It was not immediately clear whether the Apache was shot down by Iranian fire, experienced mechanical failure, or encountered some other problem. The New York Times reported earlier on Tuesday, citing two people briefed on the incident. According to...

A US drone boat conducted a first-of-its-kind rescue mission to save the crew of an American Apache helicopter that crashed near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, the military said. The unmanned vessel, powered by artificial intelligence, located the crew who had been stuck for two hours in the waters off the coast of Oman, bringing them to shore, the Wall Street Journal reported. The operation marks the first time a high-tech US Navy drone deployed to the Middle East was used to conduct a rescue mission. The Navy previous deployed a Seahawk medium unmanned surface vessel (MUSV) with an...

WASHINGTON (AP) — After Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth cut nine Navy officers, including all the women, from a promotion list, several female officers say they see the unusual intervention as a sign that their careers now have a ceiling and worry for the future generation of female military leaders.The Navy had selected 31 sailors to promote from the rank of captain to one-star admiral, but Hegseth recently intervened to strike nine people from the list, including three women and two Black men, according to a defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information not permitted to be...

Capt. Wendel Penetrante, Capt. Edwin Catubig and Master Chief Petty Officer Thomas Dean Howell were relieved on Wednesday. No specific reason for their firing has been given. The commanding officer, executive officer and senior enlisted leader of a Navy ship repair facility in Yokosuka, Japan, have been fired, service officials announced on Wednesday. Capt. Wendel Penetrante, Capt. Edwin Catubig and Master Chief Petty Officer Thomas Dean Howell were relieved of their duties on Wednesday as commanding officer, executive officer, and command master chief, respectively, a Navy news release says. They were all assigned to the U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility...

Speculation is mounting over the fate of Brig. Gen. Ali Azmaei, the newly-appointed commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy, following reported US strikes on the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas. The Iran Watcher, a conflict monitoring group, said "unconfirmed reports" suggest Azmaei “may have been targeted and possibly eliminated” during the strikes, though Iranian authorities have not publicly commented on his status. Senior commander Azmaei is regarded as one of the IRGC Navy’s most senior commanders, previously leading the force’s 5th Naval Region, a strategically important command overseeing operations in the Arabian Gulf and the Strait...

The Free and Open Indo-Pacific vision, initially articulated by Prime Minister Abe Shinzō in 2016...includes capacity-building assistance aimed at strengthening governance, maritime security, and navigational safety. FOIP represented a major step forward in Japan’s strategic engagement in the Indo-Pacific region, particularly in Southeast Asia. For example, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force has conducted Indo-Pacific Deployment long-range training missions, mainly in the South China Sea, since 2017. These deployments deliberately incorporate port visits and joint exercises with regional navies, reflecting broader strategic considerations. Over the past decade, China’s maritime law-enforcement capabilities and naval power have expanded significantly, fundamentally transforming the security...

Very interesting video about the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier that sank in 1942 at the Battle of Midway.

The U.S. aircraft carrier USS Nimitz and its strike group have arrived in the Caribbean this week as tensions with Cuba escalate and President Trump has raised the prospect of potential military action against the island, according to initial reporting by The Hill. The Nimitz-class carrier is operating alongside its air wing — including F/A-18E Super Hornets, EA-18G Growlers and C-2A Greyhounds — as well as the USS Gridley, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, and the USNS Patuxent, a Henry J. Kaiser-class replenishment oiler, according to U.S. Southern Command, which oversees military operations in the region. “USS Nimitz has proven its...

The 2025 article marks a significant evolution. It adapts Maoist strategy as a framework for far-seas operations, showing how a weaker force might offset U.S. advantages through asymmetric means. In doing so, it envisions not only countering intervention in a Taiwan conflict, but also protecting China’s global maritime interests. The application of Mao’s doctrine at sea signals ambitions well beyond regional defense—toward a PLAN capable of contesting influence across the world’s oceans.Once in place, these seemingly civilian platforms, operating in coordination with military forces, would be poised to exploit U.S. vulnerabilities in wartime. They would target critical nodes and weak...

A massive undersea firepower gap is looming, and the Navy’s aging Ohio-class submarines may be the only thing standing in its way. A routine fleet review in March 2026 surfaced a number Navy planners are still struggling to absorb. Over the next several years, four aging Ohio-class guided-missile submarines and a dozen Ticonderoga-class cruisers will reach their mandatory retirement dates. When they go, the fleet sheds 2,080 Vertical Launch System cells in one wave.

The service plans to buy 15 Trump-class battleships over 30 years while also expanding its fleet of autonomous medium unmanned surface vessels.The U.S. Navy on Monday unveiled fresh details about its future Trump-class battleship program. For the first time, officials confirmed that the large warship will use nuclear power and act as a heavily armed command ship for future naval operations.This information was included in the Navy’s new 30-year shipbuilding plan. The plan also describes major changes to the fleet, such as adding many autonomous ships, buying new submarines, and retiring older aircraft carriers and submarines.The proposed battleship is expected...

Today, the nation’s primary threat has shifted from the Soviet Union to China, which has an economy, military, and set of ambitions that make it a fundamentally different and more menacing adversary. Within that competition, China’s construction of a fleet and military designed to challenge the U.S. Navy has degraded U.S. command of the sea to its lowest point in 80 years, undermining the transoceanic Navy’s strategic concept and ability to contribute to national policy.A new doctrine is taking shape, the theory of the Panoceanic Navy, shifting away from projecting power ashore and toward reestablishing command of the sea to...

There was some action on Thursday as the U.S. hit some locations around the Strait of Hormuz, according to Fox.A U.S. strike on Iran’s Qeshm Port in the Strait of Hormuz and Bandar Abbas was reported Thursday, with U.S. officials telling Fox News National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin that this was neither a restart of the war nor an end to the ceasefire.The U.S. military also struck Iran's Bandar Kargan naval checkpoint in Minab, officials confirmed. [....]Iran’s state-run Mehr News Agency also reported attacks and exchanges of fire across Iran’s southern Hormozgan province near Bandar Abbas, Bandar Khamir, Sirik and...

Two U.S. Navy destroyers, the USS Truxtun and USS Mason, successfully fought their way through the Strait of Hormuz after repelling a massive coordinated barrage of Iranian missiles, drones, and fast-attack boats. Two U.S. Navy destroyers successfully transited the Strait of Hormuz on Monday despite coming under a heavy, coordinated Iranian assault involving small boats, missiles, and drones, CBS News reported on Tuesday. The USS Truxtun (DDG-103) and USS Mason (DDG-87) entered the Persian Gulf while facing what defense officials described as a “sustained barrage.” The ships were supported by U.S. fighter aircraft and AH-64 Apache helicopters, which helped neutralize...

The Columbia-class submarine program encountered early setbacks. The United States Navy’s effort to build its newest class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines is now expected to reach a key milestone in 2028, according to General Dynamics. The lead vessel, currently under construction, has faced schedule adjustments but is showing signs of steady progress as production challenges are gradually resolved. First submarine was planned for delivery earlier Reports revealed that the first submarine in this class was initially planned for delivery earlier, but complications during construction led to a revised target. Issues involving the supply of critical components, along with delays...

Countries from all over the World, almost all of which are not involved in the Middle Eastern dispute going on so visibly, and violently, for all to see, have asked the United States if we could help free up their Ships, which are locked up in the Strait of Hormuz, on something which they have absolutely nothing to do with — They are merely neutral and innocent bystanders! For the good of Iran, the Middle East, and the United States, we have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of these restricted Waterways, so that they...

Trump appeared to hint at a potential military operation in Cuba after US forces “finish the job” in Iran. The comments come as Washington announced a set of new sanctions targeting the island nation on Friday, which Havana slammed as a form of collective punishment. US President Donald Trump joked on Friday that his country’s Navy would take on Cuba on the way home from Iran. His comments came as he addressed attendees of an event at the non-profit Forum Club of the Palm Beaches, where he was invited as a keynote speaker.

A British diving team located the wreck of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Tampa, which was sunk by a German submarine in 1918 with 131 people aboard, officials said. The British diving team Gasperados discovered the wreck about 50 miles from Newquay, a town on the north coast of Cornwall in the United Kingdom, the Coast Guard said in a press release. The ship participated in Allied Powers operations during World War I before she was lost over a century ago. Diving team leader Steve Mortimer said the discovery is “the result of three years of research and exploration” in...