U.S. Naval Institute

DANVILLE, Va. — Dozens of miles from an interstate or a major airport, a tiny mill town in the Virginia piedmont is the crucible for next-generation manufacturing for the Navy. At the height of the 600-ship Navy shipbuilding boom in the 1980s there were more than 2,000 casting and forging businesses in the U.S. Hundreds of different valves, fittings and other hull parts were made from molten steel and packed into warships as precisely and densely as the gears in a Swiss watch. Forty years later, the forging supplier base is a fraction of its 20th-century peak. The Navy and

The following is the June 16, 2026, Congressional Research Service report U.S.-Panama Relations: Overview and Issues for Congress. From the Report The United States and Panama generally have maintained close relations since Panama’s independence in 1903. Close bilateral ties are largely rooted in the extensive linkages developed between the two countries when the United States controlled the Panama Canal and Panama hosted several U.S. military installations. The United States constructed and operated the Panama Canal for much of the 20th century before transferring its control to Panama, pursuant to two treaties signed in 1977. The two treaties in part sought

Taiwan’s executive branch pitched a $6.6 billion budget last week for the procurement of more than 200,000 domestically-made unmanned systems designed to defend the island’s shores. The proposal will cover up to 208,200 one-way attack drones, 1,446 reconnaissance drones and 1,320 unmanned surface vessels, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense on Friday. A social media post on Sunday from Joseph Wu, the Secretary-General of Taiwan’s National Security Council, claimed that the budget will create an “unmanned shield.” Amid concerns of a potential invasion from China and an increasingly capable People’s Liberation Army, Taipei has turned to unmanned systems to

North Korea commissioned its largest warship to date, the 5,000-ton destroyer Choe Hyon (51), in a ceremony Tuesday in the port city Nampho. The first-in-class Choe Hyon was built at Nampho Shipyard and launched on April 25, 2025. Prior to its commissioning, Choe Hyon conducted a number of sea trials and weapons tests, several of which were overseen by North Korea leader Kim Jong Un. “Today, June 23, 2026, is witnessing the first page being written in a new chapter of our Navy’s history of safeguarding the sacred maritime sovereignty of our state on the strength of invincible warships,” Kim

The following is the June 23, 2026, Congressional Research Service In Focus report, The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) System. From the report The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system is a key element of U.S. ballistic missile defense (BMD). THAAD employs interceptor missiles, using “hit-to-kill” technology. Reportedly, THAAD is capable of engaging targets at ranges of 150–200 kilometers (km). THAAD covers the BMD middle tier and defends a larger area than the Patriot Air and Missile Defense System. It complements the Patriot, the Navy’s AEGIS Missile Defense System, and the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) System. A THAAD

The Littoral Combat Ship USS Indianapolis (LCS-17) suffered an in-port fire on Wednesday while in port at Naval Station Mayport, Fla., USNI News has learned. Seven sailors were taken to area hospitals, treated for minor injuries and released. “All have since been released and cleared to return to the ship that same afternoon. The cause of the incident is being reviewed,” reads a statement from U.S. Naval Surface Force Atlantic to USNI News. The fire began around 11:30 a.m., and the ship’s company and Mayport Fire and Emergency Services responded and extinguished the blaze, according to the statement. Mayport is home

The Air Force wants a family of next-generation long-range missiles to strike targets out to ranges of at least 1,000 nautical miles to support the service’s plans to counter Chinese air and naval forces in a potential conflict. The Air Force Long Range Weapon program plans to field air-to-air and air-to-surface variants to meet Pentagon priorities from China-focused near peer defense planning scenarios, according to an industry day notice released on Wednesday. Both variants should have a minimum range of 1,000 nautical miles to strike “priority air, land and sea targets far and fast.” The release did not specify from

The following is the June 25, 2026, Congressional Research Service In Focus report, Artemis: NASA’s Program to Return Humans to the Moon. From the report Orion and the Space Launch System The Artemis program has evolved from plans initiated in the NASA Authorization Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-267). The act established a statutory goal of “expand[ing] permanent human presence beyond low-Earth orbit” and mandated the development of a crew capsule and a heavy-lift rocket to accomplish that goal. The capsule, now known as Orion, and the rocket, known as the Space Launch System (SLS), have been in development since that

Two U.S. warships and Air Force cargo aircraft are headed to Venezuela to support a U.S. State Department relief mission following two earthquakes on Wednesday. U.S. Southern Command is dispatching USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD-28) and the Littoral Combat Ship USS Billings (LCS-15) in addition to Air Force C-17 Globemaster and C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft, the command said in a statement late Thursday. “These forces will provide specialized mobility services and support to U.S. government personnel, search and rescue teams, and U.S. interagency partners as they assess damage, locate the injured, and deliver critical, life-saving assistance,” reads the statement. “SOUTHCOM will continue

The French Navy boarded and diverted a suspected Russian shadow fleet tanker in the Mediterranean off Sicily, officials announced on Thursday. In a social media post on Thursday, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that the French Navy intercepted tanker MT Deliver on Tuesday as it transited off the coast of Sicily in violation of maritime law The seizure on Tuesday marked France’s fifth seizure of a suspected shadow fleet tanker since September 2025. It’s the second seizure of a Russian shadow ship this month following the U.K.’s seizure of a shadow fleet tanker in the English Channel on Jun. 14.