Royal United Services Institute of Nova Scotia

08/30/2026

Marine Corps Lab Accepts Surface Craft Prototype
https://news.usni.org/2026/08/25/marine-corps-lab-accepts-surface-craft-prototype

"Ancillary Surface Craft are designed to provide transportation of personnel and supplies to shallow-gradient, unimproved and unsurveyed shorelines."

New term to some of us old salts, "Ancillary Surface Craft", especially 'ancillary' in lieu of 'auxiliary'. Not a type of vessel in the NATO standard. Its use could have written this off as incorrect reporting or a project title, but there is "ASC 1" painted on the vessel's bow (of course, that could be taken as Auxiliary Surface Craft). It is a US Marine Corps vessel so the expectation would have been that Marines would use the NATO standard as followed by the US Navy (not that the USN follows it closely, viz LCS Littoral Combat Ship, another type not in the standard). Might there be an Australian influence?

Ancillary (= providing necessary extra help, support, or supplies to a main system, organization, or activity) is actually an appropriate term: "The ASC is intended to complement the larger Medium Landing Ship. The ASC is sized and configured with a very shallow draft to deliver logistical support to landing sites beyond the reach of larger vessels, according to the release. Taken together, the LSM and ASC give a Stand-in Force a route from an intermediate staging base to the beach without dependence on ports, piers or causeways."

So, ais this the beginning of development of a new term/concept in ship typing? Certainly the old typing is getting increasingly lacking, what with growth in ship sizes and capabilities, and with drones entering operational service.

The Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory recently accepted the first of two Ancillary Surface Craft prototypes, according to a news release published last week. Ancillary Surface Craft are designed to provide transportation of personnel and supplies to shallow-gradient, unimproved and unsurveyed shor...

08/28/2026

How Quickly Can the DOD Rebuild and Recast the Munitions Industrial Base?
https://www.csis.org/analysis/how-quickly-can-dod-rebuild-and-recast-munitions-industrial-base

"The wars in Iran and Ukraine have shown how the growing importance of air and missile defense, the accelerating pace of combat, and the risk of simultaneous, protracted conflicts across multiple regions can each strain the munitions industrial base."

A US-focused article, and certainly the 'keys' it lists are US, but there are thoughts for those involved in the Canadian munitions industrial base to consider.

Further:
There’s no shortcut to replenish US munitions stockpiles
https://www.defenseone.com/business/2026/08/theres-no-shortcut-replenish-us-munitions-stockpiles/415558/
and (for something Canadian):
New Brunswick site picked for new Canadian explosives factory as NATO demand grows
(Editor: Meta deletes posts such as this with a link to CBC as a news site so the URL has been removed.)

08/28/2026

How Quickly Can the DOD Rebuild and Recast the Munitions Industrial Base?
https://www.csis.org/analysis/how-quickly-can-dod-rebuild-and-recast-munitions-industrial-base

"The wars in Iran and Ukraine have shown how the growing importance of air and missile defense, the accelerating pace of combat, and the risk of simultaneous, protracted conflicts across multiple regions can each strain the munitions industrial base."

A US-focused article, and certainly the 'keys' it lists are US, but there are thoughts for those involved in the Canadian munitions industrial base to consider.

Further:
There’s no shortcut to replenish US munitions stockpiles
https://www.defenseone.com/business/2026/08/theres-no-shortcut-replenish-us-munitions-stockpiles/415558/
and (for something Canadian):
New Brunswick site picked for new Canadian explosives factory as NATO demand grows
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-nalagx-new-brunswick-explosives-factory-nato-munitions-ukraine/

08/23/2026

Inside Brazil’s 3D-Printed Gun Supply Chain
(Editor: Meta deletes posts such as this with a link to warontherocks as a news site so the URL has been removed.)

It's very probably already happening that criminals are printing metal gun parts to manufacture illegal guns. Challenges for law enforcement and the advanced manufacturing industry.

08/23/2026

Inside Brazil’s 3D-Printed Gun Supply Chain
https://warontherocks.com/inside-brazils-3d-printed-gun-supply-chain/

It's very pribably already happening that criminals are printing metal gun parts to manufacture illegal guns. Challenges for law enforcement and the advanced manufacturing industry.

On June 26, 2026, the Civil Police of Rio de Janeiro, through its specialized fi****ms, ammunition, and explosives unit, raided a clandestine workshop in

08/23/2026

What Canada’s shipbuilding strategy is getting right, and where it is still failing
https://opencanada.org/what-canadas-shipbuilding-strategy-is-getting-right-and-where-it-is-still-failing/

"The shipbuilding lesson three quarters of a century after the St. Laurent class is the same one: the most capable warship in the world means little if the country waits a generation to receive it. The strategic frame around build-at-home, continuous build, shipyard rationalization, and modularity is mostly correct. The cultural problem is the impulse to ask one ship to do everything and to ask new ships to be paper designs first and water designs second. Until addressed, the impulse will leave the Royal Canadian Navy without the warships it needs."

The most capable warship in the world means nothing if Canada waits a generation to receive it.

08/03/2026

Study looks at options to upgrade the Hudson Bay Railway to unlock northern economic opportunities
https://www.railwaygazette.com/canada/2026/08/03/study-looks-at-options-to-upgrade-the-hudson-bay-railway-to-unlock-northern-economic-opportunities/

Good move by the Arctic Gateway Group to get a study done of the railway up to Churchill. Maybe the Department of National Defence should be asked to establish a railway-focused Reserve element somewhere along the line. Such units don't exist in Canada, they would have to be envisioned/created, probably modelled on one of our major allies. It could be an alternative or complement to having a port defence/security Reserve element established in Churchill itself.

CANADA: Systra has been commissioned to undertake a study of potential enhancements to the Hudson Bay Railway to support plans to develop the remote northern line as a strategic national transport corridor and make the port of Churchill a key export gateway. The study has been commissioned by the Ar...

08/03/2026

Netherlands moves ahead with sonar-equipped ASW USV for future frigates
https://www.navylookout.com/netherlands-moves-ahead-with-sonar-equipped-asw-usv-for-future-frigates/

"A compact active dipping sonar, based on Thales’ FLASH family, will be the primary sensor installed on the 12-metre USV..."

Interesting that a dipping sonar is to be deployed from the USV. One normally expects USV to be integrated with towed arrays.

One can wonder what sort of callsigns for warships' USV might be in/come into use, parallel to ship helicopter nicknames like 'Avalanche' and 'Stalker.'

The Royal Netherlands Navy is moving ahead with plans to equip each of its future Anti-Submarine Warfare frigates with a 12-metre uncrewed surface vessel designed to extend the ship’s underwater detection reach. The Dutch Naval Design (DND) has been authorised to begin design work on the vessel wh...

08/03/2026

Canada's Team OMER defends title, sets new record at seventh European International Submarine Races
https://www.bairdmaritime.com/work-boat-world/other-workboats/canadas-team-omer-defends-title-sets-new-record-at-seventh-european-international-submarine-races

Human-powered submarines, only capable of low speeds, shallow depths and short distances, are very likely not a defence and security problem. At this time. But the engagement of civil society in the research and development of micro submarines, human-powered or otherwise, means that defence and security agencies have to consider and plan for the appearance of capable such submarines for nefarious purposes. Semi-submersibles (mis-called 'narco-submarines') have already for some time been used for drug smuggling.

Historically, such vessels ('chariots', Kaiten and the like) were a viable though generally minor threat, with some significant successes that warranted then and still now that navies develop technology and practice procedures to counter them.

The 2026 European International Submarine Races (EISR) concluded on July 10 at QinetiQ's Ocean Basin in Gosport, UK, after five days of competition between univ

08/03/2026

Australian steel selected for future US Navy submarines
https://www.bairdmaritime.com/security/naval/naval-submersibles/australian-steel-selected-for-future-us-navy-submarines

Canada does not manufacture submarine-grade steel (HY 100). It's a question whether it is worth Canada developing the capability as we will not be building submarines and it's uncertain the maintenance and repair capabilities to be developed as part of the Canadian Patrol Submarine Project will require domestic availability. Certainly, it doesn't (publicly) appear that the US has turned to Canadian mills. Probably the scale of production isn't worth the investment, certainly without an export market.

Bisalloy Steel has secured an order for steel plate from US defence shipbuilder General Dynamics Electric Boat (GDEB).Under the US$2 million contract, Bisalloy