@cavasships
Journalist and commentator specializing in naval, maritime and defense issues. Cohost of the CavasShips Podcast. Former television director. Proud native of Washington DC. Piano player. All comments my own.
On the latest CavasShips Podcast: Epic Fury's epic effects. Frmr USNavCentCom cmndr VADMret John Fozzie Miller on campaign's progress and where it could be headed; and Sal Mercogliano on worldwide shipping and the widening scale of war in the Gulf & Indian Ocean defaeroreport.com/2026/03/06/c...
Latest CavasShips Podcast: Navy readiness, conflict w/Iran (rec just prior to the attacks), genesis of The Golden Fleet, lessons fm Ukraine - a provacative and frank discussion with RADM ret Mark Montgomery plus Naval News and Royce Williams, a true Navy hero defaeroreport.com/2026/02/27/c...
On the latest CavasShips Podcast: Naval aviator RDML Ret Mike "Nasty" Manazir on unmanned aircraft development; long deployments; EMALS vs steam catapults; the F/A-XX Stealth Fighter. Plus Naval News and Jesse Jackson's connection with the US military lnkd.in/gYDiwMUK
On the latest CavasShips Podcast: Bryan Clark breaks down and we review CNO Caudle's new Fighting Instuctions, intended to influence everything from force posture to doctrine, training & more. Do they make sense? Where are the strong - and weak - points? defaeroreport.com/2026/02/13/c...
On the latest CavasShips Podcast: HII EVP for Maritime Systems and Corporate Strategy Eric Chewning on crewed/uncrewed integration, new tech and distributed shipbuilding. Plus Naval News of the Week and AI's impact on trusting what you see defaeroreport.com/2026/02/06/c...
On the latest CavasShips Podcast: GAO reports guide Congress and directly affect dozens of programs. Two top naval analysts, Shelby Oakley and Larri Fish, discuss Navy shipbuilding, frigate, and the Coast Guard's OPC program. Plus Naval News of the Week defaeroreport.com/2026/01/30/c...
On the latest CavasShips Podcast: a special international naval programs edition with well-traveled naval analysts Xavier Vavasseur of NavalNews.com & Richard Scott incl a deep dive into frigate programs in the UK, France, Japan, Germany & more defaeroreport.com/2026/01/01/c...
On the latest CavasShips Podcast: The entire USNI News gang - Sam LaGrone, Mallory Shelbourne and Heather Mongilio - joins us to look back at key issues fm 2025 and what's to come in 2026. Plus Chris & Chris on the Golden Fleet and the so-called "battleship." defaeroreport.com/2025/12/26/c...
On the latest CavasShips Podcast: Ingalls Shipbuilding president Brian Blanchette on how Ingalls will handle the US Navy's new FFX frigate program; navalists Bryan Clark and Brent Sadler take deep dives looking back on 2025 and ahead to 2026. Plus Naval News defaeroreport.com/2025/12/19/c...
On the latest CavasShips Podcast: CNO Caudle speaks with the media at Reagan Def Conf, and USNA History professor CAPT BJ Armstrong traces some of what's changed and what's consistent over the US Navy's 250 years of history. Plus Naval News of the Week defaeroreport.com/2025/12/12/c...
On the latest CavasShips Podcast: a fascinating discussion about US Navy shipbuilding and the fate of the Constellation-class frigate program with former Acting SECNAV Thomas Modly and RDML ret Chuck Goddard, former PEO Ships and Fincantieri executive defaeroreport.com/2025/12/04/d...
Infamy
On the latest CavasShips Podcast: No holiday here as we reconvene to break down the Pentagon/Navy decision to cancel most of the Constellation-class frigate program. No real plan for what's next, nothing in hand for sure. + LINCOLN group deploys, last LCS delivered defaeroreport.com/2025/11/28/c...
On the latest CavasShips Podcast: Pentagon/Navy acquisition changes; shipbuilding; ASW anti-submarine warfare. Frmr top Navy acquisition chief Nick Guertin handles all this and more. Plus Naval News of the Week Eastern Shipbuilding's Coast Guard program tanks defaeroreport.com/2025/11/21/d...
On the latest CavasShips Podcast: Submarine Deep Dive with frmr CNO & career submariner ret. ADM Jonathan Greenert, who gives his thoughts on sub construction, building Korean subs in the US, AUKUS, the future of unmanned systems. Plus Naval News of the Wk defaeroreport.com/2025/11/14/d...
On the latest CavasShips Podcast: we break down Pentagon Chief Hegseth's 7 Nov acquisition speech - what it calls for, its scope, new or not or different, whether it will work. Plus building ROK nuclear submarines in the US - realistic? And Naval News of the Week defaeroreport.com/2025/11/07/d...
On the latest CavasShips Podcast: tech innovator & naval thinker Greg Glaros dives into WH & Hill shipbuilding effprts, Navy acquisition, robotics & The Golden Fleet. Plus Naval News of the Week and SECNAV deals a heavy blow to a new Navy museum defaeroreport.com/2025/10/31/d...
On the latest CavasShips Podcast: USNINews' Sam LaGrone and Mallory Shelbourne are with us for the latest on LaGrone's visit to Taiwan, US actions in the Caribbean and Venezuela, and Pentagon press restrictions. Plus Naval News of the Week defaeroreport.com/2025/10/24/d...
On the latest CavasShips Podcast: naval analyst
Bryan Clark is back to fill us in on the latest thinking about the US Navy's future force structure, including how unmanned systems and "battleships" fit into the picture. Plus Naval News of the Week defaeroreport.com/2025/10/17/d...
On the latest CavasShips Podcast: Salvage expert and frmr SupSalv Gregg Baumann details clearing the containership DALI from the Baltimore Bridge collapse. Plus maritime safety, firefighting, and Navy salvage capabilities. And Naval News of the Week. defaeroreport.com/2025/10/10/d...
On the latest CavasShips Podcast: Govt shutdown, Houthi attacks resume, the Shadow Fleet expands, & govt info gets harder & harder to get. Sal Mercogliano and John Konrad are back for a very lively and information-packed discussion. Plus Naval News of the Week defaeroreport.com/2025/10/03/d...
Big week for new Arleigh Burke-class Flight III destroyers: HII Ingalls announced completion of sea trials for TED STEVENS DDG128, the 2nd F3 to be completed for the US Navy, while
GDBathIronWorks christened their 1st F3, LOUIS H WILSON JR DDG126, on 27 Sept
SENTRY MCM3 & DEVASTATOR MCM6 last US Navy mine countermeasures ships in 5th Fleet decommissioned 25 Sept at Mina Salman Bahrain. With DEXTROUS MCM13 decom'ed 3 Sept & GLADIATOR MCM11 decom'ed 4 Sept all will be brought to Philadelphia via heavylift ship for disposal
On the latest CavasShips Podcast: Analyst Tom Shugart is back with us to dive into the latest Chinese naval technology, tit-for-tat Taiwan Strait transits, and the robustness of Chinese warship construction after 2 ships hit each other. Plus Naval News Of The Week defaeroreport.com/2025/09/19/d...
On the latest CavasShips Podcast: UK shipbuilding is on a roll and Babcock Marine CEO Sir Nick Hine fills us in with details. Plus impressions of this year's DSEI exposition in London and Naval News of the Week defaeroreport.com/2025/09/12/d...
On the latest CavasShips Podcast: new Surface Navy Assoc prez VADMret Ron Boxall on issues facing the Surface Force, incl readiness, unmanned vessel integration & the upcoming Waterfront Conference West in San Diego. Plus Naval News of the Week defaeroreport.com/2025/09/05/d...
Farewell minesweepers USS DEXTROUS MCM13, decommissioned 3 Sept, and GLADIATOR MCM11, decommed 4 Sept, both at Bahrain. Their anti-mine mission in US 5th Fleet has been replaced by newly-arrived littoral combat ships. Tough little ships! closeup views are MCM11
2 Sept 1945 - the formal end of World War 2, 80 years ago today. Japan's surrender documents signed aboard battleship USS MISSOURI BB63 anchored in Sagami Wan, presided over by US Gen MacArthur. "These proceedings are closed."
On the latest CavasShips Podcast: UK RADM ret Jon Pentreath talks UK Defence and NATO & European maritime trends ahead of DSEI 2025 opening in London in mid-Sept. Of special note are reactions to new US political stances. Plus Naval News & Katrina Plus 20 defaeroreport.com/2025/08/29/c...
On the latest CavasShips Podcast: the worldside shadow tanker fleet numbers nearly 2,000 ships - 1/5 the global tanker fleet. Martime intel expert Michelle Wiese Bockmann talks about the dark fleet's strategic & security threats. Plus Naval News of the Week defaeroreport.com/2025/08/22/c...