136 articles
America and West Indies Station
The America and West Indies Station was a Royal Navy command based in Bermuda, originating as the North American Squadron in the 1740s and dissolved in 1956.
Argentine Navy
Argentine Navy (Armada de la República Argentina, ARA), naval branch of Argentina's armed forces founded after 1810 independence; fought Spain and Brazil, raced Chile to the 1902 Pactos de Mayo, lost the Belgrano in 1982, and lost submarine ARA San Juan with 44 crew in 2017.
Armada de Barlovento
The Armada de Barlovento, or Windward Fleet, was a Spanish naval squadron based at Veracruz from 1641 to protect Caribbean shipping from pirates until its dissolution in 1748.
Austro-Hungarian Navy
Austro-Hungarian Navy (k.u.k. Kriegsmarine), the Habsburg Monarchy's naval force based at Pola and Cattaro; born from the 1797 acquisition of Venice, victorious at Lissa 1866, expanded into a four-dreadnought fleet by 1914, dissolved in 1918.
Baltic Fleet (Балтийский флот)
Baltic Fleet (Балтийский флот), Russia's Baltic Sea naval formation founded 1702 under Peter I, headquartered in Kaliningrad with main base Baltiysk and Kronstadt; smallest but most modern Russian fleet, constrained by NATO enlargement since 2023–2024.
Bangladesh Navy (বাংলাদেশ নৌবাহিনী)
Bangladesh Navy (বাংলাদেশ নৌবাহিনী), the naval branch of Bangladesh's armed forces, born in the 1971 Liberation War through Operation Jackpot commandos and the gunboats Padma and Palash; organized 7 April 1972, now a three-dimensional fleet of over 80 ships with submarines, aviation, and SWADS.
Black Sea Fleet (Черноморский флот)
Russian Black Sea Fleet (Черноморский флот), based at Sevastopol, Crimea, with Novorossiysk as fallback; lost the flagship Moskva in April 2022 and roughly a third of its vessels to Ukrainian missiles and naval drones, forcing withdrawal eastward.
Blue-water navy
Blue-water navy: a fleet capable of operating across open oceans and deep waters, distinct from green-water (coastal) and brown-water (riverine) forces; the US Navy is the leading example, with China and India building such capability.
Brazilian Navy
The Brazilian Navy (Marinha do Brasil) is the naval branch of Brazil's armed forces, one of the two strongest navies in Latin America alongside Argentina's.
British Pacific Fleet
The British Pacific Fleet (BPF) was a Royal Navy carrier strike force formed in November 1944 to fight alongside the US Navy against Japan, operating off Okinawa and the Japanese home islands.
Brown-water navy
A brown-water navy, associated with riverine warfare, is a naval force operating in rivers, estuaries, and harbors rather than the open ocean, using small, shallow-draft gunboats and patrol ships.
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED), U.S. Navy medical headquarters established August 31, 1842 as one of five original bureaus; its chief holds the title Navy Surgeon General since 1871.
Carrier battle group
Carrier battle group (CVBG), now carrier strike group (CSG) in US usage: a carrier-centered naval formation with air wing, escorts, submarines, and support ships, commanded by a one or two star admiral for deterrence and power projection.
Chief of Naval Operations
Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), head of OPNAV, the US Navy's headquarters staff; office created 1915 with Admiral William S. Benson as first incumbent; directly responsible to the Secretary of the Navy and heads the administrative chain of command.
Chilean Navy
Chilean Navy (Armada de Chile), Chile's naval service, founded during independence from 1810; operates eight frigates, four diesel-electric submarines, and builds LPDs under Escotillón IV at ASMAR.
China Coast Guard (中国海警局)
China Coast Guard (中国海警局), China's maritime law enforcement agency formed in 2013 from four merged services and placed under the People's Armed Police and Central Military Commission in 2018; the world's largest coast guard fleet (546 vessels), active around Scarborough Shoal and the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands.
Coast guard
Coast guard: maritime safety, security, and stewardship organizations. Covers the U.S. Coast Guard (founded 1790, military plus law enforcement, DHS since 2003), the civilian Canadian Coast Guard (1962), and international coast guard functions.
Confederate States Marine Corps
The Confederate States Marine Corps, also known as the Confederate Marine Corps, was the naval infantry branch of the Confederate armed forces from 1861 to 1865 during the American Civil War.
Cuban Revolutionary Navy
Marina de Guerra Revolucionaria (MGR), Cuba's naval service under MINFAR, founded 3 August 1963; a Soviet-equipped Caribbean force that drew down after 1991 to a coastal-defense, coast-guard-like fleet.
Egyptian Navy (القوات البحرية المصرية)
Egyptian Navy (القوات البحرية المصرية), the naval branch of Egypt's armed forces, operating on the Mediterranean and Red Sea around the Suez Canal with about 149 vessels, two Mistral-class LHDs, 13 frigates, and 8 submarines.
Fighter Squadron 1 (United States Navy)
Fighter Squadron 1 (VF-1), the US Navy "Wolfpack," was a NAS Miramar F-14A Tomcat fighter squadron (1972–1993), first to deploy the Tomcat on Enterprise, a Desert Storm combat squadron with over 540 sorties, distinct from three earlier VF-1 squadrons.
Finnish Navy
Finnish Navy (Merivoimat, Marinen): coastal naval branch of the Finnish Defence Forces guarding the Gulf of Finland and Baltic Sea; NATO member since 2023; modernizing with four Pohjanmaa-class corvettes under Squadron 2020.
French Navy
The French Navy (Marine nationale) is France's naval force, the largest in the European Union, operating from Cherbourg, Brest, and Toulon, with the only nuclear-powered carrier outside the US Navy.
Future of the Indian Navy
Future of the Indian Navy: planned growth past 200 ships within a decade, a Builder's Navy indigenization drive, new carriers and submarines, and the Maritime Security Strategy-2026, shaped by Chinese and Pakistani naval expansion.
Future of the Russian Navy
Future of the Russian Navy: projected development of the Russian Federation Navy toward a submarine-centered, green-water surface force under the 2030 naval policy, constrained by sanctions, USC debt, and Black Sea combat losses.
German Navy
Deutsche Marine (German Navy), formerly Bundesmarine: the Bundeswehr's naval force, founded 1956, NATO-integrated, Baltic-focused, with six Type 212A submarines and new MEKO A-200 frigates replacing the cancelled F126 programme.
Goryeo navy
The Goryeo navy (고려 수군) was the maritime military force of Korea's Goryeo dynasty (918–1392), rebuilt in the late 14th century with gunpowder weapons to defeat Japanese pirates.
Great White Fleet
Great White Fleet: sixteen white-painted Atlantic Fleet battleships sent by Theodore Roosevelt around the world, 16 December 1907 to 22 February 1909, 43,000 miles, 20 ports, six continents.
Hellenic Navy
Hellenic Navy (Πολεμικό Ναυτικό), Greece's naval branch: 69 warships, 8 submarines, 13 frigates; modernizing with four French FDI HN Belh@rra frigates, first HS Kimon received January 2026, distinguishing it from the larger Turkish fleet.
History of the United States Coast Guard
History of the United States Coast Guard: founded 1790 from Alexander Hamilton's revenue cutter plan, the nation's oldest continuous seagoing service; absorbed the Lighthouse Service (1939) and marine inspection (1946), moved to DOT (1967) and DHS (March 1, 2003), its largest agency, after a 9/11-driven transformation.