News – Six Maritime

From Island Hopping to Autonomous Defense: Pete Ellis, Sea Power, and the Case for Defensive USV Integration

February 12, 2026

Major Earl Hancock “Pete” Ellis, U.S. Marine Corps, strategist whose vision of forward bases and maritime sustainment shaped modern amphibious warfare. In the early decades of the twentieth century, long before radar, satellites, or unmanned systems, a Marine Corps officer looked across the Pacific and saw a future war taking shape. Major Earl Hancock “Pete” Ellis, remembered most often for his influence on amphibious doctrine, was not captivated by islands themselves. His focus was on something more enduring: how maritime power is sustained, how it moves, and how it survives in the spaces between decisive battles. Ellis’s work begins from a simple premise: naval fleets do not operate in isolation.

Kill Chain by Christian Brose, book review and commentary: Why the Future of Maritime Security Will Be Won by Decision Advantage, Not Firepower

February 10, 2026

By any measure, Kill Chain by Christian Brose is one of the most important defense books written in the past decade, not because it introduces new weapons or technologies, but because it reframes how power is applied, decisions are made, and security is sustained in an era of rapid technological change. Although the book is often discussed in the context of high-end conflict with near-peer adversaries, its most relevant lessons may apply closer to home: ports, shipyards, coastal infrastructure, and maritime security operations that sit at the intersection of deterrence, compliance, and real-world risk. As Christian Brose writes in Kill Chain, “The future of war is not about platforms. It’s

Reindustrialization at Risk PART VI: Charting the Next Decade: A Security Posture Built on Integration, Innovation, and Intent

January 2, 2026

The 2025 National Security Strategy ends with a simple premise: America’s security will be shaped not by any single technology, policy, or platform, but by our ability to integrate them coherently. The future belongs to organizations that can translate national-level priorities into operational reality at the deckplate level. For the maritime sector, particularly private shipyards supporting naval readiness, this integration is not abstract. It’s urgent. The NSS lays out the components of a modernized maritime defense ecosystem: resilient industrial infrastructure, expanded workforce capability, autonomous systems, AI-enabled sensing, multi-domain logistics, and new public–private frameworks that allow innovation to be fielded at speed. But nowhere does it specify how these elements come together into

Reindustrialization at Risk PART V: The Human Element: Expertise, Judgment, and the Irreplaceable Role of the Maritime Professional

January 2, 2026

Technology may move the headlines, but people move the mission. That’s one of the quiet truths embedded in the 2025 National Security Strategy. While the document outlines ambitious goals for modernizing infrastructure, revitalizing industry, and integrating unmanned systems, the subtext is clear: none of those objectives succeed without the skilled workforce required to execute them. And in the maritime sector, particularly the shipyards, ports, and coastal facilities that keep America afloat, the human factor is not just important; it is decisive. The NSS highlights the need for “credible, experienced professionals” across every part of the defense ecosystem to ensure resilience during disruption, continuity in crisis, and responsible adoption of emerging technologies.

Reindustrialization at Risk PART IV: Operationalizing the Maritime Security Modernization Mandate

December 29, 2025

There is a pattern buried inside the National Security Strategy that’s easy to miss if you skim it too quickly: while the document is framed at the strategic level, nearly every section that touches the oceans hints at an uncomfortable truth, our legacy maritime security posture is no longer optimized for the threat landscape we actually live in. Much of our national security architecture still assumes predictable adversaries operating predictable platforms in predictable ways. That era is over. The world’s gray zone actors, state and non-state alike, are moving faster than our regulatory frameworks, acquisition pipelines, and operational playbooks. The Strategy acknowledges this without saying it explicitly: any security enterprise that

Reindustrialization at Risk Part II: The Reform Case: What Congress and DoD Must Do Next

December 23, 2025

If the first part of the problem is acknowledging that our security architecture at private naval shipyards is outdated, the second part is far harder: deciding what to do about it. The 2025 National Security Strategy leaves no doubt that the United States is entering an era where the cost of inaction will exceed the cost of reform. For Congress, DoD, NAVSEA, and DHS, the question is no longer whether to modernize shipyard security, it’s how quickly they can do it. For years, the country has been lulled into believing that domestic industrial infrastructure is insulated from the levels of risk seen abroad. That illusion was shattered by a combination of adversary

Reindustrialization at Risk Part II: A System Built on Assumptions

December 15, 2025

For nearly two decades, American shipyards have operated under a quiet but dangerous assumption: that the security standards written in the aftermath of 9/11 somehow remained fit for a modern threat environment defined by unmanned systems, AI-enabled reconnaissance, cyber-surveillance, and increasingly sophisticated nation-state competitors. It was a comforting assumption, and an incorrect one. The 2025 National Security Strategy does not state this outright, but it doesn’t have to. Its language is clear: the maritime industrial base is now a strategic target, and our adversaries view the seams in our domestic infrastructure as opportunities, not obstacles. Washington hardly needed to remind anyone who works inside a naval shipyard; the evidence has been mounting

Reindustrialization at Risk PART I: Shipyards and Ports under the 2025 National Security Strategy

December 11, 2025

The White House’s 2025 National Security Strategy (NSS) is blunt about the stakes for the United States. America’s economic strength, industrial resilience, and national security are now understood as inseparable. The document repeatedly emphasizes reindustrialization, supply-chain independence, and revitalizing the defense industrial base as top national imperatives. According to the NSS, “the future belongs to makers,” and rebuilding domestic manufacturing is essential to deterring conflict, maintaining naval superiority, and safeguarding American prosperity. But as the conversation in Washington gravitates toward tariffs, reshoring, industrial incentives, chip production, and supply chain mapping, one critical reality is consistently overlooked: The entire national reindustrialization effort sits on top of an undersecured maritime foundation. Every ship, submarine, autonomous platform, munition, and

THE NEW SURFACE THREAT: WHAT THE KAIROS AND VIRAT ATTACKS SIGNAL FOR THE FUTURE OF PORT SECURITY — AND WHO WILL LEAD IT

December 4, 2025

There are moments in maritime security when the world offers a rare glimpse of where the next decade is headed. The recent attacks on the MT Kairos and MT Virat in the Black Sea were exactly that. The videos that spread across OSINT feeds and defense channels weren’t remarkable because they were shocking, they were remarkable because they were predictable. Unmanned surface vehicles, once little more than remote-controlled novelties, have matured into stable, fast, low-profile attack platforms with enough precision to hit a vulnerable point on a tanker traveling at speed. What the world saw play out on those videos was not an anomaly. It was the future asserting itself.

Integrating Autonomy and Expertise: The Next Phase of Maritime Security

October 6, 2025

Naval innovation is accelerating at a pace not seen in decades. Between the Department of the Navy’s Science and Technology Board reshaping research investments and the Navy unveiling visions of modular, uncrewed surface attack craft, one thing is clear: the fleet of tomorrow will be vastly different from the fleet of today. Yet amid all the excitement around new hull forms, autonomy, and artificial intelligence, a critical truth risks being overlooked: hardware alone does not secure harbors, deter adversaries, or reassure allies. Success in this new era requires integration, the careful pairing of human expertise with autonomous platforms, operationally proven sensors, and rigorous compliance with maritime security standards. This is

Setting the Gold Standard for the Future of Maritime Security

September 25, 2025

The Waterfront Is Changing The American waterfront is never still. Shipyards hum with maintenance activity, ports move cargo around the clock, and security vessels patrol the channels to keep commerce and defense assets safe. But the threats facing our nation’s maritime industrial base are evolving faster than many realize. Small craft with malicious intent, unmanned vehicles probing defenses, and cyber-physical risks that once seemed far-off are now present concerns.Against this backdrop, one truth has become clear: yesterday’s security models are not enough for tomorrow’s challenges. The Human-AI Edge At Six Maritime, we believe the answer is not to replace human expertise with machines, but to pair seasoned professionals with the

Beyond the Hype: Real-World Testing and the Future of Maritime Autonomy

September 19, 2025

Six Maritime patrol craft securing a U.S. Navy vessel (left) contrasted with a futuristic unmanned surface vessel concept (right). The image reflects the balance between proven operational experience and the promise of emerging autonomy. The September 2025 Proceedings article, The Emperor’s New Vessels: A Call for Realism in Maritime Autonomy by Bo Jardine, strikes a chord with anyone who has spent time on the water. It is a warning that resonates across our industry: hype alone does not keep ships safe, nor does it defend coastlines or ensure readiness. The metaphor, as used by Jardine in his article, alludes to Andersen’s fable The Emperor’s New Clothes, a timeless caution against