The blast consumed everyone near the bow. No witnesses survived to explain what triggered the detonation. A fireball erupted ...

Late last week, the Navy announced a replacement for the ill-fated Constellation frigate. The new ship would be “a smaller, more agile surface combatant designed to complement the fleet’s larger, ...

A LUCAS drone launches from the USS Santa Barbara in the Arabian Gulf. (Photo courtesy of the Navy) The crew of the USS Santa Barbara and personnel from U.S. Naval Forces Central Command successfully ...

President Donald Trump’s announcement of a new class of battleships bearing his name puts a fresh spotlight on a US naval shipbuilding program that has fallen short on delivering the new warships on ...

Santa Barbara’s namesake warship just made history by launching a one-way attack drone at sea in the Middle East. The USS Santa Barbara, an Independence-class littoral combat ship, launched the drone ...

A Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System one-way attack drone, like those shown here on a tarmac at a US Central Command base, was launched from a littoral combat ship. (US Department of Defense) ...

On Tuesday, the Navy conducted the first successful launch of a one-way attack unmanned aerial system from a warship at sea. The USS Santa Barbara, an Independence-class littoral combat ship, launched ...

The U.S. military has claimed a milestone by launching a one-way attack drone from a ship at sea for the first time. U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said in a statement that a LUCAS (low-cost ...

The Independence-class littoral combat ship USS Santa Barbara (LCS 32) achieved the historic milestone in the Arabian Gulf while launching a Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS). “This first ...

Personnel assigned to U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet (NAVCENT/C5F) successfully launched a one-way attack drone from a ship at sea for the first time on Dec. 16. (Navy) The U.S. Navy ...

A Low-cost Unmanned Combat Attack System (LUCAS) was launched from the flight deck of littoral combat ship USS Santa Barbara while operating in the Persian Gulf on Dec. 16, 2025. In a press release, ...