While the Trump administration’s national security strategy remains a work in progress, interim guidance issued by Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth prioritizes China as the sole pacing threat. Yet, the threat China poses involves more than its military. Its diplomatic and economic coercion are evident in every region, as are its offensive cyber operations and attacks on undersea infrastructure.

During President Trump’s first term, one of his earliest official actions was to sign the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017. Now, nearly a decade later, the U.S. weather industry has grown exponentially and embraced the full power of artificial intelligence, the proliferation of space-based weather sensors, and advances in all-domain autonomous systems for data collection. These 21st century technologies have elevated forecasting accuracies like never before, and now President Trump can build on these successes by urging the reintroduction of the Weather Act in the 119th Congress and passing it though both chambers.

The maritime, subsea, and offshore energy sectors are evolving at breakneck speed, driven by emerging technologies and shifting global priorities. Rear Admiral (ret.) Tim Gallaudet, oceanographer, former NOAA administrator, and veteran Navy leader, joined Marine Technology TV to discuss the megatrends shaping subsea technology in 2025 and beyond. From artificial intelligence to autonomous systems and sustainability, Gallaudet shared his expert perspective on the opportunities and challenges facing the industry.

Earlier this year, the trailer for a government-backed Taiwanese TV show depicting a Chinese invasion sparked worldwide attention. The ten-part series Zero Day opens by identifying China’s two primary considerations to move on the island nation. The first involves a political power vacuum following an election loss by an incumbent U.S. President. The second is a geophysical consideration and might surprise the average American as being important enough to include in the introduction—the suitability of the ocean currents in the Taiwan Strait for a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) landing.

Disputes over fisheries have the potential to turn into larger conflicts and to exacerbate existing ones, just as disputes over oil, water, and grain have done in the past. Fisheries are finite natural resources that provide sustenance to billions of people; its products are among the world’s most highly traded food commodities. It is not hard to imagine how, in this context, a fish-related fight could spiral.

In the latest round of confrontation between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Philippines over Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea, Beijing has gone so far as to accuse Manila of damaging the coral reef ecosystem at the location. The U.S. should join the Philippines in condemning Beijing’s sanctimonious statement, but also bring attention to China’s wide-ranging record of other environmental abuses, a tally of which is troubling:

This week marks the eighth month of the U.S. Navy’s combat operations against Houthi forces in Yemen. That’s four times longer than the first Gulf War. Why is the world’s strongest Navy being put in the position of a pincushion? The sad fact is that the service’s hands are tied by a White House too fearful to eliminate the threat in Yemen.

The U.S. Army’s recent difficulties in utilizing its $320 million floating pier to deliver humanitarian aid into Gaza is a warning that the Department of Defense is failing to adequately prepare for and deal with weather-related hazards. If America’s military is succumbing to the environment during these training and operational events, what will happen if it is called upon to defend Taiwan against an attack by China?

The first uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) were used in the 1920s as remote-controlled target craft, while the first autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) was created in 1957 to perform research in the Arctic for the University of Washington. Since then, the ocean science community—often in partnership with government agencies such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Office of Naval Research (ONR)—has been at the leading edge of developments in ocean drones.

This past week, Federal authorities announced that the second critically endangered North Atlantic right whale found dead in the last month showed injuries caused by a collision with a ship. As Representative Garret Graves said, “We can do better ... technologies exist today where we can do real-time monitoring.”

RDML Tim Gallaudet (USN ret.) features on the Military Veterans Podcast. He discusses joining the U.S Navy and moving towards being stationed on a Hydrographic Survey Vessel - the USNS Harkness. He also served at Naval Station Rota in Spain, as well as USS Peleliu and USS Kitty Hawk. USS Kitty Hawk deployment saw him be part of a team that conducted some of the first strikes into Afghanistan after the 9/11 attacks.

China appears determined to reinforce its role as the world’s top emitter of greenhouse gasses, setting a record peak this year, falsely reporting its actual emissions, and building six times as many coal plants last year as the rest of the world combined. For an administration that claims to have the most ambitious climate and environmental agenda in history, failing to hold such a bad actor accountable is both hypocritical and harmful.

The health of American coral reefs has been at the forefront of national news this summer due to the impacts of a record-setting marine heatwave off Florida. Despite dedicated efforts, much more needs to be done. NOAA needs to massively scale up the funding and level of effort on the order of NASA’s Artemis mission to the moon.