Eric Wertheim is a defense consultant, columnist, and author specializing in naval and maritime affairs. Frequently interviewed by the news media, he has served as a speechwriter for Pentagon officials and a consultant to private industry and the U.S. government. He has been a columnist for Proceedings magazine since 1994. He lives in the Washington D.C. area.

Articles by Eric Wertheim

Starboard bow view of the USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001) on sea trials.

Combat Fleets

By Eric Wertheim
March 2019
The guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Monsoor (DDG-1001), the Portuguese Navy's new offshore patrol vessel NRP Setúbal (P363), and the Croatian Navy received the Inshore Patrol Boat Omiš (OOB-31).
Surface port bow view of the ROKS Nojeokbong (LST-689) pierside for her commissioning

Combat Fleets

By Eric Wertheim
February 2019
South Korea’s Navy took delivery of the tank landing ship Nojeokbong on 21 November 2018. The LST, expected to enter service in 2019, is the fourth and final unit of ...
U.S. Navy (A.P. Turretto)

Combat Fleets

By Eric Wertheim
January 2017
This past November, the United States and New Zealand put decades of nuclear controversy behind them as the USS Sampson (DDG-102) sailed for Auckland to celebrate the New Zealand Navy’s ...
U.S. Navy (K. Anderson)

Combat Fleets

By Eric Wertheim
November 2016
In July, France bid farewell to one of its most famous combat aircraft with an official retirement ceremony for its last Super Étendard fighter-bomber. In service with the French fleet ...
Sevmash via M. Mazumdar

Combat Fleets

By Eric Wertheim
August 2012
India’s newest aircraft carrier, the Vikramaditya, began sea trials off Severodvinsk, Russia, in June, with testing expected to continue into the fall. The 44,000-ton Kiev-class carrier, formerly known ...
Naval Press Service (Michael Nitz)

Combat Fleets

By Eric Wertheim
July 2012
On 27 April India commissioned the first of a new batch of Talwar-class frigates. The INS Teg was built by the Russian shipyard Yantar at Kaliningrad; she is a ...
A. Odaynik

Combat Fleets

By Eric Wertheim
June 2012
The Ukrainian Navy recently completed refurbishment and reactivation of its only submarine, the Foxtrot-class boat Zaporizhzhya. Built in St. Petersburg, Russia, the 42-year-old submarine originally was transferred to the ...
U.S. Coast Guard (J. Johnson)

Combat Fleets

By Eric Wertheim
May 2012
The first of the new U.S. Coast Guard Sentinel-class cutters was delivered in February. Up to 58 of the new ships, also known as Fast Response Cutters, are planned. The ...
ROC Navy

Combat Fleets

By Eric Wertheim
April 2012
Taiwan recently announced that in 2013 it plans to begin retrofitting Harpoon Block II antiship missiles into its Dutch-built submarines, the Hai Hu (pictured here) and sister Hai Lung ...
Chris Sattler

World Navies in Review

By Eric Wertheim
March 2012
The editor of The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World presents his annual international rundown.
U.S. Navy (R. Martie)

Combat Fleets

By Eric Wertheim
November 2011
On 30 September the U.S. Navy officially disestablished the 2nd Fleet at Norfolk, Virginia, in an effort to reduce organizational redundancy and cut costs. From the 1950s through its retirement ...
U.S. Coast Guard (P.J. Mannis)

Combat Fleets

By Eric Wertheim
August 2010
On 20 June the Russian Slava-class guided-missile cruiser Varyag arrived in San Francisco on a historic visit. The Varyag, flagship of Russia's Pacific Fleet, is the first surface warship ...