Naval chiefs from across northern Europe signed a "statement of intent" to work up the details for the "Northern Navies Initiative" following a meeting last week, General Sir Gwyn Jenkins revealed.
He said the grouping would complement NATO, with the advantage of being able to react potentially more quickly in a crisis than the larger alliance.
"We know we have no time to lose, which is why by the end of this year, I want us all to have signed a formal declaration, laying the foundations for what will be a vital and enduring partnership for many years to come," the First Sea Lord said in a lecture at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank.
"I aim to create a maritime force that trains, exercises and prepares together. A force designed to fight immediately if required, with real capabilities, real war plans, and real integration."
It would be like an existing UK-led military partnership called the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) - involving their 10 members, which include the Baltic states, Nordic countries and the Netherlands.
But Canada may also join the naval initiative.
The aim is for "a force that generates the maritime, air and amphibious strike capabilities that we all need. This would be a visible and persistent conventional deterrent. A force that is stronger, collectively, than the sum of its parts", he said.
Nations would be able to switch and swap sailors, spare parts and ammunition to bolster capacity and capability, combing crewed and increasingly uncrewed vessels in what General Jenkins envisages for the UK to be a "hybrid navy".
He described this as a "family of allied fleets - something that has not happened in decades".
The new northern naval force could be commanded at a major maritime headquarters at Northwood, on the outskirts of London.
Such a capability was needed in the face of an increased threat from Russia's Northern Fleet.
"We have seen Russian incursions into our waters jump by almost a third in the last two years," General Jenkins, the first Royal Marine to lead the Royal Navy, said.
"In 2025 alone, the Royal Navy was required to respond dozens of times in support of homeland defence against Russian navy surface vessels.
"That is why the Royal Navy has to be ready every day, of every month, of every year."
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He said he was most concerned by Russia's submarine force.
"Like our surface fleet, our submarines spent a substantial amount of time responding to Russian subsurface activity last year - and all the signs suggest the pattern of behaviour by Moscow will only worsen further in future."
The trial centres on the 2015 birth of OpenAI, maker of ChatGPT, as a non-profit start-up, primarily funded by Mr Musk, before it evolved into a capitalist venture now valued at $852bn (£632bn).
Mr Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has accused Mr Altman, OpenAI, and its president, Greg Brockman, of wooing his donations by promising to build a non-profit to develop AI responsibly, before pivoting to create a for-profit entity in 2019 to enrich themselves.
On Wednesday Mr Musk, who invested about $38 million in OpenAI between December 2015 and May 2017, gave his account of OpenAI's early years, recounting how he lost confidence that Mr Altman would keep it a nonprofit.
Questioned by his lawyer Steven Molo, Mr Musk said by late 2022 he was concerned Mr Altman was trying to "steal the charity. "It turned out to be true," Mr Musk added.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers stepped in multiple times throughout the day, including after Mr Musk accused OpenAI's lawyer, William Savitt, of trying to trick him.
"Your questions are not simple," Mr Musk said. "They are designed to trick me essentially."
When pressed by the judge to answer whether it was true or false that OpenAI was formed as a non-profit in December 2015, Mr Musk said it is not always simple, comparing it to asking "have you stopped beating your wife?"
That response caused Judge Rodgers to cut Mr Musk off, stating clearly: "We are not going to go there".
Mr Musk also said he was concerned that Microsoft, another defendant in the case that invested $10bn (£7.42bn) in OpenAI in 2023, had "captured" the organisation.
OpenAI has argued that Mr Musk is motivated by a compulsion to control the company.
Mr Savitt told jurors during his opening statement on Monday that Mr Musk helped finance OpenAI's early growth and pushed it to become a for-profit business, one he might eventually lead.
He has also argued that Mr Musk is seeking to use the case to bolster his own AI company, xAI, which lags OpenAI in user adoption.
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Musk is seeking $150bn (£111bn) in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, although any award would go to OpenAI's charitable arm.
He also wants the company to revert to a non-profit, with Mr Altman and Mr Brockman removed as officers and Mr Altman removed from the board.
OpenAI is currently structured as a public benefit corporation, in which the non-profit and other investors, including Microsoft, hold stakes.
The trial comes as OpenAI prepares for a potential initial public offering that could value it at $1trn (£740bn), which a Musk win could derail.
The trial started on Monday and is expected to last about four weeks.
They are accused of helping the infamous Sinaloa cartel send vast amounts of narcotics across the border.
The cartel was previously run by drug lord 'El Chapo', now in a US prison, and those named are said to be aligned with a faction now run by his sons, known as the "Chapitos".
Ruben Rocha Moya, who has been Sinaloa governor since 2021, is the most high profile of those named.
The indictment alleges he "attended meetings with the Chapitos, at which he promised to protect the Chapitos as they distributed massive quantities of drugs to the United States" and has allowed them to act with impunity.
"Similarly, the other defendants have directly and repeatedly helped the Chapitos in exchange for massive drug-fueled bribes," the unsealed New York indictment claims.
Mr Rocha Moya's office did not respond to early request for comment, but he has previously denied claims of corruption.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said her government had not seen "any evidence" of the charges.
"Any investigation in the United States against any person in Mexico must have evidence reviewed by the (Mexican) Attorney General's Office," she said.
The other people accused are current and former government or law enforcement officials.
They include the mayor of Sinaloa's capital Culiacan, a senator, and the state's deputy attorney general. None of the ten are in custody.
US attorney Jay Clayton said Mexican drugs cartels "would not operate as freely or successfully without corrupt politicians and law enforcement officials on their payroll".
He called the Sinaloa group "a ruthless criminal organisation that has flooded this community with dangerous drugs for decades".
The charges come after America's ambassador to Mexico, Ron Johnson, said last week the US was launching a campaign targeting Mexican officials linked to organised crime.
"Corruption not only hinders progress, it distorts it. It increases costs, weakens competition, and erodes the trust upon which markets depend. It is not a problem without victims," Mr Johnson said.
President Trump has frequently spoken of his determination to fight the flow of drugs such as fentanyl and cocaine, and in January claimed it as justification for deposing Venezuela's president.
Another major drug boss known as "El Mencho" was killed in February after a Mexican special forces operation using US intelligence support.
The yield - the interest rate demanded by investors to hold 30-year government bonds - stood above 5.7% ahead of Wednesday's close while its 10-year counterpart also hit its highest since July 2008, according to the Reuters news agency..
The UK is not alone in facing bond market pressure as a result of the strains facing economies from rising energy prices but its yields, the highest in the G7 of advanced economies, reflect additional investor concern over the state of the public finances and sticky inflation that has long preceded the Middle East conflict.
The higher the yield, the higher the cost to the UK taxpayer of servicing the government's debt.
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The pace of price increases in the economy is set to pick up in the coming months, adding to the UK's borrowing costs burden and creating pressure for state aid from the chancellor at the same time.
Rising oil prices are widely expected to feed in beyond fuel and heating to include household energy, food and many other goods in the weeks and months to come.
The lack of results in peace efforts between the US and Iran was clear to see on oil markets on Wednesday, following several false dawns earlier this month on White House claims of progress.
A barrel of Brent Crude for June delivery was up by almost 8% at $120, exceeding the $119.50 war time high witnessed on 9 March, late in the evning.
The FTSE 100 ended the day almost 1.2% lower, building on losses across the week that reflected growing worries for the UK and wider global economy.
Neil Wilson, investor strategist at Saxo UK, said of the mood: "Stock markets sold off and oil climbed as President Trump told aides to prepare for prolonged blockade (of the Strait of Hormuz) instead of return to conflict.
"He's apparently met US oil executives today and may be seeking ways to boost domestic production to offset the impact of a longer blockade."
The Strait usually accounts for a fifth of the world's global oil and natural gas shipments.
The consequences of that loss of volumes are taking centre stage for the Western world's biggest central banks.
The Federal Reserve in the US on Wednesday evening - set to be the last policy meeting for chair Jay Powell despite his term being slightly extended - kept its key interest rate at its existing target range of 3.5%-3.75%. Policymakers, however, noted rising concerns around inflation and three shied away from commentary that forecast the Fed's next move was likely to be a cut.
The Bank of England and the European Central Bank are also not expected to raise interest rates in anticipation of the inflation wave to come, preferring to wait for more data. They make their respective decisions on Thursday.
The photos, which form part of a court filing by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), show Cole Allen, 31, dressed in black with a red tie.
Prosecutors say the images show Allen with a sheathed knife, a shoulder holster and what appears to be an ammunition-filled bag.
Allen took the photo of himself at about 8.03pm EDT on Saturday, about half an hour before he is accused of having rushed through the screening checkpoint with a raised shotgun.
He's been charged with one count of attempted assassination of the president, interstate transportation of a firearm and ammunition with intent to commit a felony and discharge of a firearm during a violent crime.
The filing also claims that he tracked the president and first lady's movements via websites and live coverage from media companies of the event.
The DOJ also included photos of weapons, including a handgun and a shotgun, which they say were possessed by Allen when he was arrested.
The filing states that: "At some point before the attack, the defendant wrote emails explaining the actions he was about to take and scheduled those emails to be sent to specific people at approximately 8.30pm on 25 April - just minutes before the defendant, laden with weapons, sprinted through the screening checkpoint toward the dinner."
"Had the defendant achieved his intended outcome, he would have brought about one of the darkest days in American history," assistant US attorney Charles Jones wrote.
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After Allen allegedly rushed past a metal detector, a Secret Service agent "drew his service weapon and fired five times at the defendant," the prosecutor wrote.
"The defendant fell to the ground, was restrained by law enforcement and was placed under arrest," Jones added.
"The defendant suffered a minor injury to his knee but was not shot."
Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and senior officials were quickly evacuated to safety from the annual event after several gunshots were heard outside the Washington Hilton ballroom, where around 2,500 people were in attendance.