Brown Water Navy

A navy focused on rivers, estuaries, and the immediate coastal fringe rather than the open ocean. Brown-water forces use shallow-draft patrol boats, riverine craft, and gunboats for interdiction, escort, and coastal defense. The US Navy’s Mobile Riverine Force in the Mekong Delta (1966 to 1970) is the standard historical reference. The label sits at one end of the blue/green/brown taxonomy, where blue water means open-ocean reach and green water the littorals and adjacent seas.