Brown-water navy

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A brown-water navy or riverine navy, in the broadest sense, is a naval force capable of military operations in inland waters (rivers, lakes and inland seas) and nearshores.^[1] The term originated in the United States Navy during the American Civil War, when it referred to Union forces patrolling the muddy Mississippi River, and has since been used to describe the small gunboats and patrol boats commonly used in rivers, along with the larger "mother ships" that supported them, which include converted World War II-era mechanized landing craft and tank landing ships, among other vessels.

Brown-water navies are typically only used for patrolling and enforcing internal waters, in contrasted with seaworthy blue-water navies, which can independently conduct operations in the open oceans and project power far offshore. Green-water navies, which operate mainly in brackish estuaries , bays and shallow seas not too far off coasts (typically within the bounds of exclusive economic zones), fill the operational gap between brown-water and blue-water navies.