The US Coast Guard (USCG) accepted delivery of the 54th fast response cutter (FRC), William Sparling, on 20 July 2023 in Key West, Florida. William Sparling will be the fifth FRC to be homeported in Boston. The USCG has ordered 65 FRCs to date. Fifty-two are in service: 13 in Florida; seven in Puerto Rico; […]
The US Coast Guard (USCG) cutter Harriet Lane departed the Coast Guard yard in Baltimore on 3 August 2023, after undergoing 15 months of in-service vessel sustainment work. The service-life extension programme for the cutter entailed 113 work items, worth US$21 million, which included a new electrical system and an Mk38 Mod 3 gun weapon […]
Construction started on the sixth Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB), the future USNS Hector A Cafferata Jr (ESB 8) at General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (GD NASSCO) on 8 August 2023. ESBs are designed to be flexible and used in a range of military operations supporting multiple operational phases, similar to the Expeditionary Transfer […]
Seismic mitigation efforts, which began in February 2023 on the Trident Refit Facility at Delta Pier in Bangor dry dock, have been completed. In January 2023, the US Navy restricted submarines from entering certain dry docks in the Pacific Northwest (both at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility and Trident Refit Facility – […]
The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is to acquire a new generation of smart sea mines, which will significantly enhance its mining capability. The mines will be deployable from submarines, ships and aircraft. Following evaluation of market options last year, the Defence Force selected RWM Italia to provide the capability under a multimillion-dollar contract. RWM Italia […]
The US Navy named the first Navajo-class towing, salvage and rescue ship, USNS Navajo (T-ATS 6), in a ceremony on 26 August 2023 in Houma, Louisiana. The future USNS Navajo will be operated by the Military Sealift Command. The vessels will replace the existing Powhatan-class T-ATF fleet ocean tugs and Safeguard-class T-ARS rescue and salvage […]
A composite cutting ceremony was held on 15 August 2023 at Saab’s site in Karlskrona in Sweden for the first of four masts for the Finnish Navy’s new Pohjanmaa-class vessels. The masts are manufactured in the same composite material used for the Swedish Navy’s Visby-class corvettes. In September 2019, Saab signed a contract to provide […]
Thales Australia says work is underway to develop a masterplan for the company’s Carrington site in order to establish a ‘Maritime Autonomy and SME Collaboration Precinct’ to support the Royal Australian Navy’s Mine Countermeasures and Military Survey Capability SEA1905-1 programme, should Thales be selected to participate in it. For more than 30 years, the Carrington […]
The hull of the UK Royal Navy’s first Type 31 frigates, HMS Venturer, is taking shape at Babcock. After less than 18 months since the vessel’s keel was laid, Venturer is beginning to resemble a warship as the giant units and blocks which make up the vessel are slotted into place by Babcock at their […]
thyssenkrupp Marine Systems and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited have signed a contract for overhaul and modernisation of Indian submarine INS Shankush. The agreement follows a memorandum of understanding between the partners in June 2023 for the construction of submarines for the Indian Navy in India. INS Shankush is the second submarine in a series of […]
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has issued a notice regarding a request for information (RfI) for operational and training ammunition for 57mm and 40mm guns on the forthcoming Type 31 frigate. The notice serves to alert the market of an early engagement opportunity to respond to a RfI relating to Type 57mm and 40mm […]
UK-based Babcock has celebrated a number of major milestones in the Miecznik frigate programme in Poland. Following a strategic co-operation agreement signed in 2022, the UK-based company finalised a design licence agreement with the PGZ-Miecznik consortium which allows them to build three frigates for the Polish Navy. The deal is the second export licence for […]