HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division has been awarded a US$154.8 million contract modification for work on USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000). Zumwalt arrived in Pascagoula on 19 August 2023 after leaving San Diego earlier in the month. The ship will enter a modernisation period and receive technology upgrades including the integration of the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) […]
Progressive approach to design provides a pathway for the introduction of new technology and energy-saving and emission-reducing technology. Team Resolute, a consortium of Navantia UK, BMT and Harland & Wolff has unveiled an evolved design for the Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ship. The FSS programme is delivering new solid support ships to replace RFA Fort […]
The Netherlands and Belgium are embarking on the construction of a new class of frigates primarily intended for anti-submarine warfare and other roles. The Netherlands Ministry of Defence – through the Materiel and IT Command (Commando Materieel en IT – COMMIT) – has awarded the Naval Division of Damen Shipyards Group a contract for the […]
In August 2023, PT PAL Indonesia held a keel-laying ceremony for the first ‘Red and White Frigate’ for the Indonesian Navy. The frigates are based on Babcock’s ‘Arrowhead 140’ design which itself is based on the Royal Danish Navy’s Iver Huitfeldt class. The frigates are 140m in length with a displacement of 5,996tonnes. The vessels […]
The French and Italian navies are to upgrade their Horizon-class frigates to counter the threat posed by new-generation missiles and drones. In late July 2023, the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) signed a contract with Naviris and Eurosam for the mid-life upgrade (MLU) of the Horizon-class frigates operated by the French and Italian navies. […]
The Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Surface Warfare Division (N96) has approved a service-life extension for four Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers as the first of a newly upgraded version of the surface combatant enters service. USS Ramage (DDG 61), homeported in Norfolk, Virginia in the US, and USS Benfold (DDG 65), based in […]
Delivery revives a capability the IDF has not been able to draw on since the early 1990s. In August 2023, the Israeli Navy took delivery of the first of what is expected to be a new class of two landing craft. Delivery of INS Nahshon took place at what the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) described […]
Newbuilds are the latest in a long line of mine warfare vessels the German yard has built. Abeking & Rasmussen, a German shipyard that has a long history of building mine countermeasures vessels, has delivered the latest in a series of newbuilds of this type of vessel to the Indonesian Navy. The shipyard’s first mine […]
ARES Shipyard’s new ‘suicide commando’, the ULAQ KAMA Expendable USV (XUSV), has been developed to proactively repel hostile threats – or to die trying. The Turkish boatbuilder recently unveiled the prototype of this latest addition to its ULAQ series of armed USVs, which was developed in partnership with Meteksan Defence and launched in December 2020, […]
By Dr MJ Cianni, CEng., FRINA, FIEAust In order for the AUKUS submarines to operate for 33 years without refuelling they will need to use highly enriched uranium (HEU) at 93% to 97%, with a mass in excess of 200Kg. Since HEU is highly efficient, enabling a 200Kg HEU mass over 33 years would give […]
In June 2023, the Denmark’s Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO) signed an agreement with Danske Patruljeskibe – a consortium comprising Terma, Odense Maritime Technology and PensionDanmark – for the design for a new generation of patrol vessels for the Danish Armed Forces. In so doing, DALO has selected Danske Patruljeskibe as the party responsible […]
The Royal Navy is transitioning mine countermeasures capability from ships to unmanned, autonomous units and a distributed, disaggregated force that makes use of networking, autonomy and artificial intelligence. With a series of operational demonstrators already on contract as part of Block 1 of the Mine Hunting Capability (MHC) programme, the Ministry of Defence and UK […]