Huntingdon Ingalls Shipbuilding (HHI) has confirmed that its Ingalls Shipbuilding division has received a US$1.3 billion modification to a previously awarded contract from the US Navy for detailed design and construction of amphibious transport dock LPD 32. The resulting fixed-price-incentive contract totals US$1.54 billion. The ship will be the 16th in the San Antonio-class and the third […]
By David Foxwell Two analyses of unrelated recent events could suggest a great deal about the way naval technology is evolving, and about how it is evolving a country that presents a potential threat to regional and Western forces. In the first, Ukraine used uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to inflict […]
Uncertainty surrounds the start of construction and a delivery date for the US Coast Guard’s flagship Polar Security Cutter A delivery date for the first of the US Navy’s trio of Polar Security Cutters (PSC) remains unclear following testimony given to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation in April […]
The governments of Australia, the UK and US have set out a staged plan to deliver to the Royal Australian Navy a new fleet of conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines (SSNs) under the framework of the tripartite AUKUS alliance. Announced on 13 March 2023, the so-called Optimised Pathway outlines a phased approach to the acquisition and […]
Ongoing efforts to improve safety on US Navy ships whilst they are undergoing maintenance should be enhanced, Government Accountability Office (GAO) says. The US Navy reported more than US$4 billion in estimated damage from fires that occurred onboard ships undergoing maintenance from May 2008 through December 2022, but it does not have a process for […]
A contract to build the first ship is due to be awarded in early 2024, but cost-to-complete funding is required for the first of class The cost of the US Navy’s T-AGOS 25-class ocean surveillance ships has soared as a result of rising shipbuilding costs, including direct material inflation, supply chain challenges, and increased non-recurring […]
In January 2023, the first of the Marine Nationale’s new logistic support ships, the Bâtiment Ravitailleur de Forces (BRF) Jacques Chevallier commenced sea trials. Jacques Chevallier first went to sea in December 2022. Initial sea trials formally commenced on 25 January 2023, and were completed on 28 January 2023. The first-of-class is due to be […]
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in the US is hoping to revive the concept of wing-in-ground effect (WIG) and has selected two teams to develop designs for its ‘Liberty Lifter X-Plane Programme.’ In the first phase of the programme, two teams – General Atomics working with Maritime Applied Physics Corporation, and Aurora Flight […]
The US Navy is moving ahead with plans to significantly reconfigure its DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class guided missile destroyers to meet changed operational requirements and a new warfighting concept of operations in the Pacific theatre. Central to this is the integration of a new hypersonic weapon system into the Zumwalt-class ships to confer a long-range prompt […]
The UK Ministry of Defence has acquired the commercial offshore support vessel, Topaz Tangaroa, for conversion to a Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance (MROS) seabed warfare platform. Purchased from Topaz Energy & Marine by the Ships Acquisition team at Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) at a cost of £65 million (US$79 million), the vessel is now being […]
In October 2022, Austal Australia took possession of a decommissioned Armidale-class patrol boat, the former HMAS Maitland, from the Commonwealth of Australia, to commence planning, modification, and test and evaluation of autonomous and remotely operated systems. The Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial (PBAT) is a collaboration between Austal, the Trusted Autonomous Systems Defence Cooperative Research Centre […]
BAE Systems Naval Ships has provided Warship Technology with an insight into concept development activity intended to establish the key characteristics and attributes required for a future highly configurable, multi-mission warship optimised for littoral strike and lethality. Known as the Adaptable Strike Frigate, the concept has been evolved to deliver a flexible ‘system of systems’ […]