Greece is to start negotiations to purchase at least two Heron high-altitude long-endurance unmanned aircraft systems. (IAI)

The joint chiefs of the Hellenic National Defence Forces General Staff decided on 25 September to increase the number of Greek military personnel to be assigned to missions abroad under either NATO or European Union (EU) command by up to 20%. The three armed services will now issue specific proposals on units assigned to missions abroad.

The joint chiefs also discussed armament programmes included in the armed forces' medium-term upgrade and modernisation plan. They approved the purchase of more fast-attack craft (FAC) armed with missiles. The Hellenic Navy (HN) has seven Roussen-class (Super Vita) FAC armed with Exocet missiles, and nine older Combattante IIIA- and Combattante IIIB-class ships are to be replaced in the next few years.

It was also decided that the Etna-class general support ship, HS Prometheus , would be converted into a command-and-control (C2) ship at yet-to-be decided Greek shipyards.

US Coast Guard Cutter Forward (WMEC 911) steams near an iceberg in the Atlantic in support of ‘Operation NANOOK'. (US Coast Guard)

Having been successful in blurring the lines of US naval command responsibilities for Atlantic Ocean theatres, the US Navy (USN) is looking to create a similar single approach for ensuring US interests and national security in Arctic regions, according to Admiral Daryl Caudle, US commander of Fleet Forces Command, Naval Forces Northern Command (NAVNORTH), Naval Forces Strategic Command, and Strategic Command Joint Force Maritime Component Commander.

When Adm Caudle took over as commander of these naval components in December 2021, he set out to erase the line dividing areas of responsibility for the Atlantic.

“One of the challenges is that in the middle of the Atlantic, you have NORTHCOM [Northern Command] on one side [and] EUCOM [European Command] on the other side,” Adm Caudle told Janes on 25 September in an interview at US Fleet Forces Command (USFFC) headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia.

“We've been able to dissolve that,” he said, noting increased co-ordination, collaboration, and seamless sharing of resources by the different combatant commanders.

Taiwan's first locally built submarine is seen here before it was officially unveiled by President Tsai Ing-wen at the CSBC Corporation shipbuilding company in Kaohsiung on 28 September 2023. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images)

Taiwanese shipbuilder CSBC Corporation has unveiled the country's first indigenously developed submarine, which will be in service with the Republic of China Navy (RoCN).

The boat was unveiled by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on 28 September at CSBC's facilities in Kaohsiung. A ceremony to mark the occasion was broadcast live on online streaming services operated by Taiwanese news outlets.

In her address at the ceremony, President Tsai made some remarks praising the Taiwanese naval industry and the RoCN for achieving the milestone but no further details on the vessel were disclosed other than its name. The vessel will be in service as ROCS Hai Kun once commissioned.

The vessel has an overall length of about 70 m, an overall beam of about 8 m, and will likely displace about 2,700 tonnes at full load.