IOC for UK Royal Navy's first-in-class Type 26 frigate to be delayed by 12 months

by Kate Tringham

The future HMS Glasgow under construction at BAE Systems' Govan yard in Scotland. (Richard Scott/NAVYPIX)

UK Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace has confirmed that initial operating capability (IOC) for the Royal Navy's first Type 26 City-class frigate has slipped by one year to October 2028. The ship is being built by BAE Systems at its Govan facility in Scotland.

In a written statement to Parliament on 2 November, Wallace said the delay was mainly due to the impacts of the Covid pandemic, as well as design and supply chain issues.

“Due to the impact of Covid 19, where the Govan yard was required to shut down for a number of weeks, and challenges typical of those experienced with the first-of-class ship, including finalising the ship design and timely delivery of key new to service equipment, the Department is forecasting a twelve-month delay to the Type 26 initial operating capability from October 2027 to October 2028,” he said in the statement.


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Vietnam issues diplomatic note to Malaysia after South China Sea collision

by Ridzwan Rahmat

A file image of KM Arau , which collided into a Vietnamese fishing vessel on 22 April. (MMEA)

Hanoi has issued a diplomatic note to Putrajaya after a Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) vessel collided into a Vietnamese fishing boat in disputed waters of the South China Sea, multiple sources close to the matter confirmed to Janes .

Vessels involved in the collision are the MMEA's sole Arau (Nojima)-class offshore patrol vessel (OPV) KM Arau and an unnamed fishing boat with pennant number 90729.

The collision took place on 22 April at about 15 n miles southeast of Investigator Shoal, which lies within the Spratly Islands cluster. The feature is occupied by Malaysia, but also claimed by China, Vietnam, and Taiwan as part of their respective maritime territories.

As a result of the collision, 22 fishermen from 90729 fell overboard and a search-and-rescue operation (SAR) was established by both the Vietnamese and Malaysian authorities.


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Special Report: Australia to accentuate maritime capabilities amid China's coercion

by Ridzwan Rahmat

A Royal Australian Navy Hobart-class guided-missile destroyer fires a Harpoon surface-to-surface missile during Exercise ‘Pacific Vanguard' 2022. The class will be equipped with the Naval Strike Missile in the future. (Commonwealth of Australia)

The Australian government has released two more policy documents that outline its defence development intentions over the next few years. The two documents – National Defence Strategy (NDS) 2024 and Integrated Investment Program (IIP) 2024 – were unveiled by Australia's Minister of Defence Richard Marles on 17 April.

The new policies follow Australia's Defence Strategic Review (DSR) – issued in April 2023 – and its evaluation of surface combatant capabilities, which was released earlier in 2024.

As outlined in the IIP 2024, the Australian government is projected to spend AUD765 billion (USD496 billion) in the decade between 2024 and 2034 on defence programmes. This amount includes an additional AUD56 billion above the previous trajectory that was forecast for this period.


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Austal completes sea trials for Australia's autonomous patrol boat project

by Ridzwan Rahmat

Sentinel , the testbed for Australia's Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial project. (Austal)

Australian shipbuilder Austal has completed the sea acceptance trials phase for the country's Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial (PBAT), the company announced on 23 April.

The milestone, which included an endurance trial, was achieved by the project's testbed – a decommissioned Armidale-class patrol boat now known as Sentinel. The vessel was formerly in service with the Royal Australian Navy as HMAS Maitland and retired in 2022.

The PBAT is an Australian government-funded project. Besides Austal Australia, other stakeholders in the project include Fremantle-based engineering company Greenroom Robotics, research centre Trusted Autonomous Systems, and the Royal Australian Navy Warfare Innovation Navy (WIN) Branch.

It seeks to provide a proof-of-concept demonstrator for optionally crewed or autonomous operations.

As part of the trials, Sentinel carried out a series of remote and autonomous navigation events conducted off the Western Australian coastline between March and April, Austal said.

These events were carried out with a software known as Greenroom's Advanced Maritime Autonomy (GAMA) from a Western Australia-based company Greenroom Robotics.

Austral Australia took possession of the decommissioned Maitland


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https://www.janes.com/defence-news/naval-weapons/latest/ioc-for-uk-royal-navys-first-in-class-type-26-frigate-to-be-delayed-by-12-months

UK Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace has confirmed that initial operating capability (IOC) ...

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