09 June 2023
by Chinmay Kohad
The Sea Ghost (above) can control up to four M-Searcher USVs operating in swarm. (Janes/Chinmay Kohad)
Hanwha Systems displayed its manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) solution for the Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN) at the MADEX 2023 exhibition in Busan, which concluded on 9 June. The concept features two types of unmanned surface vessel (USV) platforms – the Sea Ghost and the M-Searcher.
The Sea Ghost USV has a length of 12 m and a width of 3.5 m. This vessel is powered by two engines using hybrid propulsion, with two water-jets enabling a cruise speed of 20 kt and a maximum speed of 40 kt.
The Sea Ghost has been fitted with a navigation radar, a wave radar, and an electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor. For communications, it uses an electronically steerable satellite communications (satcom) antenna fixed on a mast and linked to a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite and an underwater acoustic system in the stern.
29 March 2024
by Ridzwan Rahmat
Italian Navy Thaon di Revel-class PPA ITS Francesco Morosini seen at Langkawi during its 2023 Asia-Pacific tour. (Janes/Mansasvi Sharma Shanker)
Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri announced on 28 March that it has signed a EUR1.18 billion (USD1.27) contract for two multirole offshore patrol ships (Pattugliatore Polivalente d'Altura: PPA) with the Indonesian Ministry of Defense (MoD).
However, Indonesia's ability to fund this commitment is presently unclear given the lack of an allocation for this programme in the country's defence budget.
The PPA is a class of 143 m warships that can be configured for a wide spectrum of missions ranging from ‘light' low-tempo maritime surveillance operations to ‘full combat' higher-end warfighting scenarios. Depending on the configuration, the vessels displace between 5,800 and 6,300 tonnes.
Italy has commissioned three of the vessels and the ships were inducted between March 2022 and September 2023. The Italian Navy is expected to receive its fourth and fifth PPAs in 2024.
27 March 2024
by Michael Fabey
An artist rendering of the proposed US Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter, whose cost estimates are being questioned. (VT Halter Marine/Technology)
The accuracy of the estimated procurement cost of the proposed US Coast Guard (USCG) Polar Security Cutter (PSC), given its size and internal complexity, is a potential issue of concern, according to the US Congressional Research Service (CRS).
“The PSC's estimated procurement cost per weight is roughly half that of the [US] Navy's LPD-17 Flight II and LHA amphibious ships,” the CRS said in its report, Coast Guard Polar Security Cutter (Polar Icebreaker) Program: Background and Issues for Congress , released on 25 March.
“These amphibious ships are equipped with expensive combat system equipment that is not included in the PSC design, but whether this would account for all of the difference in cost per weight between the PSC design and the two amphibious ship designs is not clear,” the CRS said. “If substantial cost growth occurs in the PSC program, it could raise a question regarding whether to grant some form of contract relief to the PSC shipbuilder.”
27 March 2024
by Ridzwan Rahmat
Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen seen here at the handover ceremony of An Chiang (625) and Wan Chiang (626) on 26 March 2024. (Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty Images)
The Republic of China Navy (RoCN) has received its fifth and sixth Tuo Chiang-class guided-missile corvettes.
Presiding over the vessels' handover ceremony on 26 March at Yilan was Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen who in an official social media post on the same day described the handover event as “an important step forward for Taiwan's indigenous naval defence”.
The Tuo Chiang class is a catamaran-hulled corvette that features a wave-piercing form factor with reduced radar cross-section (RCS) exteriors. It was developed by the country's National Chung-Shan Institute of Science & Technology (NCSIST) with local shipbuilder Lung Teh.
First-of-class ROCS Tuo Chiang (618) was commissioned in December 2014. The programme's second-of-class onwards are based on an improved design with a longer overall length of 65 m and a higher displacement of 685 tonnes. The first-of-class displaces about 600 tonnes and has an overall length of about 60 m.
The vessels that were handed over on 26 March are named An Chiang (625) and Wan Chiang
Hanwha Systems displayed its manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) solution for the Republic of Korea Navy...
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