30 May 2023
by Ridzwan Rahmat
A computer-generated image of what Singapore's multirole combat vessel might look like. (Singapore Ministry of Defence)
For much of its existence since it was established in 1967 the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) – then known as the Singapore Naval Volunteer Force – was concerned with securing the country's territorial waters against threats such as smugglers and pirates.
However, beginning in the 1970s the service underwent a major introspection of its roles and responsibilities. At that time, the relatively tiny island at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula was growing rapidly as a major port and transhipment hub and there was an urgent need for the country to ensure that ships calling at and departing from its shores were well protected against conventional and non-conventional maritime threats.
Policymakers of the time decided that to continue thriving as a major port of call for ships plying the east-west maritime routes the country's navy needed to break out of its mould as a coastguard-like service into a maritime power that projects its forces into the country's sea lines of communication (SLOCs) including those that run through the Strait of Malacca and the South China Sea.
18 March 2024
by Richard Scott
Naval Group's Black Sword Barracuda design has been selected as the basis for the Netherlands' Walrus-class replacement submarine programme. (Naval Group)
The Netherlands has selected France's Naval Group as its preferred bidder for a new class of conventional submarine to replace the Royal Netherlands Navy's (RNLN's) current Walrus-class boats.
Naval Group, offering its Black Sword Barracuda design, was chosen ahead of rival proposals from Saab (bidding the C718 expeditionary derivative of Sweden's A26 design) and Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (pitching the Type 212CD E expeditionary variant of the German/Norwegian Type 212CD). The Black Shark Barracuda is a scaled, conventionally powered derivative of the French Navy's Suffren-class nuclear-powered attack submarine.
Announcing the provisional award on 15 March, State Secretary for Defence Christophe van der Maat described the French offer as “a balanced, versatile, and realistic bid”, adding, “Dutch industry has a strong role to play, [which is] an important requirement in this award.”
15 March 2024
by Michael Fabey
With the keel being laid in 2022 for carrier Enterprise , the expected delivery date for the ship was scheduled for March 2028. The ship is now to be delivered in September 2029. (Janes/Michael Fabey)
Industry supporters caution that any delays in the previously planned acquisition schedules of aircraft carriers could have a cascading effect on cost and schedule in the wake of proposed carrier schedule changes in the proposed US Navy's (USN's) fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget, released on 11 March.
“Overall, changes to a shipbuilding plan do not help the industrial base, they harm it,” Lisa Papini, president and CEO of Dante Valve Company and chair of the Aircraft Carrier Industrial Base Coalition (ACIBC), told Janes on 13 March.
“They inject inconsistency and uncertainty that cause companies to rethink their existing shipbuilding plans,” she said. “They cause a company to rethink whether they want to invest in navy shipbuilding because the work may or may not occur. It disincentives investment.”
14 March 2024
by Cem Devrim Yaylali
TCG Istanbul seen transiting the Bosphorus Strait enroute to the test site on 2 March. (Cem Devrim Yaylali)
The Turkish Navy performed its first Hisar-D missile launch from the Midlas vertical launch system (VLS) installed onboard the TCG Istanbul in the second week of March.
The event marked the first launch from the indigenous VLS on the high seas. The frigate was observed sailing northbound through the Bosphorus Strait to the test site on 2 March.
Haluk Görgün, the president of the Defence Industry Agency (SSB), shared a video of the firing on social media. The video showed the loading of the canisters with the missile on TCG Istanbul while the ship was at Karadeniz Ereğli naval base.
A single Hisar-D air-defence missile was launched from the Midlas VLS. The Hisar-D radar-guided missile used during the test is a naval version of the Hisar-O air-defence missile being developed for the Turkish Land Forces. The imaging infrared seeker of the original missile was replaced with an radio frequency seeker for the naval version. The missile has a dual-pulse engine with an approximate range of 25 km.
For much of its existence since it was established in 1967 the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) – th...
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