08 December 2021
by Lale Sariibrahimoglu
The Turkish Naval Forces Ada-class corvette TCG Kinaliada (F-514) test-fires an Atmaca anti-ship missile in the Black Sea in early November 2019. (Roketsan)
Turkey has begun deliveries of its indigenous Atmaca (Hawk) anti-ship cruise missiles to the Turkish Navy Forces Command (TNFC) , İsmail Demir, head of Turkey's Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB), has confirmed.
Speaking to reporters at the Global Strategies in Defence and Aerospace Industry Conference, held in Antalya on 4–5 December, Demir said the first platform to deploy Atmaca will be TCG Kınalıada, the fourth MilGem Ada-class corvette, which was delivered to the TNFC in 2019.
Atmaca, developed by Roketsan, is a high-precision, long-range, surface-to-surface, precision-strike anti-ship missile that can be integrated on patrol boats, frigates, and corvettes. Atmaca is 5.2 m in length, 350 mm in diameter, and has a deployed wingspan of 1.4 m. It weighs less than 800 kg, including a 250 kg-class high-explosive penetrating warhead, and has a range of more than 220 km.
Meanwhile, the indigenous Akya 533 mm heavyweight torpedo, also manufactured by Roketsan, will begin entering the TNFC inventory in 2022, Demir said.
30 April 2024
by Kate Tringham
The Belgian Navy's Modernised M (Karel Doorman)-class frigate BNS Louise-Marie (F 931) will join the EU's maritime security mission ‘Aspides' in the Red Sea in the coming week. (Guy Toremans)
The Belgian Navy's Modernised M (Karel Doorman)-class frigate BNS Louise-Marie (F 931) has been declared operationally ready to participate in the European Union's (EU's) maritime security missions in the Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz following a period of extended preparatory training in the Mediterranean, the service has announced.
Louise-Marie was originally scheduled to transit through the Suez Canal to join the EU's ‘Aspides' mission to protect commercial shipping in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden on 12 April. However, on 13 April the Belgian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the deployment had been postponed ‘indefinitely' to address technical issues that had occurred during training the previous week. During the incident, one of the ship's RIM-7 M/P Sea Sparrow surface-to-air (SAM) missiles failed to launch, remaining stuck in the launch tube, and several other weapon systems also failed to shoot down the practice drone.
29 April 2024
by Michael Fabey
Virginia-class submarine New Jersey was delivered to the US Navy. (Janes/Michael Fabey)
HII's Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) unit confirmed on 25 April it had delivered Virginia-class fast-attack submarine New Jersey (SSN 796) to the US Navy (USN) in a release, noting the SSN is scheduled to be commissioned later in 2024.
The submarine delivery comes at a time when the USN shipbuilding is coming under scrutiny – with the Virginia-class programmes being one of the efforts coming under intense focus – for running far behind schedule.
Not only is the Virginia shipbuilding programme off schedule, but lawmakers are questioning the recent USN fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget request for only a single submarine, when two were expected.
However, USN officials noted they are making the best decisions possible because of workforce and supply-chain issues that continue to plague the efforts to build submarines and other naval vessels.
New Jersey is the 11th Virginia-class submarine delivered by NNS and the 23rd built as part of the teaming agreement with General Dynamics Electric Boat.
26 April 2024
by Kate Tringham
HMS Diamond shoots down a missile fired by Iranian-backed Houthis from Yemen over the Gulf of Aden using its Sea Viper missile system – the first time a Royal Navy warship has intercepted a missile in combat since 1991. (Royal Navy/Crown Copyright)
The UK Royal Navy's (RN's) Daring (Type 45)-class destroyer HMS Diamond (D 34) has successfully engaged an anti-ship ballistic missile (ASBM) launched by Yemen-based Ansar Allah (commonly known as Houthi) rebels targeting a merchant ship in the Gulf of Aden, the service confirmed on 25 April.
During the incident, which took place around 1151 h local time (Sanaa time) on 24 April, Diamond used its Sea Viper anti-air guided weapon system to shoot down the missile, the navy said. According to a US Central Command (CENTCOM) statement issued on 25 April, the missile was likely targeting the US-flagged, owned, and operated merchant vessel MV Yorktown, which has 18 US and four Greek crew members onboard.
No injuries or damage was sustained by the ship or its crew, CENTCOM said.
Diamond
Turkey has begun deliveries of its indigenous Atmaca (Hawk) anti-ship cruise missiles to the Turkish...
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