The keel was laid for guided-missile frigate Constellation , the lead ship for the new class of surface ships. (US Navy)

The keel for the guided-missile frigate Constellation (FFG 62), the lead ship of the new Constellation-class of ships, was laid on 12 April, the US Navy (USN) confirmed.

Speaking at the keel-laying ceremony on the same day, USN Secretary Carlo Del Toro noted the need to augment the fleet with ships like FFGs, especially with recent events in the Red Sea.

“ Constellation and the Constellation-class frigates are a critical next step in the modernisation of our surface ship inventory, increasing the number of players on the field available globally for our fleet and combatant commanders,” Del Toro said during his speech, according to the USN.

“As recent events in the Red Sea and Indo-Pacific have shown, our ships, submarines, aircraft, sailors, and marines are in high demand by our national decision makers,” he said.

Testifying on 10 April before the House Appropriations Committee (HAC), Del Toro noted some of the fleet-relative technological enhancements being advanced in the frigate programme.

A Japan Coast Guard H225 helicopter. The service has ordered three more airframes of the type. (Airbus Helicopters)

Japan's coastguard service has ordered three more Airbus H225 twin-engine helicopters.

This latest order brings the Japan Coast Guard's (JCG's) total H225 fleet to 18, including airframes that were acquired more than a decade ago, an Airbus spokesperson confirmed to Janes on 16 April.

Most recently, the JCG took delivery of three H225s in December 2023 and one in February 2024.

“The new helicopters will support territorial coastal activities, maritime law enforcement, as well as disaster relief missions in the country,” reads a statement issued by Airbus on 11 April to announce the latest JCG order.

“The Japan Coast Guard has been an active operator of the Super Puma family helicopters for three decades,” said Jean-Luc Alfonsi, managing director of Airbus Helicopters in Japan, in the media statement.

“We believe the H225 is the perfect choice for JCG's critical missions for law enforcement, as well as coastal and island protection, given its versatility in all weather conditions,” Alfonsi added.

The US Navy lost amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard to fire damage. (US Navy)

US Navy (USN) leaders are touting the investments being planned for the country's naval amphibious fleet and associated resources, even as government analysts are questioning the costs of some of these acquisitions and the navy is studying requirements and maintenance issues associated with amphibious forces.

Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the chief of naval operations (CNO), confirmed that the USN and the US Marine Corps (USMC) will review amphibious warship readiness and maintenance issues on 8 April during a discussion with reporters at the Navy League Sea-Air-Space 2024 global maritime exposition in National Harbor, Maryland.

The USMC could not fulfil US emergency-response force needs on two recent important occasions, Bryan Clark, senior fellow and director of the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology at Hudson Institute, told Janes on 31 March in an interview in advance of the symposium.

Marines had to forego disaster relief for Türkiye and the service could not provide similar amphibious operations for Noncombatant Evacuation Operations (NEO) for South Sudan, Clark noted.

With the loss of amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard