An artist's concept of how Lockheed Martin's LRDR would detect ballistic missile launches from Asia. The radar completed preliminary design review in March and will go through critical design review in September 2027. (Lockheed Martin)

The Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and its industry counterparts at Lockheed Martin are preparing for the ‘final transition' of the long-awaited Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) to the US armed forces in the Indo-Pacific region.

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.

A Kodiak-based MH-65 trains aboard the USCGC Healy in 2022. (Janes/Michael Fabey)

The last US Coast Guard (USCG) Airbus MH-65 Dolphin in Alaska retired from Air Station Kodiak on 23 April, ending the type's 36-year employment in the service's Alaska Patrol (ALPAT) role.

“For decades, the cutter and helicopter team were the core of the ALPAT mission,” said Commander James Kenshalo, a USCG MH-65 Dolphin pilot. “Together they projected force and protection to the most extreme remote regions of our nation's territories, operating beyond where help could reach.”