01 April 2020
by Vinod Kumar CV
The Venezuelan Coast Guard’s third coastal patrol ship (Buque de Vigilancia de Litoral - BVL) Naiguata (GC 23) has sunk following a collision with a passenger ship northwest of La Tortuga Island, near Caracas, on 30 March.
Naiguata during its launch ceremony in June 2009. (Navantia)
The collision resulted in serious damage to the Guaicamacuto‐class (Avante 1400) patrol vessel, which was on a maritime patrol exercise at the time of the accident.
According to Venezuelan Navy officials, the Portuguese-flagged passenger ship Resolute did not stop following the collision. However, all 44 crew members on board were rescued by the Venezuelan Navy.
Naiguata is one of three Guaicamacuto‐class BVLs that were built by Spanish shipbuilder Navantia at its yard in San Fernando, Spain. Construction of the fourth ship in class, Comandante Eterno Hugo Chávez (ex- Tamanac o), is nearing completion at Venezuela’s state shipyard Dianca in Puerta Cabello under a technology transfer agreement.
The BVL design incorporates two diesel engines for a maximum speed of 22 kt and a range of 4,000 n miles at 12 kt, with a helicopter deck and an Oto Melara 76 mm/62 compact gun.
17 May 2024
by Akhil Kadidal
Indonesia was supposed to receive its fourth and fifth (and final) C-130J-30s in January 2024. In this January 2024 picture is the first C-130J-30 received by Indonesia (serial no A-1339), which arrived in Indonesia on 6 March 2023. (Eko Siswono Toyudho/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU) has announced that it has received its fifth and final Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Super Hercules.
“The fifth C-130J-30 (with tail number A-1342) has arrived at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base in Jakarta,” the Indonesian Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced on 16 May. Janes has previously reported that the acquisition of the five aircraft was part of a Direct Commercial Sale (DCS) contract with Lockheed Martin.
According to the original delivery schedule, four C-130J-30s were to be delivered by October 2023, with the final aircraft to be delivered in January 2024. According to the MoD, three C-130J-30s were delivered in 2023: the first in March 2023 (serial no A-1339), the second aircraft in June 2023 (A-1340), and the third in August 2023 (A-1343). A fourth aircraft (A-1344) was delivered in January 2024.
17 May 2024
by Nicholas Fiorenza
OCCAR and MBDA have launched the HYDIS² concept phase. (MBDA)
The Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) and MBDA announced on 15 May that they signed a European Defence Fund (EDF) grant agreement and a linked procurement contract to launch the three-year HYpersonic Defence Interceptor Study (HYDIS²) concept phase on the same day. MBDA signed the agreements on behalf of the 19 industrial partners in HYDIS². In its press release, OCCAR valued the programme at EUR140 million (USD152 million), EUR80 million of which is co-funded by the EDF.
The concept phase aims to mature critical technologies focusing on the operational requirements of participating countries France, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, which will support the selection of a concept afterwards and will contribute to MBDA's Aquila counter-hypersonic interceptor concept. Another aim of the concept phase is to create an industrial network to develop future counter-hypersonic missile systems.
An MBDA spokesperson told Janes
17 May 2024
by Gareth Jennings
Poland now has all 24 of the TB2 UAVs it ordered from Türkiye, operating them across four systems based at the 12th Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Base at Mirosławiec. (Polish MND)
Poland has received the last of 24 Baykar Bayraktar TB2 armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Türkiye.
The Polish Armaments Agency (AA) announced the milestone on 16 May, saying that the last four unmanned aircraft systems (UASs), each comprising six UAVs, had been received into the 12th Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Base at Mirosławiec on the same day.
“The Secretary of State in the Ministry of National Defense, Paweł Bejda, together with representatives of the Polish Armed Forces, took part in the ceremony of completing the delivery of the last, fourth set of the Bayraktar TB2 unmanned reconnaissance and strike system,” the AA said.
The Venezuelan Coast Guard’s third coastal patrol ship (Buque de Vigilancia de Litoral - BVL) Naigua...
In this episode Harry Kemsley and Sean Corbett are joined by Phil Ritcheson Ph.D. to discuss why intelligence sharing is now more important than ever. They discuss the growing need for allied and partnership and how by using open sources facilit...
Listen now