The Victa DDU prototype is pictured during proof-of-concept trials, which were conducted at SubSea Craft's T3 facility in Portland, Dorset, in June and July 2023. (SubSea Craft)  The first prototype for SubSea Craft's Victa diver delivery unit (DDU) has achieved proof-of-concept certification after completing a series of advanced sea trials at the company's trials, testing, and training (T3) facility in Portland, Dorset.  The milestone, which was completed in July, has paved the way to start manufacture of the second unit, which will be a pro...

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu is shown a ‘351 land-attack cruise missile' at Iran's IRGC Aerospace Force museum in Tehran. (Russian Ministry of Defence)  The Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed that missiles previously only displayed by Yemen's Houthi rebels are Iranian, when it released photographs of Minister of Defence Sergei Shoigu inspecting them during a visit to Tehran on 20 September. The missiles were also seen in footage broadcast by the Sputnik news agency.  The weapons included the cruise missile that Ansar Allah...

According to DAPA, the new KTSSM-II will have a greater range than the baseline KTSSM (pictured above), which Hanwha has said has a range of between 130 and 180 km. (Janes/Jon Grevatt)  South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) has said it will invest KRW290 billion (USD218 million) over the next four years to complete the development of an upgraded version of its guided Korean Tactical Surface-to-Surface Missile (KTSSM).  DAPA said on 19 September that funds for development of the new KTSSM-II will be available from Sep...

The Lithuanian Air Force conducted its first live firing of NASAMS during Exercise ‘Silver Arrow 2023' held in Norway. (Norwegian Armed Forces)  The Lithuanian Air Force (LAF) conducted its first live firing of the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) III medium-range air-defence system during Exercise ‘Silver Arrow 2023', the Norwegian Armed Forces announced on their website on 15 September. The firing took place at the Nordmela missile firing range on Andøya in Nordland, Norway, and was supported by Ørland airbase's air-...

The Royal Brunei Navy Darussalam-class offshore patrol vessel, KDB   Darulehsan  , one of three visiting vessels taking part in the inaugural ASEAN multilateral naval exercise, which is being hosted by Indonesia.   (US Navy)  Navies at the inaugural Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) multilateral naval exercise will not take part in any live-firing serials throughout the activity, Janes has learnt.  The drills, which have been dubbed as ‘ASEAN Solidarity Exercise in Natuna (ASEX-01 N) 2023', are the fi...

A computer-generated image of Hanwha Ocean's KSS-III-derived proposal for the Philippine Navy's submarine programme. (Hanwha Ocean)  Hanwha Ocean has unveiled its latest, stepped-up proposal submitted for the Philippine Navy's (PN's) two-boat submarine requirement.    A computer-generated image (CGI) of the proposal, which has been dubbed as the Jangbogo-III PN submarine, was provided to   Janes  on 19 September ahead of a media release on the same day.   The vessel is derived from the Republic of Korea Navy's (RoKN's) KSS...

The FSS on display at DSEI 2023. (Janes/Kate Tringham)  The Spanish/UK industry consortium Team Resolute showcased its evolved design for the UK Royal Fleet Auxiliary's (RFA's) Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ship at the DSEI 2023 exhibition in London held from 12 to 15 September.  Team Resolute – led by prime contractor Navantia UK, a subsidiary of Spanish state-owned shipbuilder Navantia, and including BMT and Harland & Wolff – was awarded a GBP1.6 billion (USD1.98 billion) contract to deliver the three-ship FSS programme on 18 January 2023 after...

The Seawolf 400 autonomous underwater vehicle, pictured above from TADTE 2023, is designed to perform underwater anti-mine; search-and-rescue; and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)  Taiwan's Thunder Tiger Corp unveiled a prototype of the Seawolf 400 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) at the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition 2023 (TADTE 2023) held in Taipei from 14 to 16 September 2023.  Tony Chang, chief strategy officer, Thunder Tiger Corp, told Janes at the show that the showcased...

HNLMS   Rotterdam  is one of the vessels that could potentially be replaced by a common UK/Netherlands amphibious ship.   (Richard Scott/NAVYPIX)  The UK and the Netherlands will decide at the start of 2024 if there is sufficient alignment in their respective replacement amphibious ship programmes to pursue a joint acquisition programme.  Up to 12 new ships could be required to replace existing vessels in the Royal Navy (RN) and the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) from the early 2030s.    Both the RN and the R...

The Sky Bow III – locally known as Tien-Kung III – is a mid/long-range surface-to-air missile system. It is displayed at TADTE 2023. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)    Taiwan's National Chung-Shan Institute of Science & Technology (NCSIST) has developed two upgraded variants of the Sky Bow III surface-to-air missile (SAM) system, a spokesperson for NCSIST told   Janes   at the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition 2023 (TADTE 2023) held in Taipei from 14 to 16 September.   The new variants are named Strong Bow I and Strong B...

PNS   Hunain  , one of the two OPV 2600-derived patrol vessels that Damen is constructing for the Pakistan Navy, seen here at its launch ceremony.   (Damen Shipyards)  Damen Shipyards has launched the first of two new patrol vessels it is building for the Pakistan Navy.    The vessel, which will be in service as PNS   Hunain  once it is commissioned, was launched on 12 September at Damen's facilities in Galati, Romania, the company disclosed in a statement released to the media on 14 September....

A production model of Shadow Seal was displayed in public for the first time at the DSEI 2023 exhibition in London. (Storm Shadow)  The first production-standard Shadow Seal semi-submersible tactical diving vehicle (TDV) under development by UK-based JFD is set to start its final in-water testing and validation phase on the Clyde, near the company's facilities in Inchinnan, Glasgow.  Speaking to Janes at the DSEI 2023 exhibition in London on 13 September, Alistair Wilson, JFD sales and marketing director, said the final trials phase was expec...

BAE Systems' Herne XLAUV concept on display at DSEI 2023. (Janes/Kate Tringham)  BAE Systems has joined forces with Canadian company Cellula Robotics to develop a technology demonstrator for its extra-large autonomous underwater vehicle (XLAUV) that it plans to showcase by late 2024.  Under the project, BAE Systems is planning to demonstrate the capabilities developed for its Herne XLAUV concept on one of Cellula Robotics' Solus underwater vehicles in trials that are set to take place at a facility on the south coast of England in September 2...

A computer-generated image of the P2012 Sentinel SMP equipped with sensors such as an EO/IR pod and IMSAR's NSP-7 radar for ISR operations. (IMSAR)  Taiwan's Apex Aviation and Utah-based IMSAR have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) at the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition 2023 (TADTE 2023) to provide intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) services to the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) of Taiwan.  IMSAR will integrate its NSP-7 radar system into Tecnam's P2012 Sentinel Special Mission Platform (SMP) ai...

Hanwha Ocean KSS-III submarine model displayed at MSPO 2023. (Janes/Neil Dee )    South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean has confirmed to   Janes  its interest in potentially pitching the KSS-III submarine for the Polish Navy's ‘Orka' submarine programme. At the MSPO 2023 exhibition in Kielce, Poland, Hanwha Ocean displayed a model of the KSS-III at their pavilion, while the group's vice chairman Dong Kwan Kim also presented the submarine model to Polish President Andrzej Duda.     The Orka programme is to replace the...

The new ASW sonobuoy dispensing capability, unveiled at DSEI in London, is based on the Skeldar V-200 vertical take-off and landing UAS. (Janes/Kate Tringham)  UMS Skeldar and Ultra Maritime have jointly developed a new anti-submarine warfare (ASW) sonobuoy dispensing capability for rotary-winged unmanned aircraft systems (UASs).  The new capability, which is based on the Skeldar V-200 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAS, was displayed for the first time at the DSEI 2023 exhibition in London.  It enables the Skeldar V-200 UAS to be used...

The strike-length MK 41 vertical launcher on   De Ruyter  is already capable of accommodating the Tomahawk cruise missile.  (Richard Scott/NAVYPIX)  The Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) is moving forward with plans for a proof-of-concept launch of a Tomahawk cruise missile in the Pacific during the second half of 2024.  Work is under way to prepare the De Zeven Provinciën-class air-defence and command frigate (Luchtverdedigings en commandofregat: LCF), HNLMS De Ruyter, to execute a firing trial around September/Octo...

The KraitOptimise underwater situational awareness tool is designed to optimise sonar positioning and performance. (SEA)  Systems engineering and sensors house SEA unveiled a new underwater situational awareness capability for sonar operations at the DSEI 2023 exhibition in London.  The new offering, named KraitOptimise, uses high-resolution environmental and ocean model data sources to provide underwater situational awareness intended to significantly improve sonar positioning and performance.  The ability of sonar to find and monitor submar...

The Marine Protector-class patrol vessel GNS   Aflao  during its commissioning at Naval Base, Sekondi.  (Republic of Ghana Presidency)  Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo commissioned four new naval vessels on 9 September, according to a statement released by the president's office.    The president did not identify the vessels, but his office released photographs showing two 27 m-long Marine Protector-class patrol vessels called GNS   Half Assini  (P 44) and GNS   Aflao  (P 45) and two...

Capable of rapid movement, the Ancilia trainable decoy launcher is designed to counter a wide range of threats quickly and accurately. (SEA)  Fleet protection specialist SEA unveiled its new high-performance trainable decoy launcher system, Ancilia, at the DSEI 2023 exhibition, held from 12 to 15 September in London.  According to the company, Ancilia's trainable nature represents a step change in decoy launcher technology from traditional fixed countermeasures solutions, as it removes the need to manoeuvre the vessel. The system is flexible...