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 s...

A file image of KM   Arau  , which collided into a Vietnamese fishing vessel on 22 April.  (MMEA)    Hanoi has issued a diplomatic note to Putrajaya after a Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) vessel collided into a Vietnamese fishing boat in disputed waters of the South China Sea, multiple sources close to the matter confirmed to   Janes  .     Vessels involved in the collision are the MMEA's sole Arau (Nojima)-class offshore patrol vessel (OPV) KM   Arau  and an unnamed...

A Royal Australian Navy Hobart-class guided-missile destroyer fires a Harpoon surface-to-surface missile during Exercise ‘Pacific Vanguard' 2022. The class will be equipped with the Naval Strike Missile in the future. (Commonwealth of Australia)  The Australian government has released two more policy documents that outline its defence development intentions over the next few years. The two documents – National Defence Strategy (NDS) 2024 and Integrated Investment Program (IIP) 2024 – were unveiled by Australia's Minister of Defence Richard Ma...

A Spanish NASAMS anti-air defence unit (UDAA) has been deployed in Estonia since April 2023. (GBAD Task Force Estonia)  The Spanish government has announced the EUR410 million (USD438 million) modernisation and acquisition of additional National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMSs), Kongsberg announced in a press release on 19 April.  The Dirección General de Armamento y Material (DGAM), the Spanish Armaments Directorate, approved a contract for the modernisation of Spain's NASAMS on 19 April. Kongsberg expected the contract to b...

US Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro said the country needs more blue-collar workers to meet navy shipbuilding needs at yards like Newport News Shipbuilding, shown here. (Janes/Michael Fabey)  To address the shortage of workers needed to build the number of ships needed to meet US Navy (USN) fleet plans, the country should seek to bring in more legal immigrants from foreign shores, according to US Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro.  While acknowledging the impact of Covid-related issues on USN shipbuilding schedules on 23 April during...

Sentinel  , the testbed for Australia's Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial project.  (Austal)  Australian shipbuilder Austal has completed the sea acceptance trials phase for the country's Patrol Boat Autonomy Trial (PBAT), the company announced on 23 April.  The milestone, which included an endurance trial, was achieved by the project's testbed – a decommissioned Armidale-class patrol boat now known as Sentinel. The vessel was formerly in service with the Royal Australian Navy as HMAS Maitland and retired in 2022.  The PBAT is an Austra...

Pilots from the French Navy surveillance frigate   Vendémiaire   (F734) practice landing aboard the amphibious command ship USS   Blue Ridge  (LCC 19) during an interoperability exercise.  Blue Ridge   is the flagship for Commander, US 7th Fleet.   (US Navy)  The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the US military have begun the most complex iteration of Exercise ‘Balikatan', which is seeing the first-time participation of a French Navy warship and vessels from the Philippine Co...

MdCN is launched from the FREMM frigate   Aquitaine   on 18 April.   (French Navy)  The French Navy has successfully conducted its first simultaneous test launch of the Missile de Croisière Navale (MdCN)naval cruise missile from a frigate and a submarine.  The test-firing was carried out by the service's lead multimission (FREMM) frigate Aquitaine, positioned off the coast of Brittany, and one of its Suffren (Barracuda)-class nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs), located off the coast of Biscarrosse, on 18 Apr...

Singapore's fourth Type 218SG submarine, seen here before its launch ceremony on 22 April 2024. (Singapore Ministry of Defence)  German shipbuilder ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems (TKMS) has launched the last of four Invincible-class (Type 218SG) air-independent propulsion (AIP)-equipped diesel-electric submarines (SSKs) on order for the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN).    The vessel, which will be known in service as RSS   Inimitable  once commissioned, was launched on 22 April at TKMS' facilities in Kiel, Germany, the Singapore...

Cayor  , the third and final OPV 58S, was formally handed over to Senegal during a ceremony in Concarneau on 16 April.   (Senegalese Navy)  French shipbuilder Piriou has delivered the final missile-armed Walo (OPV 58 S)-class offshore patrol ship to Senegal, completing the three-ship programme.  The last vessel in the class, named Cayor, was formally handed over during a ceremony held in Concarneau, France, on 16 April, the shipbuilder confirmed the same day.  According to Piriou, the shipbuilding programme was completed on time...

HMS   Cardiff  will be the last Type 26 to be consolidated in the open.  (Richard Scott/NAVYPIX)    BAE Systems Naval Ships in Glasgow is outsourcing steel work and introducing a new automated panel line as part of efforts to mitigate the impact of a steelworker deficit on the UK Royal Navy's    (RN's) Type 26 City-class anti-submarine warfare (ASW) frigate programme.     Sir Simon Lister, managing director of the Naval Ships business, said these measures – allied to the construction of a...

The Brazilian Navy wants to improve the radar capabilities of its OPVs. (Victor Barreira)  As part of an effort to update its Amazonas-class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs), the Brazilian Navy is acquiring a new air and surface search radar with identification friend-or-foe capability (IFF), according to the Navy Weapon Systems Directorate (Diretoria de Sistemas de Armas da Marinha: DSAM).    The Brazilian Naval Commission in Washington, DC, (Comissão Naval Brasileira em Washington: CNBW) on behalf of the DSAM has    requested a...

Sonar 2087 (the variable depth towed body is pictured here) remains the RN surface fleet's principal long-range ASW sensor. SEA's software application is designed to automatically determine the optimum deployment depth of an active sonar projector and the receive array within the water column. (Richard Scott/NAVYPIX)  UK company Systems Engineering and Assessment (SEA) has been tasked to demonstrate a software application designed to enhance the performance of the UK Royal Navy's (RN's) principal surface ship anti-submarine warfare (ASW) sona...

Cherkasy,   one of the Ukrainian Navy's two newly acquired ex-Royal Navy Sandown-class MCMVs, is pictured entering Portsmouth Harbour on 11 April ahead of a series of multinational naval exercises.  (Crown copyright)  The Ukrainian Navy's two newly acquired ex-Royal Navy (RN) Sandown-class mine-countermeasures vessels (MCMVs) have been temporarily homeported at Portsmouth Naval Base, the RN has confirmed.    The two minehunters,   Chernihiv   (ex-HMS   Grimsby  ) and   Cherkasy  (ex-HMS...

Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladímir Padrino López inspects a CM-90 anti-ship missile. (Ministerio del Poder Popular para la Defensa (Venezuela))  The Venezuelan military confirmed on 16 April that it has the CM-90 export version of Iran's Nasir anti-ship missile (ASM).  Defence Minister Vladímir Padrino López inaugurated what a defence ministry statement described as a workshop for the CM-90 at Base Naval CA Agustín Armario in Puerto Cabello as part of the Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela's (ABV's) anniversary celebrations on that day. It releas...

The USV concept. (Dutch MoD)  The Netherlands Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Dutch Naval Design (DND) have joined forces to develop an unmanned surface vessel (USV).  Announcing the partnership on 12 April, the MoD said the USV will be designed for deployment from the future anti-submarine warfare frigates (ASWFs) currently under development.  Under the terms of the contract, signed on 10 April, the USV is planned to be completed in around four years, the MoD said. The 12 m long vessel will be “technologically very advanced, sustainable, auton...

The ITCM (pictured above from its test on 18 April) is a technology demonstrator programme to validate the capability of small turbofan engines. (Indian Ministry of Defence)  India's state-owned Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) test-fired its ‘Indigenous Technology Cruise Missile (ITCM)' from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) in Chandipur off the northeastern coast of Odisha, the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a press release on 18 April.  “During the test, all subsystems performed as per expectation and the missil...

US lawmakers question the US Navy request to fund only one Virginia-class submarine (pictured) in fiscal year 2025. (Janes/Michael Fabey)  Members of the House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee raised concerns about the proposed US Navy (USN) plan to pare down key shipbuilding programmes on 17 April during the subcommittee hearing on the USN's Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget request.  While the USN – as was the case with the rest of the Pentagon – was charged with keeping a lid on costs, lawmakers said they felt the USN...

The first prototype of Australia's Ghost Shark XL-AUV programme, which was unveiled on 18 April 2024. (Commonwealth of Australia)  The first of three prototypes to be built under Australia's Ghost Shark extra-large autonomous undersea vehicle (XL-AUV) programme has been completed, the country's Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy announced on 18 April.  The programme to develop the XL-AUV is being jointly developed and funded by a partnership between the Australian Department of Defence and Anduril Australia, a subsidiary of US defence t...

The US Navy is the contracting agent for the US Coast Guard's Polar Security Cutter. (VT Halter/Marine Technology Associates)  Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski asked US naval officials to show “robust” support for platforms and facilities for Arctic-related operations on 16 April during a Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) hearing.  In particular, Murkowski asked for greater support for the US Coast Guard's (USCG's) Polar Security Cutter (PSC) programme and the effort to create a naval port facility in Nome, Alaska.  “I've been trying to get...