First-in-class TCG   Istanbul  will feature 16 VLS cells.   (STM)  Follow-on Istanbul-class frigates,İzmir, İzmit, and Içel, will feature additional vertical launching systems (VLSs), a TAIS Shipyards official confirmed to Janes.  Speaking at the IDEF 2023 exhibition in Istanbul, the official, however, declined to comment further on how many additional VLS cells the three frigates would be equipped with.  TCG Istanbul, the first vessel of the class, will feature 16 cells of Turkey's locally produced National Vert...

JS   Mogami  seen here at an International Fleet Review commemorating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the   Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force  at Sagami Bay.  (Issei Kato – Pool/Getty Images)    In mid-July 2023 Japan's Fleet Air Squadron 51, a unit of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Fleet Air Wing, announced that it had successfully conducted the first deck landing of the MCH-101 helicopter on a Mogami-class frigate. The trials involved the airframe with serial number 53...

Recent incursions by Chinese and Russian naval vessels have sparked interest in augmenting US Coast Guard and other US naval forces in Alaskan waters. (Janes/Michael Fabey)  Eleven military vessels from China and Russia operated in US waters near the Alaskan Aleutian Islands during the previous week, Alaskan senators confirmed on 5 August.  Similar flotillas from either China or both countries have been seen and shadowed by US naval vessels in the preceding two years. US Coast Guard cutters tracked and surveilled the foreign ships as the vess...

The Australian Department of Defence said the first firing of the MGM-140 ATACMS within the country – at Exercise ‘Talisman Sabre' 2023 – demonstrated logistical co-ordination between Australian and US forces to employ the missile over long distances. (Lockheed Martin Vought Systems)  The US fired an MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) for the first time in Australia as part of Exercise ‘Talisman Sabre' 2023, the Australian Department of Defence (DoD) said on 3 August.  According to the DoD, the Lockheed Martin ATACMS surface-to-sur...

A computer-generated image of the final configuration of the Polish Navy's first Miecznik frigate. (Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa)  One month ahead of the start of construction of Poland's first Miecznik (Swordfish)-class multimission frigate, the Polish Armaments Group (Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa: PGZ) has revealed the final configuration of the lead ship.  The Miecznik programme covers the design and build of three new multimission frigates based on Babcock's Arrowhead 140 design for the Polish Navy at local shipyards through a transfer-of-technol...

HII is working on workforce issues to help stabilise Virginia-class submarine construction. (Janes/Michael Fabey)  Meeting labour hiring and retention goals will help get the Virginia-class submarine (VCS) programme back on schedule, HII president and CEO Chris Kastner said on 3 August during a quarterly call with investment analysts.  Asked what HII will do to get VCS back on “path” now that it is “well behind the two-per-year delivery objective in Block V”, Kastner said, “The largest obstacle, the largest risk on the VCS programme right now...

An Exocet MM40 Block 3 missile launched from KRI   John Lie  in the Java Sea on 31 July.  (Indonesian Navy Armada I)    The Indonesian Navy has marked the first firing of an Exocet MM40 Block 3 missile from a Bung Tomo-class    frigate, validating the upgrade works that have been carried out on the ship.     The firing was carried out by second-of-class KRI   John Lie  as part of a sinking exercise (SINKEX) in the Java Sea on 31 July. The exercise involved three other Indonesian...

Deseaver MK-4, Elbit Systems' latest EW dispensing system, successfully conducted sea trials with the Israeli Navy. (Elbit Systems)  The Israeli Navy and Elbit Systems have successfully completed sea trials with the company's new maritime electronic warfare (EW) countermeasures system.  According to the company on 1 August, the Deseaver MK-4 Countermeasure Dispensing System (CMDS) was involved in a series of sea trials onboard Israeli Navy vessels that tested its capability to respond effectively to complex missile attack scenarios. This invo...

A screenshot of Systematic's SitaWare Maritime command-and-control software, which is being procured for the German Navy. (Systematic)  Systematic has been contracted by the German Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology, and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) to deliver SitaWare Headquarters (HQ) add-ons – Maritime and Fusion – to the German Navy, the company announced on 1 August.  The contract is part of the German Mission Network Block 2 (GMN 2) project, the company said. The intention of GMN is to integrate and harmonise...

Belarus is seeking to establish an indigenous Shahed production facility. An Iranian-made Shahed-136 is seen in an underground facility, in a video released by Iran's IRGC in March 2022. (IMA Media)  Belarus is likely seeking to establish an indigenous Iranian Shahed loitering munition production facility, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on 31 July.  Belarusian Defence Minister Lieutenant General Viktor Khrenin and his Iranian counterpart Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani met in Iran on 31 July to sign a memorandum of und...

The four Horizon-class anti-air warfare frigates in service with the navies of France and Italy. (Thales)  Naviris and Eurosam have been awarded a EUR1.5 billion (USD1.7 billion) contract from the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) for the mid-life upgrade (MLU) of four Franco-Italian Horizon-class anti-air warfare (AAW) frigates.  The contract follows a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by representatives from Italy and France at the Paris Air Show on 20 June.  Built under a joint programme between Fincantieri and Nav...

A graphic depiction of the OPV. (Fincantieri)  Orizzonte Sistemi Navali (OSN), a joint venture between Leonardo and Fincantieri, has been awarded a contract by the naval armaments branch of Italy's General Secretariat of Defence to build three next-generation offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) for the Italian Navy.  The contract, valued at EUR925 million (USD1.014 billion), includes options for three additional units and related integrated logistics support.  The new-generation OPV is based on the FCX-20 variant of Fincantieri's FCX naval ship se...

The US Navy (USN) Surface Warfare Division has approved service life extensions for four Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, the USN confirmed on 2 August.  The extensions will enable each ship to operate beyond its estimated service life of 35 years, the USN noted in a statement.  As approved, the service lives of USS  Ramage  (DDG 61), home ported in Norfolk, Virginia, and USS  Benfold  (DDG 65), based in Yokosuka, Japan, have been extended by five years, to fiscal year (FY) 2035 and FY 2036, respectively, the USN said.   T...

Miilux Oy HY-100 steel. (Janes/Prathamesh Karle)    Miilux Oy will produce and supply high-yield HY-100 steel for Turkey's MILDEN-class submarines, a company official told   Janes  at the 16th International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF) held from 25 to 28 July in Istanbul.   A contract to supply HY-100 steel for Turkey's national submarine project MILDEN was signed with the Turkish Navy in 2022, and a sample of the steel was delivered to the navy in May 2023, the official added. The steel will also be used in the manufactur...

The US Navy awarded contracts for nine Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyers such as  Jack H Lucas  .  (HII)  The US Navy (USN) awarded contracts on 1 August to HII's Ingalls Shipbuilding division and General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works (GD BIW) for fiscal years (FY) 2023–27 multiyear procurement (MYP) of nine Flight III DDG 51 guided-missile Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, the service confirmed that day.  The USN did not disclose any amounts for the contract award. However, Frederick Stefany, acting assistant...

The KNS   Shupavu  was lifted out of the water again in preparation for its rededication ceremony.  (Kenya Shipyards Limited)  Kenya's President William Ruto officially rededicated the Kenya Navy's patrol ship KNS Shupavu on 29 July in a ceremony that marked a major milestone for the East African country's investment in a new shipyard.  The 60 m ship received an extensive overhaul at Kenya Shipyards Limited's (KSL's) Mombasa Shipyard, which was built at Mtongwe Naval Base with the help of the Dutch shipyard Damen...

The four Horizon-class anti-air warfare frigates in service with the navies of France and Italy. (Thales)  Naviris and Eurosam have been awarded a EUR1.5 billion (USD1.7 billion) contract from the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) for the mid-life upgrade (MLU) of four Franco-Italian Horizon-class anti-air warfare (AAW) frigates.  The contract follows a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by representatives from Italy and France at the Paris Air Show on 20 June.  Built under a joint programme between Fincantieri and Nav...

Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS   Theodore Roosevelt  underwent maintenance in San Diego in 2016. The navy awarded a contract to NNS for maintenance work on Nimitz-class and Ford-class carriers in the region.  (Tony Roper)  The US Navy (USN) awarded Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ), cost-plus incentive and award contract with a potential total value of USD528.4 million over five years, if all options are exercised, for aircraft carrier maintenance in San Diego,...

The French Navy's first new Félix Éboué-class OPV,   Auguste Bénébig  (P 779), was commissioned into service on 25 July.  (Marine Nacionale)  The French Navy commissioned its first new Félix Éboué-class offshore patrol vessel (OPV), also known as the Patrouilleur d'Outre-Mer (POM), into service on 25 July.  First-of-class Auguste Bénébig (P 779) is one of six Félix Éboué-class OPVs being procured to replace the French Navy's ageing P400-class patrol boats in France's overseas territories. They will be based in Ne...

Denmark will replace the RAT-31 DL radar situated in Bornholm, at the very east of Denmark in the Baltic Sea. (Selex ES)  Denmark is to replace two of its coastal air-defence radars to enhance the surveillance of its airspace, Janes has learnt.  A Danish Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO) spokesperson informed Janes on 26 July that the authority plans to replace the Alenia Marconi Systems S-723 Martello 3D radar on the island of Bornholm and the Leonardo RAT-31 DL (previously Selex) radar in Skagen.  The spokesp...