HII prepares to deliver Virginia-class submarine   New Jersey  as the company looks to open new markets through AUKUS deal.  (Janes/Michael Fabey)  HII sees the AUKUS agreement made by Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States for submarine programme development as a vehicle for new international business.  “We actually see that as an opening of markets,” Christopher Kastner, HII CEO and president told investment analysts on 2 November, during a quarterly earnings call.  In particular, HII expects to r...

HII's Newport News Shipbuilding has turned over about 70% of ship compartments on aircraft carrier   John F Kennedy  to the US Navy.  (Janes/Michael Fabey)  HII's Newport News Shipbuilding has turned over 70% of aircraft carrier John F Kennedy (CVN 79) compartments to the US Navy (USN), but the delivery of carrier Enterprise (CVN 80) will be delayed, Christopher Kastner, HII CEO and president told investment analysts on 2 November, during a quarterly earnings call.  Work on Kennedy is focused on compartment compl...

The US Navy fired its first live munitions from an unmanned surface vessel during an exercise. (US Navy)  Unmanned surface vessels (USVs) of the US Navy (USN) fired live weapons on 23 October during Exercise ‘Digital Talon' in the international waters surrounding the Arabian Peninsula – the first use of lethal munitions from USVs in the Middle East region, US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) confirmed on 1 November.  During the exercise, co-ordinated with and supported by Commander, Special Operations Forces Central Command, NAVCENT's T...

Sea trials of the first Hugin Endurance in progress. (Kongsberg Discovery)  Norway's Kongsberg Discovery has started sea trials of its Hugin Endurance long-range autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), the company confirmed on 26 October.  Launched in 2021, Hugin Endurance has been specifically designed for extended operations in deep sea environments and can be deployed directly from shore or a vessel of opportunity. Powered by lithium-ion batteries, it has an endurance of 15 days at sea, an operating range of 2,200 km or 1,200 n miles, and a d...

At-sea trials of the VSR700/SDAM were undertaken from the frigate   Provence   between 2 and 9 October.   (Naval Group)  Airbus Helicopters, Naval Group, and France's Direction générale de l'armement (DGA) procurement agency have completed a first trial of the Airbus VSR700 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned aircraft system (UAS) from a French Navy multimission frigate (Frégate multimission: FREMM).    Conducted from the Aquitaine-class ship   Provence  in early October, the week-long te...

One of the two embarked F-35Bs from VX-23 completes an SRVL recovery to HMS   Prince of Wales  during DT-3 testing. The SRVL manoeuvre is designed to significantly increase bring-back payload.  ( Kyra Helwick/DVIDS)  The UK Royal Navy (RN) and the US F-35 Integrated Test Force (ITF) are progressing new trials of the shipborne rolling vertical landing (SRVL) recovery manoeuvre onboard the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales.  Executed as part of the Developmental Test phase 3 (DT-3) period, the trials are being f...

An LMAMS is launched from a T38 Devil Ray USV during Exercise ‘Digital Talon' on 23 October. (US Navy)    The US 5th Fleet's Task Force 59 has fitted an unmanned surface vessel (USV) with the Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System (LMAMS),    the fleet revealed on 2 November.   The fleet released a statement saying Task Force 59, which was formed to pioneer unmanned and artificial intelligence capabilities in the Middle East, fired LMAMS loitering munitions from a Martac T38 Devil Ray USV multiple times during Exercise ‘Dig...

Denmark is now the third country in Europe after Norway and the Netherlands to acquire the Thales Ground Master 200 Multi Mission Compact radar. (Thales)  Denmark will acquire five new Thales Ground Master 200 Multi Mission Compact (GM200 MM/C) radars under a government-to-government deal with the Netherlands.  According to the Danish Ministry of Defence's Materiel and Procurement Agency (FMI) on 31 October, the new mobile radars are for the Royal Danish Air Force and will bolster the country's air-surveillance capabilities especially when d...

Ansar Allah's video purportedly showing the weapons launched at Israel showed what appeared to be a Zulfiqar ballistic missile. (Ansar Allah)  The Iranian-backed Yemeni group Ansar Allah (Houthis) confirmed on 31 October that it has launched ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at Israel, warning that it would continue to do so for as long as the military operation against Hamas continues.  The spokesman for the group's armed wing said it had launched a large number of ballistic and “winged” missiles earlie...

Artist's impression of the Pohjanmaa-class corvettes. (RMC)  Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) has announced the start of production of the first Pohjanmaa-class multi-purpose corvette on order for the Finnish Navy.  A steel-cutting ceremony was staged at RMC's shipyard in Rauma, Finland, on 30 October.  Under its Squadron 2020 fleet renewal programme, the Finnish Navy is procuring four Pohjanmaa-class corvettes from RMC under a EUR647.6 million (USD707.4 million) design and construction contract awarded in 2019, with the build to be carried o...

The R‐Han rocket, pictured above, being test‐fired from a locally developed Rantis MLRS. (Kementrian Pertahanan Indonesia)  The Indonesia Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced in late-October that state-owned arms manufacturer PT Pindad has completed the development of a 122 mm multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) known as the R-Han 122B.  In a social media post, the MoD said that PT Pindad conducted a “series of successful trials on the system” before declaring its completion of development.  The MoD added it is now working on finalising the c...

TDW is resuming production of the DM22, the Bundeswehr's designation for the original DM12 off-route anti-tank mine modified so that it can be disarmed. (MBDA)  MBDA subsidiary TDW will resume production of the Panzerabwehrrichtmine Deutsches Modell 22 (PARM DM22) off-route anti-tank mine after it was stopped over a decade ago, the subsidiary's managing director, Andreas Seitz, told international journalists including Janes visiting MBDA Deutschland on 27 October.  The budget committee of the Bundestag, Germany's parliament, has approved the...

Dstl alongside the Royal Navy and British Army conducted a beach landing exercise with a multitude of vessels including the Madfox unmanned surface vessel, to shape AI development. (Crown Copyright)  The UK held a large beach landing exercise in Hampshire to shape the development of artificial intelligence (AI) for the Ministry of Defence (MoD), the authority announced on 31 October.  Held over five days, the maritime exercise involved 130 personnel, 13 vessels, multiple unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), a light aircraft, and more than 50 cameras...

Columbia-class submarine construction remains a Pentagon priority. (US Navy)  The US Navy (USN) has continued to face difficulties in delivering Virginia-class attack submarines (SSNs), maintaining existing vessels, and gearing up for the construction and delivery schedule for the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) meant to replace the Ohio-class boats for the US fleets.  Meeting the requirements for the trinational Australian, UK, and US (AUKUS) agreement to bolster the Australian submarine fleet will likely mean a dip in th...

ST-1 is an experimental unmanned mine detector that is being actively tested in the field. (Mykhailo Fedorov/Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine)  Ukrainian innovators from the Brave1 defence technology cluster are developing an unmanned mine detector called ST-1.  According to Mykhailo Fedorov, minister of digital transformation for Ukraine on 27 October, the mine detector autonomously searches for mines and works, on average, four times faster than a human.  This will “significantly speed up the process of demining Ukrainian terri...

Baden-Württemberg   departs its home port of Wilhelmshaven bound for the Eastern Mediterranean on 20 October.  (Bundeswehr/Leon Rodewald)  The first of the German Navy's Baden-Württemberg (Type 125)-class frigates has departed on its maiden deployment.    First-of-class   Baden-Württemberg  (F 222) set sail from Wilhelmshaven, Germany, on 20 October bound for Limassol, Cyprus, where it will participate in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) mission off the Lebanese coast.     Announcing t...

Healy  is one of only two US icebreakers working in polar regions.  (Janes/Michael Fabey)  The US Coast Guard (USCG) released its Arctic Strategic Outlook Implementation Plan on 26 October to make the necessary acquisitions and force improvements to accommodate national requirements detailed in the 2022 National Strategy for the Arctic Region (NSAR).  The plan includes new USCG icebreakers, aviation assets, communication upgrades, and other platforms, systems, or programmes meant to improve the force's operations in the Arctic....

The Royal New Zealand Navy's three 12.5 m-long Littoral Manoeuvre Craft have been manufactured using high-density polyethylene to offer endurance and resistance to wave impacts. (NZDF)  A set of three new Littoral Manoeuvre Craft (LMC) is being introduced into the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN).  A New Zealand Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesperson told Janes that two of the LMCs have formally been handed over to the RNZN in Auckland. The third will arrive in December. “It is anticipated [that] all three LMCs will be fully operational by mid-[...

A 3D diagram of Japan's EM railgun. (Japan Ministry of Defense)  The Japan Ministry of Defense (MoD) has given further details on its intentions behind the country's electromagnetic (EM) railgun programme.  As reported by Janes on 18 October, Japan has carried out the first shipboard test firing of an EM railgun.  It was carried out with co-operation from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), the MoD's Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) announced via an official social media page on 17 October.  In response to question...

The German Navy's Frankenthal-class minehunters will be equipped with the SeaCat AUV. (ATLAS ELEKTRONIK GmbH)  Atlas Elektronik has been selected to supply its SeaCat autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) for integration onboard the German Navy's Frankenthal (Type 332C/CL)-class minehunters.  After receiving the green light from the German federal parliament's Budgetary Committee, the President of the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology, and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) signed a framework agreement for the purchase of...