Computer graphic of the Avante 1800 OPV on order for Morocco. (Navantia)  Spanish state-owned shipbuilder Navantia has started manufacturing activities for a new offshore patrol vessel (OPV) on order for the Royal Moroccan Navy.  A steel-cutting ceremony for the new OPV, which is based on Navantia's Avante 1800 design, was held at the shipbuilder's San Fernando shipyard in Cadiz, Spain, on 3 July.  Navantia is building the OPV under a contract announced in January 2021. The scope of supply includes a technical-logistical support package that...

Equatorial Guinea's Vice-President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue is presented with a model ship during a visit to CSSC on 5 July. (Vicepresidencia de la República Guinea Ecuatorial)  Equatorial Guinea's Vice-President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue visited China Shipbuilding Trading Company (CSSC) twice during an official tour to China that began on 4 July.  His office announced the first visit to the company on 5 July, saying it “shows the commitment of the Equatorial Guinean government to the protection of its coasts and the fight against mari...

The USCG and the USN are deploying more cutters and other surfaces ships into Arctic waters. (Janes/Michael Fabey)  A new Arctic landscape being sculpted by climatic changes is recasting US naval concepts and the global geopolitical framework associated with the region, according to a US Congressional Research Service (CRS) report.    “The diminishment of Arctic ice is creating new operating areas in the Arctic for [US] Navy (USN) surface ships and [US] Coast Guard (USCG) cutters,” the CRS said in its updated report   Changes in the...

Three years after suffering serious damage caused by a fire while it was undergoing its final major overhaul, the French Navy's Rubis-class SSN   Perle  has been returned to active service.  (French Navy)  The French Navy's fire-damaged Rubis Améthyste-class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) Perle (S 606) has been returned to active service following the successful completion of its refit, repair, and upgrade period, the French Navy has announced.  Perle, the youngest of the French Navy's four remaining Rubi...

A still from surveillance footage released by the US 5th Fleet shows a naval vessel that can be identified as the Iranian corvette   Bayandor  . The 5th Fleet said it fired on the tanker   Richmond Voyager  .  (US Naval Forces Central Command/US 5th Fleet)  The US Navy's 5th Fleet has accused the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (IRIN) of firing on a civilian tanker in international waters in the Gulf of Oman on 5 July.  It released aerial surveillance footage showing a naval vessel that could be identi...

The RN's new minehunting mother ship, RFA   Stirling Castle  , conducts its first series of trials with the service's autonomous MCM USVs RNMB   Hydra  ,   Hazard  , and   Apollo. (Crown Copyright)  The UK Royal Navy's (RN's) new minehunting mother ship has conducted its first trials with autonomous unmanned surface vessels (USVs) in what has been hailed by the service as a landmark moment for the service's future mine-countermeasures (MCM) operations.  During the initial loading trial...

An Indian Navy Shishumar-class submarine, seen here during a 2011 fleet review. The country has recently awarded a contract to upgrade its second Shishumar-class submarine. (Punit Paranjpe/AFP via Getty Images)  New Delhi has taken another step towards bolstering its underwater warfare capabilities as the Indian Navy confronts the need to urgently position its fast-ageing fleet of attack submarines for increased security requirements in the Indian Ocean Region.  However, the tempo at which the country is modernising its fleet of in-service su...

UK Minister of State for Defence Procurement James Cartlidge and Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren are pictured signing an MOU on 30 June in Den Helder under which the two countries have agreed to further collaborate on future amphibious exercises and training. (Netherlands MoD)  The UK and the Netherlands have agreed to explore options for a collaborative programme to develop a future littoral strike platform for their respective commando forces.  Both countries are looking to replace a number of ships with a next-generation littoral st...

The new ASW frigates for the Dutch and Belgian navies will start entering service from 2029. (Damen Naval )  Netherlands-based RH Marine is the first Dutch supplier to receive a contract in support of the Dutch-Belgian anti-submarine warfare frigate (ASWF) programme.  Under a deal signed with Damen Naval on 4 July, RH Marine will equip the four new ASW frigates with its integrated mission management system (IMMS), integrated navigation bridge system (INBS), and integrated platform management system (IPMS).  The announcement follows the offici...

Ultra Maritime has been contracted by the MoD to deliver an additional five Sonar 2150 systems for the Type 26 ASW frigate programme. (Ultra)  Ultra Maritime has been awarded a GBP30 million (USD38.06 million) contract by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to supply bow-mounted sonar systems for the five Type 26 Batch 2 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) frigates on order for the UK Royal Navy (RN).  Disclosed in an MoD voluntary transparency notice published on 23 June, the eight-year contract covers the supply of five Sonar 2150 medium-frequency so...

Viking Norsafe has delivered an initial batch of four S1200 Armored speedboats to the Hellenic Army. (Dimitrios Mitsopoulos)  Viking Norsafe Life-Saving Equipment Hellas delivered the first batch of S1200 Armored speedboats to the Hellenic Army on 3 July.  The four boats have been delivered under a framework agreement that was signed between the company and the General Directorate for Defense Investments and Armaments on 14 December 2021, for the procurement of 41 speedboats for the Hellenic Army Amphibious Raider Squadrons of Joint Special O...

An internal view of the Space Surveillance Telescope inside the dome at the Naval Communication Station Harold E Holt in Western Australia. On 1 July the ADF operationalised its first joint space unit, the No 1 Space Surveillance Unit, which will be responsible for operating the SST to enhance space domain awareness of the forces. (Commonwealth of Australia)  The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) announced on 3 July initiatives taken in accordance with the Defence Strategic Review (DSR) 2023 to improve space defence capabilities of the A...

SEA will build and install communications systems for the Royal New Zealand Navy's Te Kaha and Te Mana (pictured) frigates under phase two of the MoD's Frigate Sustainment - Communications project. (Petty Officer Chris Weissenborn, New Zealand Defence Force)  UK-based Systems Engineering & Assessment Ltd (SEA) has secured a contract worth GBP26 million (USD33 million) to build and install communications systems for the Royal New Zealand Navy's (RNZN's) two MEKO 200 ANZ Anzac frigates.  The contract is part of the New Zealand Ministry of Defe...

USS   Charleston  conducted the first set of overseas mine-countermeasures operations.  (US Navy)  The littoral combat ship (LCS) USS Charleston (LCS 18) recently completed the first set of overseas mine-countermeasures (MCM) training missions during a 26-month forward deployment in the Western Pacific, US Navy (USN) officials confirmed.  “The emphasis was showing we have the mission package capable of doing MCM not just inside US waters, but doing it outside US waters in conjunction with other units,” Commander...

A rendering of an MQ-4C Triton UAS demonstrating persistent targeting for long-range fires during ‘Northern Edge 2023'. (Northrop Grumman)  Northrop Grumman is gleaning lessons learned from the MQ-4C Triton's recent participation in the US Navy (USN)-led Arctic military exercise ‘Northern Edge 2023', as programme officials are preparing for the unmanned aerial system (UAS) to reach initial operating capability (IOC).  Achieving IOC for the Triton Integrated Functional Capability (IFC)-4 variant remains “a critical step as the [USN] achieves i...

Australian Army soldiers from the 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, onboard F470 Zodiacs conduct small-boat training in the littoral environment during Exercise ‘Tiger's Run 2022' on the Timor Sea off the coast of Northern Territory. (Commonwealth of Australia)  The Australian Army has initiated restructuring of its units to support a Defence Strategic Review (DSR) recommendation that requires the country's ground force to engage in littoral operations.  The DSR – released in late April – recommended restructuring the army to focus on...

Artist impression of ASW frigates. (Damen Naval)  The Dutch Materiel and IT Command (COMMIT) signed a contract with Damen for the design, build, and delivery of four anti-submarine warfare (ASW) frigates for the Netherlands and Belgian navies on 29 June.  At the same time, COMMIT signed a separate contract with Thales to equip the ships with its Above Water Warfare System (AWWS) fire control cluster and sensor suite.  Under their joint ASW Frigate (ASWF) programme, the Belgian and Dutch navies are procuring two ships each to replace their res...

The German Navy's two ageing Type 704 tankers   Spessart  (pictured) and   Rhön  have been in service since 1974 and are fast approaching the end of their service lives.  (Michael Nitz – Naval Press Service)  A steel-cutting ceremony for the first of two new Type 707 fleet replenishment tankers for the German Navy was staged at Meyer Werft shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, on 29 June.  The two ships are being built under the lead management of prime contractor NVL Group (formerly Lürssen Werft) in co...

The US is making investments in its submarine industrial base to help meet AUKUS and US Navy needs. (Janes/Michael Fabey)  Country members of the AUKUS security pact – Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States – have begun to work towards Pillar 2 of the pact, according to US officials.  “We have begun efforts associated with Pillar 2,” Kurt Campbell, deputy assistant to the president and co-ordinator for Indo-Pacific Affairs on the National Security Council, said on 26 June during an AUKUS discussion at the Center for Strategic an...

Illustration of the LPD Flight II-class amphibious warfare ship LPD 31, the future USS Pittsburgh. (US Navy )  Should the US Navy (USN) decide to end its amphibious shipbuilding pause to buy more San Antonio-class landing platform dock (LPD) vessels, the service should quickly return to the production pace for the current ships being built by Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi, according to George Nungesser, company vice-president – Program Management.  The navy is now studying its amphibious building and operational needs while...