Norwegian Coast Guard salvage and rescue tug KV   Harstad  will undergo MLU at Hamek shipyard.   (NAVYPIX/Richard Scott)  Norwegian shipbuilder Harstad Mek Verksted (Hamek) has been awarded a contract for the mid-life upgrade (MLU) of the Norwegian Coast Guard's multi-purpose Ulstein UT 512 salvage and rescue tug, KV Harstad (W 318).  Work is to be completed under a contract worth NOK235 million (USD22 million), announced by the Norwegian Ministry of Defence on 21 August.  Designed by Rolls-Royce and built by Ake...

The first-in-class LCS was launched in August 2017 but the vessel is not expected to be delivered to the Royal Malaysian Navy by November 2024. (Royal Malaysian Navy)  Malaysian corporation Boustead Heavy Industries has agreed to sell a major stake in its naval shipbuilding business, Boustead Naval Shipyard (BNS), to the government.  The proposed transaction – valued at a nominal MYR1 (USD0.21) – is intended to support BNS' completion of the troubled Maharaja Lela-class littoral combat ship (LCS) programme for the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN)....

China Coast Guard vessels conducting what Manila claims to be an attempt to “block, harass, and intefere” its resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal on 22 August 2023. (Philippine Coast Guard)  The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) has completed a mission to resupply its garrison on a South China Sea feature despite a maritime blockade enacted by Beijing, Manila has claimed.    A statement released by Manila's National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea (NTF-WPS) on 22 August said the resupply mission to Second Thomas Shoal, whe...

The Chinese joint air-sea combat readiness operation on 19 August 2023 saw 27 PLA aircraft fly into Taiwan's air-defence identification zone. (Taiwan Ministry of National Defense/Chinese Ministry of National Defense)  China said it launched a joint air and sea combat readiness operation around Taiwan on 19 August in response to a senior Taiwan politician's visit to the United States.  The Chinese Ministry of National Defense (MND) claimed that it had launched fighter jets, bombers, and airborne mission aircraft of the People's Liberation Army...

A heavy lift cargo ship is pictured transiting northbound through the Bosphorus Strait loaded with two FPB 98 MKI patrol boats at 1400 h GMT on 13 August. (Yoruk Isik)  French shipbuilder OCEA has despatched a second batch of two FPB 98 MKI patrol boats destined for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.  Imagery captured by a Turkish independent ship spotter showed a merchant cargo ship transiting northbound through the Bosphorus Strait loaded with two FPB 98 MKI patrol boats at 1400 h GMT on 13 August.  The ships form part of a contract...

The Royal Australian Navy Hobart-class destroyer, HMAS   Sydney  , firing a Harpoon missile during Exercise ‘Pacific Vanguard 2022'. The class will soon be equipped with Tomahawk cruise missiles.  (Commonwealth of Australia)  The Royal Australian Navy's (RAN's) fleet of Hobart-class air warfare destroyers will be equipped with the Tomahawk cruise missile, making Australia one of only three countries to field this weapon alongside the US and the UK.  The matter was disclosed by Australia's Deputy Prime Minister and...

The Standard Missile-3 Block IIA missile, pictured above launching from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Hawaii, is jointly developed by the US and Japan. The MDA said the GPI joint development with Japan will be pursued in a construct similar to that used for the SM-3 missile. (US MDA)  The US and Japan have initiated the joint development of a Glide Phase Interceptor (GPI) to counter hypersonic weapons, the US Department of Defense (DoD) announced on 18 August.  According to the DoD, during the January 2023 Security Consultative Commit...

The keel for Ukraine's second Ada-class corvette was laid down at RMK Marine's shipyard in Tuzla, Istanbul, on 18 August. (Ukrainian Navy)  A keel-laying ceremony for the second MilGem (Ada)-class corvette under construction for Ukraine was held at RMK Marine's shipyard in Tuzla, Istanbul, on 18 August.  RMK Marine is building the two Ada-class corvettes under an agreement signed by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Turkish Defence Industry Agency (SSB) in December 2020. Turkish engineering company STM has overall responsibility...

Vindhyagiri  , the sixth Project 17A frigate on order for the Indian Navy, seen here at its launch ceremony.  (Ministry of Defence, India)  India's Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) has launched the country's sixth Nilgiri (Project 17A)-class guided-missile frigate.  The warship, which will be in service as INS   Vindhyagiri   once commissioned, was launched on 17 August into the Hooghly River, the Indian Ministry of Defence announced the same day.   Vindhyagiri   is one of seven Project 17A frigates that have been...

Raytheon Technologies is building the Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor for the US Army's integrated missile defence architecture in Guam. (Raytheon)  The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) transitioned its power to the US Army in June 2023 on the integrated missile defence of Guam effort, service leaders announced recently.  The memo – signed by Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks – establishing Army Sustainment Command as the lead service for Guam's defence, went out in June, Lieutenant General Robert Rasch, director of the Rapid C...

The Australian DoD has accelerated the acquisition of a range of guided weapons including Tomahawk cruise missiles (pictured above). (US Navy)  The Australian Department of Defence (DoD) has outlined a short-term plan to accelerate the domestic development of guided weapons as part of the Guided Weapons and Explosive Ordnance (GWEO) Enterprise, which was launched in 2021.    A DoD spokesperson told   Janes   that the Australian government has committed AUD2.5 billion (USD1.6 billion) over the next four years to accelerate the G...

In June 2023 the RCCTO oversaw the launch of a Tomahawk missile from the army's prototype Mid-Range Capability system. (US Army)  The US Army fired a cruise missile for the first time since 1944, completing the operational tests necessary to deliver the first Mid-Range Capability (MRC) weapon system by the end of fiscal year (FY) 2023, the service announced recently.  The US Army's 1st Multi-Domain Task Force (MDTF) worked with the US Navy to launch a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile from an MRC system on 27 June, according to an army release. Th...

A BGM-71F TOW 2B missile is fired from a US Army 4×4 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle during an exercise at Joint Multinational Training Command in Grafenwoehr, Germany. (US Army)  The US Army selected Raytheon Technologies for a USD322.5 million contract that requires the company to build tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided (TOW) 2B top-attack missiles, according to a 15 August announcement.  The procurement will produce TOW weapons for the army, the US Marine Corps, and international customers with a ceiling of USD400 mi...

A computer-generated image of the final configuration of the Polish Navy's first Miecznik frigate. (PGZ)  A steel-cutting ceremony was held for the first Polish Project 106 Miecznik (Swordfish)-class frigate at the Polish Armaments Group (Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa: PGZ) Naval Shipyard in Gdynia, Poland, on 16 August.  Under the Miecznik programme, which is valued at around PLN8 billion (USD1.95 billion), PGZ Naval Shipyard is building three frigates for the Polish Navy in co-operation with strategic partners Babcock (as the platform design pro...

US Coast Guard   Healy  is providing support for Office of Naval Research studies in the Arctic.  (Michael Fabey)    The US Coast Guard (USCG) cutter   Healy   (WAGB 20), one of two USCG icebreakers and the only one specifically designed for Arctic research, in late July and early August offloaded Office of Naval Research (ONR) equipment onto a floe of multi-year ice for the first of three multi-instrument ice stations in the Arctic Ocean Basin, the USCG confirmed on 14 August.   Healy  o...

Swedish Leopard 2 MBTs and CV90 AFVs donated to Ukraine will receive additional ammunition from Sweden following a military aid package. (Krauss-Maffei Wegmann)  The Swedish government is preparing a SEK3.4 billion (USD313.4 million) military aid package for Ukraine, the authority announced on 15 August.  The assistance includes ammunition and spare parts for several of the equipment donated to Ukraine by Sweden, including the CV90 armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs) and Leopard 2 main battle tanks (MBTs).  In addition, Sweden intends to supply...

The Indonesian Navy's new MCMVs, seen here leading a sail pass at the handover ceremony on 14 August. (PT PAL)  The Indonesian Navy has officially taken delivery of two new German-built mine-countermeasure vessels (MCMVs) from the Indonesian Ministry of Defence (MoD).    The boats, which will be in service as KRI   Pulau Fani  and KRI   Pulau Fanildo  with pennant numbers 731 and 732, respectively, were received in a handover ceremony on 14 August in Surabaya.   In what can be considered to be an unusual depart...

Indonesian Navy's lead Bung Tomo-class vessel seen here during the 69th TNI Day Parade in Surabaya. All vessels in the class are being upgraded to fire the Exocet Block 3 missile. (Janes/Ridzwan Rahmat)  Indonesian state-owned shipbuilder PT PAL has inked a contract with European missile manufacturer MBDA to enhance the combat capabilities of all three frigates in the Bung Tomo class.  Confirmation on the matter was provided by a PT PAL spokesperson in response to questions from Janes on the class' upgrade programme.  The Bung Tomo class is...

The US Navy is using UASs on more ships using contractor-owned/contractor-operated contracting models. (Textron Systems)  With the recent award of contract for unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operational support on two Independence-class littoral combat ships (LCSs) and one Freedom-class LCS, US Navy (USN) Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) now has seven ships conducting operations with the Textron Systems Aerosonde UAS, Textron Systems confirmed.  Textron Systems was awarded an initial contract worth up to USD19.5 million on 9 August to provi...

GRSE has launched an autonomous underwater vehicle (pictured) that can be used to support mine countermeasures, underwater monitoring, and search-and-rescue missions. (GRSE)  India's state-owned Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) has launched an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) that can be used for a range of military operations.    A GRSE spokesperson told   Janes  in early August that the AUV, named Neerakshi, is equipped with mine-detection technologies to assist mine countermeasures (MCM), and sensors and im...