A screen capture of a video footage showing the merchant vessel, M/V   Gaja  , transiting northbound through the Bosphorus Strait from Saint-Nazaire, in western France, loaded with two FPB 98 MKI patrol boats, on 23 May.  (Yoruk Isik)  French shipbuilder OCEA has despatched the first two of 20 FPB 98 MKI patrol boats on order for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.  Video imagery captured by a Turkish independent ship spotter showed the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged merchant cargo ship, M/V Gaja, transiting n...

Walo  , the first of three OPV 58 S-type patrol boats on order for the Senegalese Navy, was delivered on 2 June.  (Piriou)  French shipbuilder Piriou formally handed over the first Walo (OPV 58 S)-class offshore patrol ship to the Senegalese Navy during a ceremony held at its facilities in Brittany, northwest France, on 2 June.  First-of-class Walo is one of three OPV 58 S patrol ships being built under a contract signed with the Ministry of the Armed Forces of Senegal in November 2019.  The lead ship started construction in Octo...

India's Varunastra torpedo has undergone ‘combat' test-firings, with the weapon fitted with a high-explosive warhead, for the first time. (Bharat Dynamics Limited)  The Indian Navy and the country's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) undertook the first ‘combat' test-firing of the Varunastra heavyweight torpedo on 5 June.  Janes understands that the torpedo was fired from a Kamorta (Project 28)-class anti-submarine warfare (ASW) corvette at an Under Water Target System (UWTS) laid by INS Jalashwa (ex-USS Trenton), a refurbis...

A graphic depiction of the Italian Navy's Near Future Submarine. (Fincantieri)  The Italian parliament has approved construction of the third Type 212 Near Future Submarine (NFS), marking another milestone in the programme.  The Italian Navy is planning to procure four boats under the NFS programme, which passed its critical design review in early 2023.  The first unit was laid down at Fincantieri's Muggiano shipyard in La Spezia in January 2022 and the boat is expected to be launched in 2026. Meanwhile, a steel-cutting ceremony for the secon...

Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell formally handing over the first batch of EU-funded military assistance to Moldova on 31 May. (European Commission)  The Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova has received its first batch of European Union (EU)-funded military equipment as part of the European Peace Facility (EPF), the EU announced on 31 May.  Over a 36-month period, Moldova will receive EUR40 million (USD42.87 million) worth of non-lethal military equipment in the areas pertaining to air surveillance, mobility and tran...

Australia has reduced its procurement of infantry fighting vehicles from 450 units to 129. Two platforms are competing for the tender – Rheinmetall's Lynx KF41 and, pictured above, Hanwha's Redback. (Hanwha Defense Australia)  Australia has announced the establishment of an external advisory panel (EAP) to oversee the implementation of the Defence Strategic Review (DSR) recommendations, which include a reorganisation of the Australian Army.  The EAP will provide an independent assessment of the DSR's progress biannually to the government, the...

KMW displayed a PULS MRL armed with a Kongsberg NSM at its site in Munich on the first day of Defence iQ's Future Artillery conference held in Munich from 29 May to 1 June. (Janes/Nicholas Fiorenza)  Krauss-Maffei Wegmann-Nexter Defense Systems (KNDS) is proposing that the Precise and Universal Launching System (PULS) multiple rocket launcher (MRL) be armed with Kongsberg's Naval Strike Missile (NSM). An Elbit Systems-Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) EuroPULS MRL mounted on an Iveco Trakker 8×8 chassis was displayed at KMW's site in Munich on the...

Portugal is acquiring an additional six Viana do Castelo-class OPVs to complement its four existing units. (Janes/Victor Barreira)  Portugal's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has issued a tender for the acquisition and construction of six additional Viana do Castelo-class Navio de Patrulha Oceanico (NPO) offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) for the Portuguese Navy.  The tender, which includes a review of the engineering project, construction of the ships, and integrated logistics support (ILS), is open to shipyards or consortiums from the European Union...

Lockheed Martin's AN/TPS-77 ground-based radar is a deployable version of the AN/TPS-117 radar that can be set up within 30 minutes. (Lockheed Martin)  The Danish Ministry of Defence Acquisition Logistics Organisation (Forsvarsministeriets Materiel: FMI) has contracted Lockheed Martin to extend the life of the Royal Danish Air Force's two AN/TPS-77 long-range transportable radars.  According to the FMI on 31 May, the two radars will receive a mid-life upgrade (MLU) that was planned as part of the Danish Defence Agreement 2018–2023. The MLU is...

A computer-generated image of what Singapore's multirole combat vessel might look like. (Singapore Ministry of Defence)  For much of its existence since it was established in 1967 the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) – then known as the Singapore Naval Volunteer Force – was concerned with securing the country's territorial waters against threats such as smugglers and pirates.  However, beginning in the 1970s the service underwent a major introspection of its roles and responsibilities. At that time, the relatively tiny island at the southern...

Newport News Shipbuilding redelivered aircraft carrier USS   George Washington  after a ship overhaul.  (US Navy)  HII's Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division redelivered aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) to the US Navy (USN) after the shipyard successfully completed the ship's refuelling and complex overhaul (RCOH), HII confirmed on 25 May.  “George Washington has gone through a transformation and now returns to the fleet as a fully recapitalised ship for another 25 years,” Todd West, NNS vice-p...

Lastunul  , one of three Zborul (Tarantul I)-class corvettes, approved to undergo modernisation.  (Romanian Navy)  The Romanian parliament has given the approval for the purchase of two new submarines and two second-hand minehunters for the Romanian Navy as well as modernisation of the service's corvettes, local media reported.  According to a report by Romania's national press agency Agerpres on 18 May, the Romanian parliament approved a request from the Ministry of National Defence for the procurement of two Scorpène-class conv...

A computer-generated rendering of the Arrowhead 140 design, which is the basis for Indonesia's ‘Red White' frigate programme. (Babcock)    Turkey's Havelsan will equip the Indonesian Navy's new Arrowhead 140 frigates with its Advent combat management system (CMS), the company told   Janes  at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) Exhibition 2023 in Malaysia.   The frigates are being constructed by state-owned Indonesian shipbuilder PT PAL, with steel cutting of the first ship in December 2022.  The Arrow...

With a weight launch of 280 kg, the Blue Shark can hit targets at depths of up to 450 m and at a range of 6.5 n mile. The torpedo can travel at a speed of 45 kt. (Janes/Patrick Allen)  South Korea is prepared to deliver a second batch of Cheong Sangeo (K745/Blue Shark) torpedoes to the Philippine Navy (PN). However, Janes understands that the Philippines has delayed the procurement.  The deal was first announced in August 2021. At the time, the Philippines Department of National Defense (DND) said that the deal was reported to cost around PHP...

Stirling Castle  has started sea trials with the RFA after completing its conversion into a mother ship for offboard autonomous mine countermeasure payloads.  (RFA Nostalgia)  The UK Royal Navy's (RN's) new minehunting mother ship started sea trials with Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) personnel after completing its military conversion from an oil rig offshore support vessel (OSV).  Stirling Castle  (ex-MV   Island Crown  ) was purchased second-hand from Island Offshore Management for GBP40 million (USD49.3 million)...

The Royal Malaysian Navy will operate a total of 19 fast interceptor craft built by local firm Gading Marine, following a second-batch order of 13 vessels. Four of the six vessels ordered in the first batch are pictured above. (Royal Malaysian Navy)    The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) will start taking deliveries of a second batch of 18 m fast interceptor craft (FIC) from local firm Gading Marine later in 2023, the company told   Janes   at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) Exhibition 2023 in Malaysia, held...

ADSB's new 92 m corvette – a rendering of which is pictured above – is positioned to meet requirements in the Asia-Pacific. (ADSB)  Abu Dhabi Ship Building (ADSB) unveiled a model of a new 92 m corvette at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) Exhibition 2023 held in Malaysia from 23 to 27 May.    Francesco Lo Monaco, ADSB's director of shipbuilding and engineering, told   Janes   that the new corvette is a multirole vessel equipped to perform a range of littoral and coastal missions and meet requirements of...

A model of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency's Tun Fatimah-class offshore patrol vessel displayed at LIMA 2023. (Janes/Nishant Kumar)  Malaysian shipbuilder TH Heavy Engineering (THHE) expects to deliver the first of three Tun Fatimah-class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) in July 2023, a spokesperson for MMEA confirmed to Janes at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) Exhibition 2023 in Malaysia.  The first Tun Fatimah-class OPV was launched in October 2022, five ye...

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has displayed a model of a Multi-Role Support Ship that it is proposing to meet requirements within the Royal Malaysian Navy. (Janes/Nishant Kumar)  Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) unveiled a model of its new Multi-Role Support Ship (MRSS) at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) Exhibition 2023.  An MHI spokesperson told Janes that work on the design of the new MRSS was initiated two to three years ago. However, the spokesperson said the design is not yet finalised and may change based on navi...

The Portuguese Navy is looking to commission the Multifunctional Naval Platform in 2026. (Victor Barreira)    The Portuguese Navy is poised to issue a tender to acquire a helicopter and unmanned systems mother ship    for a maximum of EUR132 million (USD142 million) to meet its Pilar I project.     A tender by prior qualification for the design and construction of the Plataforma Naval Multifuncional (Multifunctional Naval Platform) is scheduled to be published in mid-June in the   Portuguese Official Gazette...